Ontario’s Performing Arts Funders: Who’s who?

A Guide for Presenters

Funding for the arts in Ontario comes primarily from all three levels of government, as well as some private foundations. Many organizations are also financially supported by corporate & individual sponsorships.

Here are a few major organizations funding the arts in Ontario.

View this page as a PDF here

Jump to:

• Canada Council for the Arts (CCA)
• Department of Canadian Heritage
• Ontario Arts Council (OAC)
• Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF)
• Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport
• Metcalfe Foundation
• Municipal Arts Councils

Canada Council for the Arts (CCA)

Funding source:

• The Canadian Federal Government provides the funding to the Canada Council, but does not decide how it is distributed (this is called arms-length funding)

What they fund:

• Mission: to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of the arts and the production of artistic works
• Provides grants and services to professional Canadian artists and arts organizations in dance, integrated arts, media arts, music, theatre, visual arts, and writing and publishing.
• Promotes public awareness of the arts through its communications, research and arts promotion activities.

What you need to know:

• Most funding decisions are made by a jury of artists and arts professionals selected from the community (this is called peer assessment)
• In any given program, funding is awarded to “applications that show the highest artistic excellence and meet all relevant assessment criteria, as compared to other applications
• All applications go through their online portal; you must first create a profile here and have it approved.It is recommended that you submit your profile at least 3 weeks in advance of your first grant application.

Key grants for presenters:

• Arts Across Canada & Arts Abroad both have travel grants to allow you to attend “significant events” where you can research artists for potential presentation, and bring in artists from abroad.
• Arts Festivals and Presenters Grant provides core funding to presenting organizations. To qualify, you must have received at least 3 Canada Council project grants in the last 5 years. You must also have at least one professional staff member in your organization.
• Professional Development for Arts ProfessionalsIncludes support for mentorships, internships, specialized training and more
• Foreign Artist Tours Grantsupports presenters who want to circulate exhibitions or tour artists from other countries.

Department of Canadian Heritage

Funding source:

• This is the department of the Federal Government responsible for policies and programs relating to areas of creativity, arts and culture; heritage and celebration; sport; diversity and inclusion; and official languages.

What they fund:

• Mandate: fostering and promoting Canadian identity and values, cultural development, and heritage.
• They fund more than 20 sub-agencies, including the Canada Council for the Arts, the National Arts Centre and the CBC, as well as a robust group of programs which they manage and fund directly.

What you need to know:

The following will be considered when making granting decisions:

• the variety of your programming such as: new artistic disciplines or new genres within a discipline; ethnocultural expressions; Aboriginal artistic expression; artists from official language minority communities; artistic productions created in other provinces or territories or outside Canada; and works by emerging artists;
• community engagement activities, presenting conditions and opportunities offered to professional artists, partnerships, and the variety and amount of professional artistic presentations available within your region.

• Click here for Application Guidelines 

Key grants for presenters:

The Canada Arts Presentation Fund (CAPF)is the primary funding stream for presenters from the Department. It offers financial assistance to organizations that professionally present arts festivals or performing arts series and organizations that offer support to arts presenters. It has two main components:

1. Programming: The Professional Arts Festivals and Performing Arts Series Presenters program provides support to existing professional arts festivals and performing arts series presenters, to offer a variety of professional artistic experiences to Canadians.
2. Development: provides support for the emergence of arts presenters and presenter support organizations for under-served communities or artistic practices.

Ontario Arts Council (OAC)

Funding source:

The Ontario Arts Council receives it’s funding from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, but is free to decide how it is distributed (arms-length funding).

What they fund:

• Mandate:  to foster the creation, production and presentation of art for the benefit of all Ontarians
• Provide grants to Ontario-based individual artists and arts professionals, ad hoc groups/collectives and organizations. Grants support a range of arts activities and disciplines.
• Most OAC grants are evaluated by people selected from a large, diverse pool of artists and arts professionals from communities all across Ontario (this is called peer assessment). See the Guide to OAC Assessment.

For all grants, OAC places a strong importance on supporting the following six under-served groups (called priority groups), to ensure that all Ontarians have equal access to funding.

• Artists of colour
• Deaf artists and artists with disabilities
• Francophone artists
• Indigenous artists
• New generation artists (18-30 years old) 
• Artists living in regions outside of Toronto

What you need to know:

• Applicants must set up a profile on OAC’s Nova system, accessible approximately two months before the deadline of the program. Applications are then submitted through the online system.
• The Guide to OAC Support Material outlines the types of material you may be asked to submit with your application
• Most OAC grants are accessible to professional and volunteer organizations, ad hoc groups, and individuals

Key grants for presenters:

OAC grants fall into 4 funding streams:

• Creating and Presenting
• Building Audiences and Markets
• Engaging Communities and Schools
• Developing Careers and Arts Services