Deadline for application
- Monday, January 11, 2021 - 4 p.m
One complete copy of the application must be emailed to infoculture@ottawa.ca.
Program objectives
- To spark and support the creation, production, presentation, exhibition, and dissemination of the literary, performing, visual and media arts, and independent film and video within Ottawa’s bilingual and culturally diverse community
- To support the educational, training and service organizations that foster the development of the arts in Ottawa
- To support local professional artists of all disciplines and backgrounds
- To support community-based artistic activities that develop local arts audiences and communities
Funding priorities
Following the peer-assessment evaluations of submitted proposals, the Cultural Funding Support Unit (CFSU) will look at prioritizing applications from the following Indigenous and equity-seeking communities:
- Algonquin Anishinabe Host Nation
- First Nations
- Inuit
- Métis
- Francophones
- 2SLGBTQIA
- Immigrants/Newcomers
- People Living in Poverty
- People of Colour
- People with Visible and Invisible Disabilities
- Deaf People
- Rural Residents
- Seniors/Older Adults
- Women+
- Youth
Grant writing assistance
Cultural Funding Officers are available to help you prepare your grant application in the following ways:
- Discuss eligibility of your project, requirements of the program and answer any questions about the application and evaluation process
- Review a draft version of your application prior to the deadline. Drafts can be emailed at any time up until Monday, December 14th, 2020 directly to your funding officer and feedback will be provided
- Provide peer assessment committee feedback on a previous application
Eligibility
First-time applicants are encouraged to contact their Cultural Funding Officer to ensure their organization or collective meets eligibility requirements.
Who is eligible
Incorporated arts organizations that:
- are incorporated as not-for-profit
- have a mandate to support the creation, production, presentation dissemination and/or development of the arts in the city of Ottawa, Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation or Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation
- are led by arts professionals
- have their office/mailing address within the limits of the city of Ottawa, Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation or Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation
- have an active board of directors composed of a minimum of 3 members
- have at least 50% of board directors residing in the Ottawa region
Professional artists collectives that:
- are an unincorporated not-for-profit group of individuals contributing to a specific goal or a series of common projects
- have a minimum of 3 professional artists or 2 professional artists and one professional arts administrator residing in the city of Ottawa, Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation or Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation. Additional members of the collective may include professional artists, amateur artists, arts administrators, curators, etc.
- have at least 50% of collective members residing in the Ottawa region
- can receive payment in the collective’s name
- have their office/mailing address within the limits of the city of Ottawa, Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation or Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation
Non-arts organizations, in partnership with a professional artist(s) or a non-profit professional arts organization, that:
- are incorporated as a not-for-profit
- are proposing a project with an arts goal in partnership with a not-for-profit professional arts organization or professional artist(s) from the city of Ottawa, Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation or Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation
- have their office/mailing address within the limits of the city of Ottawa, Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation or Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation
- have a board of directors composed of a minimum of 3 members; at least 50% of directors must reside in the Ottawa region
Note: The City of Ottawa defines a professional artist as someone who is recognized by artists working in the same artistic tradition, has a reasonable body of professional work, has a history of public presentation or publication, seeks payment for their work and is dedicated to the independent practice of art in their chosen discipline.
What is eligible
Activities that:
- demonstrate significant support for local Ottawa artists
- are managed and/or sponsored by members of the Ottawa artistic community
- occur within the limits of the city of Ottawa, Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation or Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation and enhance the city’s quality of life
- are accessible and of interest to the public
- significantly involve participation of the local cultural community
- are singular in scope and occur within a specific period of time
Who is NOT eligible
- government agencies and for-profit organizations
- organizations whose activities come under the jurisdiction of other levels or departments of government (school boards, hospitals, universities, social services, military programs, business improvement associations, etc.)
- political parties
What is NOT eligible
- fundraising projects and initiatives
- self-promotional / marketing activities
- commercial ventures, art sales, competitions
- projects involving the manufacture and distribution of product in multiple copies
- activities funded by an operating grant from any City program
- projects where participation is conditional upon partaking in the religious activities of the organization
- activities that are solely intended for the membership of an organization
- capital purposes (i.e., purchase of land, equipment, facilities, etc.)
- projects that have been completed on or before the application deadline date
- projects that do not include sources of revenue other than the City’s contribution
- an organization’s full season of programming
- projects submitted by managers, consultants or agents
Restrictions
- The City will not fund more than 90% of the total cost of the project; the project budget must include sources of revenue other than the City’s contribution
- Organizations with accumulated surpluses greater than 100% of total revenue (excluding capital assets) are ineligible to apply
- Organizations that receive operating funding from the CFSU are ineligible to apply for project funding
- Applicants may only submit ONE project application per year to the following cultural funding programs: Heritage Funding Program, Diversity in the Arts Fund, Arts Funding Program
- Organizations cannot receive more than one funding allocation for the same activity
- A final report must be submitted before reapplying. If the final report for previous funding has not been submitted and approved by the deadline date, subsequent applications to this program will not be considered. In cases where a previous project will be completed after the deadline date, organizations agree to complete the project and submit an approved Final Report by the time funding results are announced (June 2021)
- Recreation, Cultural and Facility Services Department staff may not hold a key position within an organization requesting cultural funding from the City. Exception: where staff participation has been approved as one of the duties of their position
- City of Ottawa staff are required to act in compliance with the City of Ottawa Employee Code of Conduct and all applicable laws and regulations. For further inquiries, please contact your Cultural Funding Officer
Meeting all eligibility requirements does not guarantee funding
Types of funds
Literary arts fund
Supports production, presentation, dissemination and other professional activities that contribute to the development of the literary arts. Aimed at professional presenters of written and oral literary artists, and book and magazine publishers.
Performing arts fund
Supports creation, production, presentation, dissemination and other professional activities related to the performing arts. Aimed at professional choirs, bands, orchestras, ensembles, theatre companies, dance companies, presenters, opera and musical theatre groups, and includes dance, music and theatre.
Visual Arts / Media arts / Independent film and video fund
Supports activities that contribute to the development of visual and media arts, and film and video. Supports exhibition, collective distribution of independent film and video works and the production of contemporary visual or media arts. Aimed at professional artist-run centres and public galleries, film and video production co-operatives, and professional artists’ and curatorial collectives.
Arts events & arts festivals fund
Supports arts organizations in the production and presentation of artistic programming for local festivals and/or events that celebrate and highlight artistic disciplines including literary, performing, visual and media arts, or independent film and video.
Arts training & Arts education fund
Supports professional arts organizations with a mandate to provide arts training and/or arts education (including community arts). Open to all artistic disciplines. Groups must employ professional artists, instructors or educators and must pay professional fees.
- Arts Training provides professional instruction for the development of artistic skills.
- Arts Education provides opportunities to learn about the arts through direct exposure to, and/or participation in, professional artistic practices.
Arts services & Arts venues fund
Supports the umbrella activities of professional arts service associations and of venues dedicated to the presentation of the arts. Aimed at:
- Professional arts service organizations - associations of individual artists or arts organizations that carry out a broad range of functions such as cooperative promotions, marketing, administration, advocacy, networking, information dissemination and professional development.
- Professional arts venues - arts facilities that provide access to artists and arts groups and carry out other related services for the performing, visual, media, film and video, and/or literary arts.
Amateur arts fund
Supports community-based artistic activities that provide opportunities to local residents to participate in the arts. Aimed at supporting performance, exhibition, collective art making, and other community-based arts activities and includes music, theatre, literary arts, dance, visual and media arts, film and video, and multidisciplinary events.
Application process
Applicants must complete the Application Form and attach all required documentation. All applications must be submitted by email to infoculture@ottawa.ca by 4 p.m. on the deadline date.
If you are a first-time applicant, please contact a Cultural Funding Officer to ensure that you are eligible for this program, and to discuss the application process. Applicants must read the Information for Applicant found on our website.
Assessment criteria
Peer assessors will use the following assessment criteria to evaluate your request for funding.
Artistic merit
- Fulfillment of mandate
- Artistic direction, goals and objectives
- Qualified artistic leadership
- Maintenance of high artistic standards and practices
- Requisite skills and means to achieve results
- Innovation within artistic discipline
Community impact
- Support to local artists and artistic community
- Impact on artistic discipline
- Responsiveness to members and audiences
- Strength of partnerships
- Community involvement (audience participation, volunteer support, etc.)
- Commitment to engage with local equity seeking communities
Organizational effectiveness
- Planning and evaluation
- Governance, leadership structure and participation of the Board/Steering Committee
- Fiscal responsibility and realistic budgeting
- Initiative in fundraising
- Demonstrated need for financial support
- Appropriate and effective marketing and promotion
Support material
All applicants must submit support material which will be reviewed by the evaluation committee. It plays an important role in the assessment of the application as it gives the evaluators an indication of the merit of the work proposed and provides documentation of past and proposed activities.
Allocation of funding
An applicant’s success in obtaining funding depends upon the peer assessment committee’s final evaluation and the funding available within the program.
All funding is subject to the approval of the annual budget by Ottawa City Council.
The amount requested is not necessarily the amount awarded.
Cultural funding results
All applicants will receive notification from the CFSU informing them of the results. We aim to provide results to all applicants within six months of the application deadline. We cannot share results over the phone.
All results are final. There is no appeal of peer assessors’ decisions regarding the merit of your proposed activities or the peer assessment committee’s recommendation of a funding amount. The CFSS allows for reconsideration, but only in cases where a review of the application and the committee’s deliberations reveals evidence that the application was not assessed according to the publicly-stated procedure and assessment criteria.
Summary report
Every year, the CFSU publishes a summary of funding results on the City of Ottawa’s website listing the names of all funding recipients and assessors. Until this list is published, the names of successful applicants and assessors will not be revealed. The identity of unsuccessful applicants remains confidential.
If you are awarded funding
Release of funds
If you are awarded funding, your notification will include the approved funding amount, as well as conditions governing the release of funds and the program’s Terms and Conditions. Payment from the City’s Financial Services will follow.
Use of funds
Funds shall be used only for the purposes outlined in the original application. Any changes to the project scale or activities, including changes in budget, leadership, organizational structure and programming, must be reported in writing to and receive approval from the CFSU.
Please read the Terms and Conditions for more information on the use of funds.
Reporting
All funding recipients are required to submit a final report detailing how they used the funding awarded to them. This report must be submitted to and approved by the CFSU either:
- following completion of the funded activities; or
- twelve months after receipt of the funds; or
- at the time of subsequent application to the program.
Without a Report approved by the CFSU, you will be deemed ineligible for subsequent funding.
To obtain a reporting form, please contact infoculture@ottawa.ca.
Acknowledgement of support
Funding recipients are required to acknowledge the support of the City of Ottawa as indicated within the official Acknowledgement of Support guidelines, which will be sent to all successful applicants.
Letter of welcome from the mayor
If your organization wishes to request a Letter of Welcome from the Mayor to be included in your event program and/or brochure, please contact the Communications Officer, Mayor Support Service Unit, at 613-580-2424 ext. 28868.
If you are not awarded funding
Try again! If you do not receive funding, you are encouraged to try again. The program’s limited envelope cannot fund all applicants, regardless of their merit.