Shevchenko Foundation: Literary Arts Sector Grant Program – Canada

The Shevchenko Foundation is a national, chartered philanthropic institution dedicated to the preservation, promotion and development of Ukrainian Canadian cultural heritage, and to the advancement of a flourishing Ukrainian community for the enrichment of Canada. The Foundation respects the past, celebrates the present and promotes the future of the Ukrainian community in Canada with inclusiveness, integrity, sustainability, spirit, excellence, creativity and innovation as its core values.

Priorities

• The Shevchenko Foundation’s grant-giving stewardship extends priority to projects and programs that:
  • Contribute to enriching the Canadian experience with the beauty, passion, and diversity of Ukrainian Canadian culture;
  • Contribute to strengthening the Ukrainian community in Canada;
  • Share Ukrainian Canadian cultural contributions with a broad and diverse public on a community, regional or national level;
  • Exhibit financial capability to undertake and sustain the project and/or program within the boundaries of a business plan, either as an organization or an individual;
  • Employ new technologies and partnership models on how Ukrainian Canadian cultural heritage is created, produced, disseminated, and preserved.

Eligible Projects

• Eligible literary works include:
  • Fiction
  • Poetry
  • Literary criticism
  • Creative non-fiction
  • Contemporary literary biography/autobiography
  • Biographic treatments of artists, historical figures, or individuals which demonstrate an approach that is distinctive, and conceived for engagement with a broad reach of readers and audiences
  • Children’s literature
  • Illustrated picture books
  • Graphic novels
• Dissemination to reach readers and audiences can occur through:
  • Traditional and digital publications
  • Digital presentations
  • Live literary and storytelling events, readings, talks, recordings, and podcasts
  • Reader development projects, workshops and residencies
  • Collaborative writing projects, spoken word/live literature, and experimental writing projects/practices
  • Promotion of completed literary forms

Eligibility Criteria

• Individuals:
  • Must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents at the time of application.
  • Must be supported by letters of reference from peers or others familiar with the applicant’s body of work, experience in the field, and ability to undertake and deliver the project.
• No new application will be accepted if a Final Report has not been submitted from a previous grant.
• Applications for projects that are phased over more than one year will be accepted. Funding will be granted in phases, subject to meeting annual reporting requirements.
• Applicants must have final creative control over their proposed work.
• If the project is a collaboration with other writers or artists from other disciplines, select one artist to apply on behalf of the project. This lead applicant will take responsibility for all reporting.
• Applications for self-published works in book form are only eligible to apply for up to 50% of printing costs.
• Education-focused literary forms are only eligible for grant consideration with the submission of documentation from an educational authority, verifying that the content is accepted into curriculum delivery.
• Priority will be given to projects that can demonstrate their feasibility by providing a best-practice model for the delivery of all stages of the project, can provide evidence of realistic budgets, and can provide evidence of financial and/or in-kind supports from other sources.

Assessment Criteria

• The Shevchenko Foundation’s assessment for grant-giving is guided by integrity, sustainability, excellence, innovation, and inclusiveness of all Canadians who support the mandate of the Shevchenko Foundation. When assessing applications, the Foundation uses the following questions.
  • Are the goals for the project well-articulated?
  • Are the skills of those undertaking the project to completion well-articulated?
  • Are the goals for the project within the scope and mission of the Shevchenko Foundation?
  • How does the project advance the relevancy of Ukrainian cultural heritage to the enrichment of Canada?
  • How well does the project demonstrate an understanding of present-day industry standards of excellence and public engagement in corresponding to the appropriate pillar of Arts, Heritage, Community Development, or Education?
  • What is the value-added contribution of this project that distinguishes it beyond existing Ukrainian cultural heritage content and similar activities?
  • Is there a sound marketing and distribution plan that articulates accommodating changing demographics, changing patterns of consumption, changing forms of dissemination?
  • Are the indicators for success of the project within the organizational and human resources capacity of the applicant?

For more information, visit Shevchenko Foundation.