WRCF announces Arts Grants Fund – Canada

Deadline: 16 September 2024

The Arts Grants Fund is accepting applications for both the Organizations and Individual Artists & Collectives Grant Streams.

To support artists in the interim, the Region is launching a one-year partnership with Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF) to support local artists and streamline arts funding.

WRCF established the Arts Grants Fund in 2020 and continues to provide funding through arts focused grants based on the needs in their community, and indicators of the impact of this fund.

In 2024, approximately $580,000 will be distributed to individual artists, art collectives and nonprofit organizations in Waterloo Region.

Grant Streams

For Organizations
- The 2024 Arts Grants Fund, through Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF), supports activities focused on the arts in Waterloo Region.
- WRCF is focused on improving social infrastructure in Waterloo Region. They define social infrastructure as the system of organizations, spaces, and experiences that enable connection and civic engagement. This year, preference will be given to applications that incorporate the arts in improving social connections and civic engagement in their community.
- Funding Information
  - Approximately $350,000 in funding is available for registered charities, qualified donees, and organizations that have fiscal partners. It Includes $100,000 for Arts organizations funded by the Region of Waterloo
  - Applications will be accepted for a grant of up to $20,000
  - Funding must be used before December 31, 2025
- What this fund is focused on supporting?
  - For 2024, the Arts Grants Fund is looking to provide support to arts activities that promote connections and civic engagement in community; and additionally demonstrate one or more of the following:
    - Innovation – original art activities that move art forward in their community in interesting ways. (This could be through different programming, engaging new partners, showcasing arts disciplines in innovative ways)
    - Diversity – art that is inspired and/or sourced from a variety of lived experiences
    - Applications that improve Social Infrastructure by promoting a sense of belonging, connectedness, and civic engagement in community.
    - Your application should demonstrate the impact of the funds that will be received. Things to consider are:
      - how will their community benefit from this funding
      - how many people will it support, and how will they be supported
Individual Artists and Collectives Grants
- The 2024 Individual Artists and Collectives Grants Fund, through Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF), supports Waterloo Region based artists and arts collectives with art initiatives.
- While the Region completes a review of the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund model, they wanted to maintain support for local individual artists and arts collectives, so this funding stream is available through a one-year partnership, with WRCF managing the process and $230,000 in funding being provided by the Region of Waterloo.
- This funding stream will accept applications that support the vision of “Where Art Starts” in Waterloo Region. Applications from all arts disciplines including music/recording, dance, film/video (including music videos), theatre, visual arts, multimedia, writing/publishing, performance/multidiscipline, photography, pottery, weaving, carving, beadwork, jewellery making, textile art, blogging or vlogging, and community arts. With a funding focus on innovation, the grant stream will support both emerging and established artists and collectives who are experimenting, exploring new creative processes, crossing disciplines, or building new work.
- Funding Information
  - $230,000 in funding is available through the Region of Waterloo for individual artists or arts collectives
  - Applications will be accepted for a grant of up to $7,500 for individual artists and $10,000 for arts collectives

Eligibility Criteria

For Organizations
- Emerging, small, or medium sized nonprofit arts organizations. For purposes of this funding the total annual revenue of your organization cannot exceed $500,000
- Nonprofit organizations that are requesting funding specifically for an arts activity that aligns with their work and engages members of their community. The total arts/culture program annual budget for your organization must not exceed $500,000. Your organization must partner with a local artist and/or arts organization to deliver the art activity you are applying for
- Your organization is based in Waterloo Region and provides services and/or programming to people in Waterloo Region (Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo, Wellesley, Wilmot, Woolwich, North Dumfries)
- Your organization is:
  - A registered charity or qualified donee recognized by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
  - An incorporated grassroots organization that is going to partner with a registered charity or qualified donee as a “Fiscal Partner” to accept the funds on your behalf and who will be supporting you to do charitable activities, as outlined in your application. If you plan to partner this way, they would be your organization’s Fiscal Partner for this funding.
- Note: Municipalities, hospitals, and organizations that operate as a school (private and public; elementary, secondary, or post-secondary) are not eligible to apply.
Individual Artists and Collectives Grants
- Individual Artists
  - 18 years of age or older
  - Legally entitled to be or remain in Canada
  - A resident of Waterloo Region (Cambridge, Kitchener, North Dumfries, Waterloo, Wellesley, Wilmot, or Woolwich)
- Arts Collective
  - For the purposes of this grant stream, an arts collective is defined as an unincorporated group, ensemble, or collective of two or more individual professional artists or cultural practitioners that have come together either temporarily or for ongoing work towards the cocreation and/or presentation of artistic or curatorial projects.
  - The members of the collective must all be 18 years of age or older. In addition, the majority of members of the collective must be legally entitled to be or remain in Canada and reside in Waterloo Region. If there are only two members of the collective, both must be legally entitled to be or remain in Canada and reside in Waterloo Region.