Deadline: 23-Mar-23
The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) has launched the Literary Organizations Projects to support the professional presentation, and promotion of written and oral Canadian literatures in Ontario, and the development of professional, ongoing arts and literary publishing capacity in the province.
Categories
The program has five categories:
- Festivals and fairs: events including an organized and multi-faceted program of literary activities that takes place within a defined and concentrated period of time of one or more days. Events may be focused on literary performance, the promotion and sale of Canadian books, or both.
- Performance series: event series that host regular events presenting literary performance to the public, including slams, storytelling series, and reading series.
- Development initiatives: activities and initiatives that benefit Ontario’s professional literary sector at large. This includes professional development for literary artists and arts workers, conferences and other activities with a community impact.
- Literary book publishing: the publication of eligible Canadian-authored books in print and/or digital formats, for distribution to the public through an identified and viable market channel.
- Literary magazine publishing: the publication of a literary magazine featuring predominantly Canadian writers and artists in print and/or digital formats.
Funding Information
- Festivals and fairs: maximum $12,000
- Performance series: maximum $12,000
- Development initiatives: maximum $12,000
- Literary book publishing: maximum $12,000
- Arts magazine publishing: maximum $12,000
What this Program Funds?
- artists’ fees, production costs, marketing, promotion, audience development and administration costs of literary festivals and event series
- presenter, facilitator, and consultant fees, production costs, marketing, promotion, audience development and administration costs of sector development initiatives
- editorial, production, circulation, marketing and promotion costs of publishing eligible books or magazines in English and sales, distribution, and administrative costs if directly related to an eligible publication
- purchase of small-scale equipment, software, electronics and similar materials required to carry out the project
- childcare and other dependant care fees enabling individuals to take part in the project (this does not include regular, ongoing expenses)
- expenses related to making the project accessible to audience members and project participants (other than the applicant) who are Deaf or have a disability
- Note: Applicants to this program who identify as Deaf or as having a disability may apply for supplementary funds for their own accessibility expenses
What this Program does not Fund?
- major capital expenditures, including buying, leasing or renovating buildings and purchase of major equipment
- events or activities that take place outside of Ontario
- fundraising activities
- student or educational projects
- faculty or student projects associated with their research, course work or studies
- the publication of ineligible books or magazines
- events or organizations that do not pay fees to participating or performing writers and artists
- book or magazine publishers that do not pay contributor fees to writers and artists
- academic or scholarly conferences
Priority Groups
The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is committed to ensuring equitable access for all Ontarians, with particular emphasis on the following priority groups:
- Artists of Colour
- Deaf Artists and Artists with Disabilities
- Francophone Artists
- Indigenous Artists
- New Generation Artists
- Artists Living In Regions Outside Toronto
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible applicants include Ontario-based:
- individual professional artists and arts professionals
- ad hoc groups and collectives
- organizations
- In some project programs, municipalities, colleges, universities, school boards, First Nations and schools administered by a First Nations or Indigenous Education Authority are eligible.
- Applicants must meet program and OAC eligibility criteria at the time of application submission.
- An individual must:
- be a professional artist or arts professional
- be 18 years of age or older
- be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada, or have an application pending for permanent resident status and, if requested, be able to provide documentation to verify this.
- be a resident of Ontario
- To establish residency in Ontario, you must have lived in Ontario for at least 12 consecutive months before submitting an application. This applies to new Ontario residents and former Ontario residents returning after frequent or long-term absences.
- As an Ontario resident, you may be absent from the province only under the following circumstances to maintain your eligibility:
- If you are absent from Ontario on a recurring basis, such absences must not exceed four months (cumulatively) of the 12 months before the submission of your application. This applies even if you kept an address in Ontario during your absence.
- If you are absent from Ontario on a temporary, one-time basis (for a residency or contract, for example), such an absence must not exceed 12 months of the 12 months before the submission of your application. You must also have been in Ontario for at least 8 months of the year preceding an absence of this length. During this absence, you must not have applied to public funding agencies or ministries in the jurisdiction of your temporary residence.
- If requested by OAC, you can, at any time, provide documentation to verify your residency information.
- An ad hoc group or collective must:
- be comprised of at least two members who meet the eligibility requirements for individuals and who will be responsible for the administration of the grant on behalf of the ad hoc group or collective
- have at least 50 per cent of its members residing in Ontario (or both members in the case of two-person collectives)
- not be a corporation
- be able to deposit a grant cheque in the name of the ad hoc group or collective
- Note: Ad hoc groups are formed for a one-time project, while collectives have ongoing activity.
- An incorporated not-for-profit organization must:
- be incorporated in Ontario or federally
- have a head office in Ontario
- be governed by a volunteer board of directors or an advisory board
- A for-profit organization must:
- be an Ontario-based, Canadian-owned book or magazine publisher eligible for funding in OAC’s publishing programs
- be incorporated in Ontario or federally
- have a head office in Ontario
- A college or university must:
- be Ontario-based
- present or produce professional Ontario artists, arts professionals, arts groups, arts collectives or arts organizations
- be registered through the Government of Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges and Universities
- have a staff member responsible for arts programming
- A municipality, school board, First Nation, or school administered by a First Nation or an Indigenous administered authority must:
- be Ontario-based
- engage professional Ontario artists, or present, produce or publish the work of professional Ontario artists, arts groups, arts collectives or arts organizations
- have a staff member responsible for arts programming
- Important: The OAC may request documentation to confirm an applicant’s eligibility at any time. If they are unable to provide documentation, their application will be withdrawn or any funds granted must be repaid.
Ineligible
- libraries, schools, or post-secondary institutions (a library or school can be the venue but not the applicant, publisher, or organizing host)
- municipalities, colleges and universities, including magazines predominantly written or run by students, publishers whose publications are primarily prepared by students within the context of academic courses or training sessions, and publishers that are organizationally and editorially controlled by a university, college, or municipality
- publishers that devote the majority of their publishing program to works by writers and artists who have governance, ownership, employment, or volunteer relationships with the applicant
- publishers that primarily publish ineligible books, or publish an ineligible magazine
- publishers that require contributors to pay fees or commit to purchasing completed publications
- publishers that are imprints, divisions, subsidiaries or parent companies of applicants to this program
- current recipients of an operating grant in other OAC operating programs, with the exception of organizations mandated to serve one or more of OAC’s priority groups.
- amateur, pre-professional or student productions or projects
- Important: Organizations applying as new applicants in the Literary Organizations: Operating program or Publishing Organizations: Operating program may apply only for projects taking place in their current fiscal year
For more information, visit OAC.
