Grant Investment Programs 2025: Announcement

Grant Announcement Categories: All Programs

Grant Investment Programs 2025 graphic

Grant Investment Programs 2025: Announcement

Calgary Arts Development (CADA) is the city’s designated arts development agency, stewarding public dollars for the public good. Our grant investment programs support artists and arts organizations for the benefit of all Calgarians in alignment with our 2023 – 2026 Strategic Framework, Ákáakomatapoap.  

Information about all our funding programs can be found on the Grant Investment Programs page. 

Further information, including full program guidelines and programs currently under development, will be available throughout the year. All program pages include the expected timelines and publication dates of the program.  

2024 Grant Investment Program Results 

In 2024, the Community Investment team received and processed over 1,200 applications to our grant investment programs and made over 650 grants totalling almost $15 million to arts organizations, individual artists and artist collectives. Calgary Arts Development must allocate a minimum of 75 per cent of our annual budget from the City of Calgary through grant investment programs. In addition to municipal funds, Calgary Arts Development stewarded contributions from the Calgary Arts Foundation, Rozsa Foundation, Calgary Foundation, and Canada Council for the Arts through our grant programs.   

The 2024 community investment program results will be published in February 2025.   

Grants to Arts Organizations 

In 2024 we received 333 applications to programs for arts organizations, including the Operating Grant, Project Grant for Organizations and Future Focus Program. In 2024, the average success rate for competitive programs for arts organizations was approximately 49 percent.  

In 2025, we will run the following programs for non-profit arts organizations:  

Organizations that received a grant through the Operating Grant Program in 2024 will receive their 2025 grant on successful submission of a report due February 19, 2025.  The Operating Grant will open to applications for the 2026 funding year in the fall of 2025. 

The Project Grant for Organizations provides one-time project funding to registered non-profit arts organizations in Calgary. Program guidelines will be published in March, the program will open in April with a May deadline, and grant notifications will occur in July.  

The Future Focus Program will run in three intakes through 2025 with deadlines in February, June, and October. The Rozsa Foundation will administer this program on behalf of the funding partners Calgary Arts Development and the Calgary Foundation 

Grants to Individual Artists and Artist Collectives 

In 2024, we received 800 eligible applications to programs for individual artists and collectives, including the Project Grant for Individuals and Collectives and the Artist Development Microgrant. This is a 75 percent increase compared to 2021, and a 153 percent increase in applications compared to 2020. In 2024, the average success rate in programs for individual artists and artist collectives was approximately 40 percent.  

In 2025, we will run the following programs for individual artists and artist collectives:  

The Project Grant for Individuals and Collectives is intended to provide one-time project funding to individual artists and artist collectives. The total budget for this program will increase by $400,000, to $3.1 million in response to the increasing number of applications we have received. Program guidelines will be published and the program will open in March, with a May deadline, and grant notifications will occur in September.  

The Artist Development Microgrant program is intended to provide support for professional development and business development activities. In response to the increased program volume and competition, this program was piloted as a lottery process in 2024. We will continue to run this program on a lottery in 2025, with two intakes. The first deadline will be in April, and the second will be in October. 

Grants to Indigenous Artists, Collectives and Organizations 

In 2024 we received 79 proposals for funding in the programs for Indigenous artists and arts organizations. In 2024, the average success rate for Indigenous grant programs was approximately 64 percent.  

Programs for Indigenous artists and organizations are developed with feedback and support from our Indigenous Advisory Group. We will launch the 2025 programs for Indigenous artists and organizations with a community circle in the spring. More information and an invitation to the circle will be released in the coming months. In 2025, we will run the following programs for Indigenous artists and Indigenous-led and -centred arts organizations:  

The Indigenous Cultural Connections Program (previously the Indigenous Artist Microgrant) is intended to support Indigenous artists living and working in the Treaty 7 region for activities and expenses related to the preservation of Indigenous culture and tradition. This program will open in April, with a May deadline, and grant notifications will occur in July.   

The Original Peoples Investment Program is intended to support art-based projects that are supported and validated by Indigenous artists, community, Elders and Knowledge Keepers. We recognize and support both traditional and contemporary Indigenous artists and arts practices. The program will open in August, with a September deadline, and grant notifications will occur in November. 

Please contact grants@calgaryartsdevelopment.com with any questions. 

Stay informed. Sign up for our weekly newsletter.