Guidelines: Calgary Arts Emergency Resiliency Fund
Application Opens: April 10, 2017 at 9:00am MST
Application Deadline: May 8, 2017 at 4:30pm MST
Program Goal
Through a $1,000,000 partnership with The City of Calgary started in 2016 and renewed for 2017, this program will allocate investments to arts organizations that have been affected by decreased revenues, such as earned and corporate support, and increased demand on programs as a result of the economic downturn.
These funds are provided in order to ensure that Calgarians continue to enjoy the benefits of, and have access to, a strong local arts scene.
Program Description
The goal of this program is to provide one-time support for Calgary arts organizations that have been impacted by the economic downturn and global events.
Eligibility
To be eligible for Emergency Resiliency Funds, an organization must:
- Operate under an arts mandate.
- Be registered as a non-profit organization, corporation or society in the Province of Alberta.
- Maintain operations through the whole or majority of the year.
- Maintain a significant amount of activities that support Calgary artists or are accessible to Calgary citizens.
- Be receiving investment from Calgary Arts Development in 2017 through the Operating Grant Program, the Cornerstone Program or Organizational Opportunity Grant Program.
The following groups are ineligible for investment through this program:
- Political, trade union or fraternal lodge organizations.
- Degree- and diploma-granting educational institutes such as colleges and universities.
- Organizations that receive Emergency Resiliency Funding directly from The City of Calgary.
Calgary Arts Development staff review all applications for eligibility.
How to Apply
All applications must be submitted using the online granting interface. If you have any questions about how to access your organization’s account, please contact us at erf@calgaryartsdevelopment.com or 403.476.2031.
The application process will be available April 10, 2017 through our online grant interface. All applications must be submitted through the online granting interface by May 8, 2017 at 4:30pm MST. If a deadline extension is required, Calgary Arts Development must receive a written request before this deadline. The full Deadline Extension Policy is available below.
Assessment Process
An independent, arm’s-length assessment committee made up of artistic peers and/or community members with recent experience assessing arts organizations through Calgary Arts Development programs and/or other investment programs will review applications according to the following criteria:
- Program Accessibility (30%): The degree to which funding through this program contributes to ensuring Calgarians continue to have access to the organization’s programming and services in the short term.
- Impact of Economic Downturn (20%): The degree to which the organization has been negatively affected by the economic downturn, relative to the organization’s annual budget.
- Adaptive Capacity (20%): The degree to which the organization has planned or taken clear steps to mitigate risks due to the economic downturn and has developed effective approaches to achieve success in the future.
- Appropriateness of Request (30%): The degree to which the requested amount properly reflects the challenges and opportunities described in the application.
Applicants that receive overall combined scores of 60% or higher will be included in the final funding pool. If the total requests of those included in the final funding pool exceeds the funds available, recipients will receive a percentage of their funding request, prorated according to the requests of all other applicants in the final funding pool.
Application Checklist
- Organization information and applicant contact information.
- Briefly describe how access to programs/services you offer have been or will be negatively impacted by the economic downturn (300 words max).
- What was the dollar value of the economic downturn impact to your most recent completed fiscal year, if any (numerical response only)?
- What is the projected dollar value of the impact to your current fiscal year (numerical response only)? Note that this number does not have to be equal to the amount of funds you are requesting from this program. If the amounts are not equal, please explain why below (100 words max).
- Indicate the three revenue sources and/or expenses that have or will be most impacted by the economic downturn. You may choose from the following list and provide a short written description for this section (150 words max):
- Admission, subscriptions, ticket sales, etc.
- Touring, exhibition fees, etc.
- Workshop, class, conference, meeting fees, etc.
- Membership fees
- Facility/equipment rentals
- Investment returns
- Individual donations
- Corporate donations
- Fundraising events
- In-kind goods and services
- Public sector grants
- Cash flow
- US dollar exchange rate
- Working capital reserves
- Accumulated surplus
- Other (please specify in description)
- Describe any efforts you’ve made (i.e. strategic planning, policies, initiatives, etc.) in response to the current economic climate. Please be specific about both successes and challenges (200 words max).
- Most recent financial statements. Applicants must include a Statement of Operations and a Balance Sheet, with two years of comparisons. If audited financial statements are unavailable, applicants must include the signatures of two board members not involved in creating the statements (PDF files only, max 4MB).
- Support materials. Provide materials that relate to your application such as revised budgets, letters from sponsors, or any metrics that demonstrate your case for funding. You may include up to two attachments with a maximum size of 4MB each. Please provide short descriptions of each attachment in the fields provided. Acceptable file formats are PDF, JPG, DOC, DOCX, XLS and XLSX.
Notification of Results
Applicants will be notified of the results of their applications in writing in June 2017.
Deadline Extension Policy
Calgary Arts Development intends its granting process to be open, fair and transparent. Calgary Arts Development has a fiduciary responsibility to the citizens of Calgary to ensure the security and value of their investments.
- For clients who intend to submit applications but will miss the deadline, a written request for extension must be received by Calgary Arts Development before the deadline.
- Requests not received in time will result in ineligibility for that granting period. The request must state the reason(s) the application deadline cannot be met. Acceptable reasons may include:
- Personal health or family crisis
- Birth or death of a family member
- Unforeseen organizational priority
- Calgary Arts Development staff will review the request for extension. If in Calgary Arts Development’s sole discretion the reason for the extension is compelling, a deadline extension will be granted. A written notice explaining Calgary Arts Development’s decision will be sent to the applicant. Extensions will only be granted if doing so will not materially affect the planned assessment process.
- Notwithstanding the foregoing, Calgary Arts Development, in its sole discretion, may grant an extension in extenuating circumstances.
Contact Information
Contact erf@calgaryartsdevelopment.com or 403.476.2031 if you have any questions about the program.
Download the guidelines as a PDF
