Project Grant Program — Organizations 2026

We will work one-on-one with assessors who experience barriers to access to develop accommodations that suit their unique abilities and situations. Some examples of accommodations are:

• Language interpretation during meetings.
• Translation of written materials.
• Transcription of verbal meetings or audio and video recordings into a written document.
• Access to a loaner laptop from Calgary Arts Development during assessment.
• Support for other expenses that are necessary to attend any required meetings (like childcare coverage, or parking costs for any in-person meetings if applicable).

Our team is available to answer questions and offer support during the assessment process. Please contact the program specialist as early as you can to ensure they can provide the best support possible.

The primary contacts for this program are Community Investment Program Specialists Perpetual Atife at perpetual.atife@calgaryartsdevelopment.com or 403.264.5330 ext.229 and Areum Kim at areum.kim@calgaryartsdevelopment.com or 403.264.5330 ext.122.

Membership of the peer assessment committees will be chosen through public nominations and staff expertise.

Anyone can ask to participate on a Calgary Arts Development assessment committee by completing the assessor nomination form or by emailing grants@calgaryartsdevelopment.com.

Assessment committees are chosen to represent the broad diversity of Calgary and its artistic communities, including artistic discipline, gender, sexuality, age, religion, beliefs, nation, physical and neurological identities and more.

• Committee Size: The volume of applications received will determine the number and size of committees required to assess the program.
• Committee Membership: Individual artists and arts workers with experience and knowledge from a variety of artistic disciplines and practices, who actively participate in, experience and advocate for the work of the arts community.

Qualifications

• Relevant skills, experience and knowledge that will accommodate the range of applicants to be juried.
• A generous spirit, strong listening skills and a willingness and ability to embrace change, complexity and different viewpoints.
• An openness to productively and respectfully check in with bias.
• An understanding and awareness of Calgary and region and an insight into our social and cultural climate.
• Respect of peers in the community.
• The ability to function well within a committee structure.

Assessors are responsible for participating in training sessions, the full application review process and any scheduled assessment meetings with the rest of their committee members.

Participation in each part of the assessment process is mandatory to ensure all perspectives are present throughout the process and applied fairly to each application assigned.

TIME COMMITMENT:

April 20 – 24, 2026: Attend assessor training.

• Participate in a one-day training and orientation session (3 hours), hosted by Calgary Arts Development, in preparation for the review process. This will be hosted online.

May 12 – June 26, 2026: Review, meet and discuss applications.

• Individually review the contents of each application assigned online.
  • Submit initial scores in the online grant platform, according to the program considerations outlined in the Program Guidelines.

• Attend up to two (2) assessment meetings to discuss applications as a committee.
  • Meeting schedule to be determined based on assessor availability and application volume.
  • Meetings will not exceed six (6) hours, including regularly scheduled breaks.
  • Assessment meetings will take place exclusively online using an online meeting platform.
  • Throughout the meetings assessors may update their initial scores.

• Finalizing Scores & Decisions:
  • Assessors will confirm their final scores, resulting in a list of applications recommended for funding, sorted by total average score. 
  • Calgary Arts Development staff will review the final list and confirm grant amounts. Partial funding may be allocated.
  • In the final 10 per cent of funding, if there are applications that are tied, but insufficient funds in the grant budget to support all tied applications, priority may be given based on the following considerations:
    • Projects from organizations who have not received a Calgary Arts Development grant before, or within the past two (2) years.
    • Projects that help to ensure representation across all artistic disciplines within the overall grant program.

July 2026 – December 2027: Experience Arts Events.

As an assessor, you may request up to two tickets to a maximum of three public events or programs that Calgary Arts Development has directly funded. This is to give you a chance to experience the arts within the local community. Beyond participating in the assessment process, we hope that you will advocate for the arts in Calgary and encourage your respective communities to participate in Calgary’s vibrant arts sector.

Calgary Arts Development will provide an honorarium to assessors as a gift to recognize their time. Since gifts and honoraria are considered taxable under Canada Revenue Agency, we are required to issue a T4A tax form to assessors for the full amount of their honorarium for the year in which the payment was received (for any honorarium amount over $500).

Honorarium rates for this program are as follows:

• Training and Orientation session (2-3 hours): $391 (based on CARFAC flat rate per half day, under 4 hours)
  • Note: this fee is inclusive of a mid-way check in conversation with program staff (up to 30 minutes).
• Assessment Meetings (4-6 hours): $689 per meeting (based on CARFAC flat rate per day over 4 hours)
  • Note: this fee is inclusive of reading and prep time for up to 40 applications total.
  • If a committee receives over 40 applications for review (up to 60 applications maximum), an additional $200 flat fee will be added to the total honorarium to account for the increased reading and prep time.

The honorarium will be provided to assessors after the reviewing process is completed.

Confidentiality

All deliberations of the assessment committee and all records, material and information obtained by a member and not generally available to the public shall be considered confidential.

Adhering to the Confidentiality Policy, assessors shall maintain the confidentiality of their deliberations and shall safeguard such records and information from improper access.

Conflicts of Interest

Assessors are required to declare conflicts of interest according to the Conflict of Interest Policy. Calgary Arts Development thinks of conflicts of interest as close family members, people who are involved in the activity being applied for or where there is a real or perceived financial benefit. If in doubt, assessors are encouraged to talk with our staff. If a committee member has applied to the program or declared a conflict of interest, they will not assess those specific applications or be present for any discussions of those applications.

Lines of Accountability

Assessors will report to Calgary Arts Development program staff.

Calgary Arts Development reserves the right to remove individuals from the process or assessment committee if they do not adhere to the terms of reference, program guidelines, group agreements, conflict of interest policy, or confidentiality policy, or if their conduct is otherwise counter to the stated values and expectations of this program.

Program Guidelines
Group Agreements
Conflict of Interest Policy
Confidentiality Policy
Assessor Nomination Form