Accessibility: The quality of being obtainable, usable, reachable, and understandable.

Accommodation: An adjustment, modification, or adaptation in order to make something accessible.

Amateur Artist: An artist who does not intend to pursue a career in the arts, or who is not yet approaching their practice in a professional way, or who has not yet invested in the development of their artistic skills, voice, or goals.

Artist Collective: Two or more individual artists who work together in either an ongoing or ad hoc way, who have a shared artistic practice that is distinct from their own individual artistic practices. Collectives need to define their collective practice, vision, goals, and process in order to demonstrate that collective members have equal and shared ownership and accountability for the vision, success and completion of the proposed project or activities. An artist collective does not include for-profit organizations and businesses or groups that are formally registered as a non-profit society or those which intend to govern themselves like a non-profit society.

Artistic Discipline: The type, form, medium, or intention of an artists work (visual art, dance, music, etc.)

Artistic Practice: The ways that an artist makes, understands, develops, creates, and shares their work.

Arts Administrator: An individual responsible for administrative, operational, infrastructural, financial, human resource or communications management for an arts organization.

Arts Organization: An organization whose primary mandate is the creation, preservation, development, education, or sharing of artistic work. Organizations may be formally registered as non-profit societies or charities, or may operate as a community based arts groups with ongoing programming and demonstrated governance and financial management.

Assessment: The process of reviewing applications to grant programs, usually in order to determine if they will be funded. Calgary Arts Development primarily uses assessment committees made up of artistic peers and community members to determine successful applications.

Community: For the purpose of our programs, we define community as those who view, participate, collaborate, engage, or benefit from your work. These may include audiences, participants, students, artists, or partners, or broader communities aligned around shared identities or goals.

Cultural Worker: For the purposes of our programs, cultural workers typically refer to individuals who make their living in the arts and cultural sector but who do not necessarily have an artistic practice, or who are not necessarily leading the artistic vision of the work being created.

Diversity: Describes the wide range of identities of the people that live in a community, including gender, sexuality, age, class, religion, beliefs, nation, physical, neurological, cognitive, and Mad identities, etc.

Equity: An approach to diversity in which differences among all people in a community are accommodated on an individual basis and historical exclusions and systemic barriers that are unique to diverse peoples are taken into account.

Expenses: The sum of all financial and in-kind resources spent.

Final Report: Submitted after the completion of the work outlined in the grant application. Grantees must submit a final report for each grant they receive to outline how the grant funds were spent, and demonstrate how they completed the work they received funding for. Final reports allow Calgary Arts Development to learn about the successes, challenges, and learnings resulting from the grant investment. This helps us tell the story of the arts in Calgary and develop programs which help us serve our communities better.

Financial Statements: The formal record of financial activities, including a balance sheet and a statement of operations. The balance sheet is a statement of assets and liabilities for a fiscal year, and the statement of operations is a statement of revenues and expenses for a fiscal year.

Governance: The way that an organization makes and implements decisions about how it operates, manages resources, and plans for the future. Many organizations manage their governance through a non-profit board, or through an advisory group with clear accountabilities.

Grant: Investment of public dollars that does not need to be repaid, but which require commitments like final reports in exchange for the money.

Inclusion: A sense of belonging, which allows people to engage with and contribute within a community or environment.

In-Kind: Goods, services, or transactions not involving money or not measured in monetary terms. In-kind revenue or expenses may be captured in financial documents as the relative value of the item.

Interim Report: Submitted at midpoints during a grant investment period. Interim reports allow Calgary Arts Development to learn about the successes, challenges, and learnings resulting from the grant investment, as well as measure the risks of ongoing investments. This helps us tell the story of the arts in Calgary and develop programs which help us serve our communities better.

Professional Individual Artist: An artist who is actively pursuing a career in the arts, who has invested in the development of their artistic skills, voice, and goals, and who primarily creates artistic work on their own. Professional artists may have formal training, have shared their work publicly, have been compensated for their work, and have a relationship with their artistic communities and peers. Artists do not need to be working professionally in the arts full-time.

Project: Has a distinct beginning and end date for all activities, and which has its own distinct goals.

Revenues: The sum of all financial and in-kind resources gained.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I’M ELIGIBLE FOR A GRANT?

Calgary Arts Development offers grant programs for arts organizations, individual artists, and artist collectives in Calgary. Eligibility criteria can vary by program. Please review the program guidelines and glossary to see if you are eligible.

If you are still unsure about eligibility, please contact your program specialist before applying.

I’M NOT BASED IN CALGARY. CAN I APPLY?

If you are an arts organization, individual artist, or artist collective not based in Calgary, you must demonstrate that the majority of your work is accessible to the citizens of Calgary, and that you have a meaningful and ongoing relationship with the city and its artistic communities.

If you are not based in Calgary, please contact your program specialist to discuss your relationship with Calgary before applying.

I AM A NEWCOMER TO CANADA. CAN I APPLY?

You do not need to be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident in order to apply to our programs. We are required to issue a T4A form for income tax purposes for all grants to individuals, so you do need to be able to report income to the CRA. If you do not have a Canadian Social Insurance Number (SIN) you can apply for a Individual Tax Number (ITN). Please contact the CRA for more information about the ITN process. For more information about taxes and your grant, please see below.

DOES CALGARY ARTS DEVELOPMENT HAVE A STANDARD DEFINITION FOR ‘EMERGING ARTIST’, ‘MID CAREER ARTIST’ OR ‘ESTABLISHED ARTIST’?

No! These definitions can be completely different based on artistic discipline, type of practice, and individual experiences. Our programs are open to any artist at any stage of their artistic career. We ask applicants to tell us where they are in their practices, and what their unique and individual opportunities or challenges are.

If you would like to discuss the best way to share about your practice, please contact your program specialist.

WHAT TYPE OF ARTISTIC DISCIPLINES DOES CALGARY ARTS DEVELOPMENT FUND?

We accept applications from professional individual artists, artist collectives, and arts organizations working in all artistic disciplines and their various cultural forms, including but not limited to: circus arts, craft arts, community and social practice, curation, dance, Deaf/deaf arts, digital arts, disability arts, film, Indigenous arts, literature, media arts, multidisciplinary practice, music and sound, performance, theatre, and visual arts.

If you would like to discuss your artistic discipline and where it fits, please contact your program specialist.

CAN I APPLY IF I AM UNDER 18?

Artists under the age of 18 may apply if they can demonstrate the below:

• They have permission from their legal guardian.
• They are working in their artistic discipline in a serious, intentional, and ongoing way.
• They are able to speak about their artistic practice in their own voice.
• They are able to accept and manage the grant funds personally.

Please contact your program specialist before applying to discuss.

HOW MANY GRANTS CAN I RECEIVE PER CALENDAR YEAR? CAN I APPLY MULTIPLE TIMES?

Application eligibility varies by program. Please review the program guidelines in full before beginning your application. General rules are as follows:

• Applicants may not apply to any program if they have an overdue final or interim report for a previous grant (see below FAQ).
• Applicants may submit only one application per program deadline.
  • Individual artists may be involved in more than one application, either as a participant in another artist’s application, or as a member of an artist collective. Artist collectives must apply using their own account in the grant interface. We will not accept more than one application from the same individual profile in the grant interface.
• A project may only be submitted by one applicant per program deadline.
  • E.g.: If a project is being undertaken by a group of artists, or in partnership with another organization, only one application can be submitted for that project. Multiple members of the group cannot submit for the same project to the same program deadline.
• Projects (or distinct phases of a project) may only receive one grant in total from Calgary Arts Development, regardless of calendar year.
• There is no limit to the number of applications you may submit per calendar year, as long as you are eligible for the program, and the project has not already been funded by Calgary Arts Development.
• You may reapply for the same project if a previous application was unsuccessful, regardless of calendar year.

CAN I APPLY FOR A GRANT IF I HAVE A FINAL REPORT TO COMPLETE? 

In order to apply for and receive a grant from Calgary Arts Development, you must be in good standing. This means that you are not in breach of any Investment Agreement you currently hold with Calgary Arts Development, and you have successfully submitted any reporting required for previous grant investments. If you have overdue interim or final reports, you may not apply for any grant program or receive grant payments until you complete your reporting.

If you have an interim or final report assigned to you, or reporting required for a previous grant:

• If your report due date is BEFORE the next grant program deadline, the report must be submitted before you submit your application.
  • E.g.: The next grant program you plan to apply to has a deadline of June 30. You have a final report due for another grant on June 1. In order to apply for the upcoming deadline, the final report must be submitted prior to the application. If you do not submit the final report by the due date, you are not considered to be in good standing.
• If your report due date is AFTER the next grant program deadline, you may apply.
  • E.g.: The next grant program you plan to apply to has a deadline of June 30. You have a final report due for another grant program on August 1. You are considered to be in good standing.

Please note that the Deadline Extension Policy applies to reporting deadlines as well as application deadlines. If you are not able to meet your reporting deadline, please contact grants@calgaryartsdevelopment.com to discuss your circumstances and request an extension. If you have received an extension on your report deadline, you will generally be considered to be in good standing. However, at their discretion, program specialists may request that you complete any outstanding activities related to your previous grants and submit your final reports before submitting any additional applications for funding. 

DO I NEED TO PAY TAXES ON GRANTS I RECEIVE FROM CALGARY ARTS DEVELOPMENT?

If you are an individual (or receiving a grant on behalf of a collective of artists) and you receive more than $500 from Calgary Arts Development in a single calendar year, Calgary Arts Development is required to issue a T4A Form for the full amount you received in that year. According to the Canada Revenue Agency’s guidelines, artist grants are entered in Line 105 of the T4A tax slip.

When filing your taxes, you may deduct all reasonable grant expenses related to the production of your project from the total grant amount. This does not include your own artist fee, which is taxable income. Other expenses, such as subsistence or living expenses related to your primary residence, and expenses which can be reimbursed, cannot be deducted.

In general, you will enter your net income from your project grant on Line 13010 of your tax return. Please note that this may vary depending on if you are self-employed or not. Please refer to the links below for more information.

Calgary Arts Development does not offer tax advice. We recommend that you consult a tax professional or accountant when planning your grant applications and preparing your taxes each year. Calgary Arts Development is not responsible for any taxes owed on grants made.

WHAT IF MY PROJECT OCCURS OVER MULTIPLE YEARS?

According to the Canada Revenue Agency guidelines, you may only deduct expenses which have been incurred in the calendar or  tax year that you received your grant payment in. The T4A tax slip must be issued for the entire grant payment for that calendar year.

If your project occurs over multiple calendar years, and you have grant expenses in both years, you will only be able to deduct the expenses you have incurred so far. The remaining grant amount will be considered income. You may file an adjustment in the following tax year to claim the remaining expenses using form T1-ADJ.

When you are preparing your grant application, and are planning a project which will occur over multiple years, or will not begin until the following tax year, it is important to plan your timeline, budget, and expenses to account for any potential tax implications.

Calgary Arts Development has developed a formal Instalment Policy for artist project grants to help ease some of the potential financial burden of multi-year projects. Please note that not all grant programs and payments are eligible under this policy. Please review the policy in full when you are preparing your grant application.

CAN I INCLUDE MONEY FOR TAXES OWED IN MY BUDGET?

Income tax payments are not an eligible expense. If you are earning income from a Calgary Arts Development grant program, whether as a self-employed artist or not, it is your responsibility to claim that income to the Canada Revenue Agency, and pay any taxes owed. Your grant request also cannot include funds to cover taxes owed on grant income when your project expenses will be incurred over multiple years.

HOW DO I PROVE EXPENSES?

It is your responsibility to document all expenses related to your project in order to claim them against your grant amount. Keep all receipts, invoices, and correspondence for expenses. If you are paying other artists, ensure you have written documentation of the agreed upon amounts, and evidence that the payment was made.

TAX LINKS

Line 13010 – Scholarships, fellowships, bursaries, and artist project grants
Artists’ Project Grants
Income Tax Folio S4-F14-C1, Artists and Writers
(Example 7 outlines the process of calculating your income from the project grant)
How to file a tax adjustment using form T1-ADJ

HOW SHOULD I DECIDE HOW MUCH MONEY TO ASK FOR?

It is up to you to make the best case for funding in your application, so do your research and be realistic in your request. What will it actually cost to do what you are proposing to do? What do you actually need in order to achieve your vision? Start by calculating your expenses, rather than just subtracting from the maximum request amount. If you need assistance, reach out to your program specialist.

It is not necessarily helpful to ask for more than what you need and hope to get less. If your project can be scaled, make sure to explicitly state where you could cut expenses or provide an alternate budget. Assessors won’t be able to guess!

They also cannot recommend an amount higher than what you requested, so we also don’t suggest asking for less than what you need, as that might not show the greatest potential for impact. In most cases, we encourage the assessment committees to recommend full funding requests, unless they see a major concern.

HOW DO I GET HELP ON MY APPLICATION?

Please contact your program specialist at any time to ask questions or request feedback on your application. It is most helpful to ask specific questions or direct the specialist’s attention to a specific part of your application. Program specialists can only provide feedback up to one week before the grant application deadline.

For some programs we are able to offer application assistance, meaning eligible applicants may request assistance to pay someone to help them complete their grant application, accept grant payment or complete a final report. Application assistance is available to applicants facing language, geographic or cultural barriers, applicants who are Deaf, hard of hearing, speak another language, have a disability or are living with a mental illness.

If you have questions about application assistance please contact grants@calgaryartsdevelopment.com.

I DON’T THINK I CAN SUBMIT MY APPLICATION BY THE DEADLINE

We have a Deadline Extension Policy for our programs outlining the circumstances in which we will offer a deadline extension. Deadline extension requests must be received in writing by email before 9:00am MT on the day of the deadline. We will respond in writing and outline your new deadline and terms.

We suggest opening a draft of your application in the online grant interface and reaching out to your program specialist as early as possible to ensure that you are prepared. However, we understand that sometimes things come up. We may consider granting an extension on the day of the deadline if you are able to provide a compelling explanation of why you aren’t able to submit on time.

CAN I FAX, MAIL, OR EMAIL MY APPLICATION?

No. We only accept applications through the online granting interface. If you are applying to an individual artist program please note that you must use a personal account, rather than applying through an organizational account you may also manage.

If you experience a barrier to access or applying through the online granting interface, please contact grants@calgaryartsdevelopment.com or 403.476.2031 to talk about our Accessibility and Accommodation Policy.

I JUST APPLIED FOR A GRANT. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Your program specialist will review all grant applications for eligibility, completeness, and clarity. They may contact you if there is anything missing, or if they need clarity. In some cases, they will send your application back to draft for you to make changes and resubmit. Please ensure that your contact information is correct in your application so that they can reach you if needed!

Once your application is reviewed, it will be moved to assessment. Please review the program guidelines for specifics about the assessment process. In general, it will take between four to ten weeks after the program deadline to receive notification of your results by email.

Please ensure that grants@calgaryartsdevelopment.com has been added to your safe list, and check your spam folder as sometimes it gets filtered.

CAN I CALL TO RECEIVE THE RESULTS OF MY APPLICATION?

No, Calgary Arts Development staff cannot inform you of program results by phone. Formal notifications are sent by email. To find out specifically when your results are expected, please review the program guidelines. Please ensure that your email address is correct in your application.

CAN I GET FEEDBACK ON MY APPLICATION AFTER THE PROGRAM HAS BEEN ASSESSED?

Yes, we do offer post-assessment feedback for some programs. Please check the program guidelines to see if feedback is available after a program has ended and notifications have gone out. If you request feedback, we will send you a summary of the notes taken at assessment meetings that capture the assessors’ perspectives on your application, according to the program criteria. We may also provide staff perspective on your application. If you prefer, we can also provide feedback in person or over the phone.

There are many factors in assessment, including the competitive total number of applicants and total request amounts. These notes are not meant to serve as the direct reason or rationale for any outcomes of the assessment. They aren’t necessarily an indication of how future assessors might review an application. We encourage you to use feedback to reflect on and consider how you are telling your story and making a case for funding.

Please note that compiling feedback takes time. In most cases, we will try to provide a timeline for when feedback will be delivered. We will prioritize offering feedback to applicants who were unsuccessful over applicants who were successful. We will also prioritize offering feedback to applicants who have an upcoming Calgary Arts Development grant deadline.

MY APPLICATION WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL. CAN I APPEAL THIS DECISION?

Calgary Arts Development’s investment programs are very competitive. Assessment committees work to fairly and thoughtfully recommend grant dollars through the criteria, scoring matrix, and facilitated assessment meetings.

In many cases, applications that were not successful would have been funded if there had been enough money in the pool. For this reason, one-time funding programs such as Project Grants do not have an appeals policy. Only programs which distribute dollars through multi-year agreements such as the Operating Grant which may affect an organization’s ongoing operations have an Appeals Policy.

MY APPLICATION WAS SUCCESSFUL! HOW WILL I RECEIVE FUNDING?

You will receive an investment agreement outlining the terms of your grant. Once you have reviewed, signed, and returned your investment agreement to us, we will issue payment using electronic fund transfer (direct deposit). You will be required to provide a void cheque or direct deposit form with your banking information. If you are not able to receive direct deposit, please contact us to arrange for an alternative payment method such as cheque. Please keep in mind, it may take a few weeks to prepare and process your grant payment.

CAN I RECEIVE MY FUNDING IN INSTALLMENTS?

Only individual artists and individuals accepting grants on behalf of an unregistered artist collective may be eligible for the Instalment Policy, which is not applicable to all programs. Organizations are not eligible for installments.

AFTER I RECEIVE FUNDING, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I HAVE TO DO?

All programs have a final reporting process, which we accept through the online granting interface. Please review the program guidelines and investment agreement for your reporting requirements.

All organizations and individuals that receive funding must acknowledge Calgary Arts Development and The City of Calgary on their marketing materials. Calgary Arts Development logos and usage guidelines are available at calgaryartsdevelopment.com/logos. Contact grants@calgaryartsdevelopment.com for The City of Calgary logos.

WHAT IF I AM NOT ABLE TO COMPLETE MY PROJECT OR GRANT ACTIVITIES?

We understand that sometimes things shift in your timeline or circumstances, and your project or activities may not be able to be completed as outlined in your application.

If you are still going to be able to complete part of your project or activities, and some things have just been shifted or adjusted, or it will take longer than expected, we are generally able to extend your reporting deadline to reflect the new timeline.

If the shift or change to your project or activities are so significant that it no longer reflects what was written in your grant application, you may be asked to return a portion of or all of your grant investment. If you are no longer able to complete your project in any form, you will be asked to return your grant investment.

Please contact your program specialist as soon as possible to discuss the changes. We endeavour to be as flexible and understanding as possible, and can only be of assistance if you reach out in advance. If you do not notify us of any changes to your circumstances and do not complete your project or activities and your required reporting accurately and honestly, you will be considered to be not in good standing, and will be unable to apply for future programs until the situation is resolved, which may include returning grant funds or resubmitting reporting.

IF YOU OR YOUR ORGANIZATION HAVE APPLIED BEFORE

Please log in with your previous email and password. Do not create a new account, as it will not give you access to your previous grant applications. If you forget your password, you can reset it from the main log in page. If you forgot which email address you used, contact us.

If you are new to your organization or taking over from a previous account holder, contact us before creating a new account. We will assign you to your organization and make sure that you have access to the previous applications.

Any changes to the organizational contact information or to the primary contact will need to be made by our staff. For help, contact us at grants@calgaryartsdevelopment.com or 403.476.2031

IF YOU OR YOUR ORGANIZATION HAVE NOT APPLIED BEFORE

You can create a new account from the main log in page. You will be asked to create an ‘organization’ profile. If you are an individual artist, your organization can simply be your last name.

HOW DO I START AN APPLICATION?

Log in to the online granting interface. Click “Apply” on the top menu and then click on the program you’re applying for. Be sure to click on the paragraph heading and not the URL at the bottom, which will direct you back to the grant information page.

Unless specifically directed in the program guidelines or by your program specialist, you don’t need to enter an access code to open an application.

WHEN I LOG ON, IT DOESN’T WORK—WHAT’S WRONG?

First, be sure that you’ve logged in to the granting interface. Our online granting interface works best with Google Chrome or Firefox as your browser, and is less compatible with Safari and Internet Explorer. Make sure you are using a compatible browser and that you have its most recent updates installed.

If you still experience problems, try clearing all of your browser data (cookies and cache especially). If that doesn’t solve the problem, please contact us at grants@calgaryartsdevelopment.com or 403.476.2031.

HOW DO I FIND MY OLD GRANT APPLICATIONS?

You can view all of your grant applications from 2009 on by logging into the online granting interface. If you can’t see them, let us know.

If you are looking for applications from before 2009, please contact us at grants@calgaryartsdevelopment.com or 403.476.2031.

CAN I SAVE A GRANT APPLICATION AND WORK ON IT LATER?

Yes. There is a “Save” button at the bottom of each application page. Please save your work frequently. Many people prefer to work in a word processor outside of the interface and then copy it in all at once.

I’M GETTING AN ERROR MESSAGE WHEN I TRY TO SAVE OR SUBMIT MY APPLICATION

The easiest thing to do is to log out and back in again. In many cases, it is because the attachment has not properly uploaded to the server.

Please note that if you haven’t saved recently, you may lose your work if you do log out, so it is a good idea to keep a copy in word document.

If you still receive an error message, please contact us at grants@calgaryartsdevelopment.com for further troubleshooting.

WHAT IF MY SUPPORT MATERIAL WILL NOT UPLOAD TO THE GRANT INTERFACE?

Check to see if your document is too large or if it is the wrong file type. We are unable to accept video or audio files through the interface.

Contact us at grants@calgaryartsdevelopment.com for further troubleshooting.

HOW CAN I SUBMIT VIDEO OR AUDIO FILES?

We suggest uploading your file to sites like YouTube, Vimeo, Soundcloud or Bandcamp and then providing the link. If you would prefer to keep your file private, you can upload privately and then provide the password if required.

We do not accept files linked from Google Drive, as it can be challenging for us to ensure the assessment committee’s anonymity. If you prefer, we will accept Dropbox links.

Please contact the team at grants@calgaryartsdevelopment.com with questions.

HOW WILL I KNOW YOU RECEIVED MY APPLICATION?

Once you click the submit button, the grant interface will state that your application has been submitted. Your granting interface dashboard should then list your application as submitted, not as a draft. You will also receive an automated email from the online grant interface.

Please note that your program specialist may return your application to draft to make changes. You will be notified of this by email and given a deadline to re-submit. If your application is returned to draft, you must click the submit button again once you have made your changes.

HOW CAN I VOLUNTEER TO SIT ON AN ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE?

Calgary Arts Development takes public nominations for its assessment committees throughout the year. If you are interested in nominating yourself or someone else, please complete the assessor nomination form.

HOW CAN I FIND OUT WHO HAS PARTICIPATED ON AN ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE IN THE PAST?

We publish a list of individuals who served on a peer assessment committee each year as part of our Accountability Report.

WHY ARE YOUR PROGRAMS PEER ASSESSED?

Peer assessment committees ensure that Calgary Arts Development is fairly and responsibly distributing public dollars to artists and organizations on behalf of the citizens of Calgary. Our peer assessment committees bring their experience, knowledge, skill sets, and perspectives through assessment meetings to identify the best opportunities for the arts sector. They help our staff deepen their understanding and view of the sector.