Creative Communities Multi-Year Operating What does this program support? The Creative Communities Program provides Multi-Year Operating support to professional non-profit Toronto arts organizations engaged on an ongoing basis in work that enables public participation in arts and culture. Funding through this program supports both operations and programming. The City of Toronto supports this program through a funding allocation approved annually by Toronto City Council. Art practiced at a community level creates a powerful sense of inclusion, understanding, and the possibility of self-expression among participants. It can involve one or more art practices, such as music, dance, theatre, visual arts, and storytelling. The collaborative involvement of professional artists with community members is a necessary component. Grants awarded may be less than the full amount requested. These grants contribute to the artistic and administrative costs associated with an organization’s ongoing theatre activities. TAC does not provide funding for capital projects (e.g. equipment, renovations, purchase of buildings), fundraising events/projects or deficit reduction. Who can apply? ONLY organizations/collectives that have been already receiving a Multi-Year operating grant and are in the second or third year of their multi-year cycle may apply to this program. The first year of the multi-year cycle for Creative Communities Operating program is 2024. First time applicants may only apply to the Annual Operating program in the first year of a multi-year cycle. Additional information Application Accessibility Support Applicants who are Deaf or have a disability and need support to complete their grant applications can apply for funds to cover the costs of assistance from Application Support Service Providers. Up to $500 is available per eligible applicant in each calendar year. Please contact your Grant Program Manager at least six weeks before the grant program deadline to determine eligibility, request application support funding, and to review the process for payment to be made to your Service Provider. Requests for application support require approval from the Grant Program Manager. Can I apply to other TAC grants? Toronto Arts Council has two Grant Categories:1. Discipline (e.g.: discipline-specific project grants and operating grants in Theatre, Dance, Music, etc.)2. Strategic (e.g.: Animating Toronto Parks, Artists in the Library, Animating Historic Sites, Artreach, Open Door, etc.) Creative Communities Multi-Year Operating is a Discipline program. Applicants may receive a maximum of one Discipline grant per calendar year. Applicants may not apply for more than one Discipline grant at a time. However, we offer other types of granting opportunities through our Strategic Category, and you may be eligible to apply to one of these programs. Please note: if you apply for a Creative Communities Multi-Year Operating grant you cannot also apply to another TAC program for the same project. For more detail on our granting categories, go to our About Our Grants page. about our grants
Creative Communities Annual Operating What does this program support? The Creative Communities Program provides Annual Operating support to non-profit Toronto arts organizations (both incorporated and unincorporated) engaged on an ongoing basis in work that enables public participation in arts and culture. Funding through this program supports both operations and programming. The City of Toronto supports this program through a funding allocation approved annually by Toronto City Council. Art practiced at a community level creates a powerful sense of inclusion, understanding, and the possibility of self-expression among participants. It can involve one or more art practices, such as music, dance, theatre, visual arts, and storytelling. The collaborative involvement of professional artists with community members is a necessary component. TAC contributes to the development of community arts in Toronto by supporting community-engaged arts activity that demonstrates vision and excellence. In addition to funding professional arts organizations and community groups engaged in community arts activities, TAC recognizes the vital contribution emerging arts organizations make to the cultural life of Toronto and provides funding opportunities to assist these groups to access professional artistic leadership. Who can apply? To be eligible for this funding, an applicant must:1 be non-profit; have professional artistic leadership and pay appropriate professional fees to artists; be located in the City of Toronto and have a significant portion of its activities occurring within the City; have a history of sustained creative communities activity over the two years prior to this application; have received a minimum of two project grants through TAC’s Arts Discipline or Strategic programs; have a viable administrative structure; have sound financial management; submit verification of financial results of the last completed fiscal year: for requests over $50,000, audited financial statements are required; for requests of $50,000 or less, if annual operating revenues are $100,000 or more, a review engagement is required, (or, if available, audited financial statements); for requests of $25,000 or less, if annual operating revenues are under $100,000, unaudited financial statements that include a balance sheet and a statement of income and expenses is required, (or, if available, audited financial statements or a review engagement); demonstrate a range of revenue sources on an annual basis, including earned, government and private sector revenues; be governed by a Board of Directors or other body responsible for the organization. Schools, tuition-funded training programs and curriculum-based programs are not eligible to apply to this program. Organizations must conduct their creative communities activities on an annual, ongoing basis either throughout the year or on a seasonal basis. A single project does not constitute annual or seasonal activity. Organizations, whose level of activity varies from season to season, in keeping with their mandate, must describe their multi-year creation and production cycle. Annual and biennial festivals that have completed a minimum of two editions are also eligible. First-Time applicants First-time applicants are organizations that did not receive an operating grant last year. First-time applicants must consult with the Creative Communities Program Manager before submitting an operating grant application. Additional eligibility requirement. First-time applicants must have at least $75,000 in total revenues for the last completed year, and in projected revenues for the current and request years. First-time applicants to the Annual Operating program may only apply in the first year of a multi-year cycle. What activities does this program fund? Community Engaged Arts: This program funds professional arts organizations that bring artists and communities together to do creative and participatory work. The engagement can be through programs such as: storefront and neighbourhood-based arts centres artist residencies collaborative creation and presentation/exhibition of artwork workshops and mentoring exploration of community issues through art sustaining of traditional, culturally-based art forms The organizations must include Toronto-based professional artists in its programs. Please note that, although teaching and learning (from group workshops to one-on-one mentoring) can be an important part of the community arts process, this program does not fund faculty salaries.Arts Service Organizations: This program funds professional arts organization that supports the work of professional artists working at a community level. This can include: organizations that provide booking/promotional services to professional artists working in schools, parks, libraries and community centres multidisciplinary arts organizations that serve and support artist-members organizations whose primary purpose is to support the professional practice of community arts Additional information TAC Accessibility Grant Projects involving Deaf artists and artists with disabilities may apply for an additional TAC grant by completing the Accessibility Expenses section of the application and including the requisite information in their budget. A TAC Accessibility grant will provide up to a maximum of $5,000 towards accessibility costs for artists incurred during the project. Accessibility costs include but are not limited to: ASL interpretation, audio description, closed captioning, communications assistants, attendant care (including helpers for Elders), support workers and equipment rentals or other supports required to meet artists’ accessibility needs). Application Accessibility Support Applicants who are Deaf or have a disability and need support to complete their grant applications can apply for funds to cover the costs of assistance from Application Support Service Providers. Up to $500 is available per eligible applicant in each calendar year. Please contact your Grant Program Manager at least six weeks before the grant program deadline to determine eligibility, request application support funding, and to review the process for payment to be made to your Service Provider. Requests for application support require approval from the Grant Program Manager. Additional information here. Can I apply to other TAC grants? Toronto Arts Council has two Grant Categories:1. Discipline (e.g.: discipline-specific project grants and operating grants in Theatre, Dance, Music, etc.)2. Strategic (e.g.: Animating Toronto Parks, Artists in the Library, Animating Historic Sites, Artreach, Open Door, etc.) Creative Communities Annual Operating is a Discipline program. Applicants may receive a maximum of one Discipline grant per calendar year. Applicants may not apply for more than one Discipline grant at a time. However, we offer other types of granting opportunities through our Strategic Category, and you may be eligible to apply to one of these programs. Please note: if you apply for a Creative Communities Annual Operating grant you cannot also apply to another TAC program for the same project. For more detail on our granting categories, go to our About Our Grants page. about our grants
Creative Communities Projects What does this program support? The Creative Communities Projects program provides funding to Toronto based professional artists, artist collectives and non-profit organizations to pursue one-time or time-limited arts projects that enable public participation and engagement in arts and culture. The City of Toronto supports this program through a funding allocation approved annually by Toronto City Council. Creative Communities projects create a powerful sense of inclusion, understanding and the possibility of self-expression among participants. Projects can involve one or more art practices, such as music, dance, theatre, visual arts, and storytelling, but the collaborative involvement of professional artists with community members is required. Eligible projects must: highlight co-creative processes between artists and communities offer skill building experiences that can lead to presentation or exhibition opportunities for participants increase access to arts activity for the broader community The maximum grant available in this program is $15,000. Applicants may receive less than the full amount requested. TAC will fund 100% of the project budget up to $8,000. For requests to TAC over $8,000: the budget must show revenue from other sources. the TAC contribution may not exceed 50% of the project budget. in-kind contributions may not exceed 25% of the project budget. Grants contribute to the costs associated with the proposed project, including artistic fees, production and technical costs, marketing and publicity costs, administrative costs, etc. Please note that artists’ fees are the highest priority; this program requires the payment of artists’ fees. Applicants may apply in one of two categories: Arts Engagement: Projects in this category engage the community through their art form, work with community members to encourage maximum participation in the arts practice and the art making, and recognize that the process of collaboration is as important as resulting artistic products. *Key Consideration – How does your project encourage maximum participation of your target community? Examples: Arts programs in neighbourhoods and communities that help overcome barriers to participation in the arts. Examples of possible barriers are age, physical ability, health status, geography, or economic and socio-cultural barriers. Artists’ collectives partnering with a community organization to undertake a project or residency. Applications relying on host-artist partnerships may include a Letter of Agreement between the host organization and the artist. Arts Community Development: Projects in this category develop artistic communities through the development of art practices, art forms and/or emerging artistic voices. Eligible applications must define their artistic community and terms of engagement with one or more art forms. *Key Consideration – How does your project preserve or develop an artistic community? Examples: An artist who practices an ethnically specific, culturally diverse, or traditional art form works to increase their artistic skills, knowledge, range of creative expression and build a community of practice, with the aim to engage a broader community upon completion of the project. An artists’ collective that is part of a specific cultural community seeking to work with artists who have experience working with that community to create and present work in one or more artistic disciplines, with the aim to develop emerging or under-represented artistic voices of community members and/or address issues relevant to their community. An arts organization or collective may hold an arts festival or event that celebrates a specific community. However, simply identifying as a community-based event does not of itself make the project eligible. The event must include participatory arts activities in which members of the community are engaged by Toronto-based professional artists. This Program Does Not Fund Projects that have been completed prior to the announcement of results. Toronto Arts Council does not fund retroactively. Funding cannot be used to support an organization’s ongoing staff or faculty salaries. Where a portion of permanent staff or administrative resources are dedicated to the project, you may estimate the value of these resources and include a detailed breakdown in the budget as in-kind revenue. This program does not support schools, tuition-funded training programs, curriculum-based programs, or research projects. Projects with a school as the venue cannot take place during school hours. Organizations or collectives that receive Operating funding from TAC Educational and religious institutions, unless there is a clear separation at both the program and budget level between their regular activities (i.e. religious/congregation activities or educational/student body activities) and their arts activities; Schools that are part of Ontario’s public or private education system; Costs related to equipment purchase, capital projects (e.g. building purchases, renovations, etc.), film/video production, archiving, publishing, awards and award ceremonies, art therapy, fundraising events/projects and deficit reduction are not covered by these grants. Costs related to activities occurring outside of the City of Toronto are also not covered (e.g. touring, travel, etc.). Arts-based research initiatives or arts enrichment programs for students. When can the project happen? Project applications submitted to the February deadline must be for projects commencing after June 1. Project applications submitted to the August deadline must be for projects commencing after November 1. Projects must be completed within two years of the date of your Notification Letter. Who can apply? The project for which the funding is requested must take place in the City of Toronto. If you are a first-time applicant to the Creative Communities Projects program or if you have any questions about your project’s eligibility, please contact Senior Manager, Arts Discipline Programs. To be eligible for this funding, applicants must be:1 Professional artists. A professional artist is someone who has developed their skills through training and/or practice; is recognized as such by artists working in the same artistic tradition; actively practices her/his/their art; seeks payment for her/his/their work; and has a history of public presentation. Artist Collectives. A collective is defined as two or more artists working together under a group name, either on a single project or on an ongoing basis. For collectives of two artists, both must be City of Toronto residents. For collectives of more than two artists, the majority of members must be City of Toronto residents. Incorporated non-profit organizations An applicant cannot apply as an individual and be part of an organization or collective applying in the same competition. Applicants must be located in the City of Toronto. A Post Office Box address cannot be used to meet this requirement. Organizations with a regional Toronto office must have operated in the City of Toronto for at least one year prior to the deadline. Additional Information How do I apply? Applicants register and submit the application through TAC Grants Online. Applications must be submitted no later than 11:59 pm on the deadline dates. TAC does not accept applications by any other means of delivery. You will receive a confirmation email when your application is submitted. Check your spam/junk mail folder if it doesn’t arrive in your in-box. TAC Accessibility Grant Projects involving Deaf artists and artists with disabilities may apply for an additional TAC Accessibility Grant that will provide up to a maximum of $5,000 towards accessibility costs for artists incurred during the project. Accessibility costs include but are not limited to: ASL interpretation, audio description, closed captioning, communications assistants, attendant care (including helpers for Elders), support workers and equipment rentals or other supports required to meet artists’ accessibility needs. Starting in 2026, the TAC Accessibility Grant will allow grant recipients to apply for an Accessibility Grant at any time during their project. The Accessibility Grant will be available to grant recipients as a separate application in 2026. Application Accessibility Support Applicants who are Deaf or have a disability and need support to complete their grant applications can apply for funds to cover the costs of assistance from Application Support Service Providers. Up to $500 is available per eligible applicant in each calendar year. Please contact your Grant Program Manager at least six weeks before the grant program deadline to determine eligibility, request application support funding, and to review the process for payment to be made to your Service Provider. Requests for application support require approval from the Grant Program Manager. Additional information here. Can I apply to other TAC grants? Toronto Arts Council has two Grant Categories:1. Discipline (e.g.: discipline-specific project grants and operating grants in Theatre, Dance, Music, etc.)2. Strategic (e.g.: Animating Toronto Parks, Artists in the Library, Animating Historic Sites, Artreach, Open Door, etc.) Creative Communities Projects is a Discipline program. Applicants may receive a maximum of one Discipline grant per calendar year. Applicants may not apply for more than one Discipline grant at a time. However, we offer other types of granting opportunities through our Strategic Category, and you may be eligible to apply to one of these programs. Please note: if you apply for a Creative Communities Projects grant you cannot also apply to another TAC program for the same project. For more detail on our granting categories, go to our About Our Grants page. about our grants
Black Arts Projects What does this program support? The Black Arts Projects Program supports arts projects by Black artists, Black artist collectives (consisting of two or more Black artists), and Black-led, Black-focused and Black-serving non-profit organizations.2 For the purpose of this program, “Black” refers to African descendant people across the diaspora including but not limited to African Canadian, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latinx, East African, West African, Southern and Central African, Afro-Arab, Afro Indigenous, etc. This funding program is intended to support the development, continuation, and flourishing of Black arts communities. TAC recognizes the need to respond to barriers that Black arts communities face due to anti-Black racism. The program is designed to increase access to, awareness of, and participation in Toronto Arts Council funding by Black artists, while amplifying the work of Black artists in the city and creating avenues for sustainable art practice. This program is multidisciplinary and recognizes a diversity of art practice, including new and emerging art forms, culturally relevant art practices, and multi/ interdisciplinary arts projects. Applicants can apply for projects that engage one or multiple arts disciplines. Applicants may apply in one of two categories described below: 1. Creation & Development: Supports full creation, partial creation, or completion of work-in-progress of an arts-based project at any stage and in any arts discipline. Project activities may include artistic creation in one or more stages of a project, including an arts education project (i.e., workshop(s)). This may also include OR solely focus on the beginning stage of research and development. The research and development stage may include testing an idea, developing processes, building scope, building collaborative relationships, gathering and organizing information, accessing, archiving or documenting knowledge. Applicants must clearly state in what stage is their project and for what part(s) of the project they are seeking funding. Open to individual artists and artist collectives Maximum grant in this category is $10,000 Maximum grant in this category including a mentorship component is $15,000 Expenses can include: Artistic, production and administrative fees and costs, including venue, publicity, marketing and outreach; Fees paid to collaborators, mentors and creative resources; Studio costs, materials and production elements that are essential to creation; Rental of space or software to conduct research interviews; accessing support materials, i.e., archives; Visiting sites of significance. 2. Presentation: supports exhibition, presentation, and dissemination of work by Black artists in any arts discipline Open to individual artists, artist collectives and arts organizations (this component does not fund creation of works meant for presentation); Activities may include a series or one-off exhibition, festival, or presentation in one or more arts disciplines and/ dissemination of existing work; This component does not fund workshops and conferences; Maximum grant in this category is $15,000; Maximum grant in this category including a mentorship component is $20,000; Expenses can include: Artistic, presentation, exhibition and administrative fees and costs, including installation, rehearsal, venue, and production; Dissemination costs including publicity, marketing and outreach; Fees paid to collaborators and mentors. TAC may fund up to 100% of the requested amount. If the requested amount is below the total project budget, applicants must indicate other revenue sources, which may include donated goods and services. Additional resources for project grant recipients include: i. Mentorship – mentorship for project grant recipients interested in connecting with artists that can support them in building or acquiring skill sets to develop their art practice. A mentorship option will be available in each project grant category and applicants will be asked to indicate which mentor(s) they would like to work with and provide rationale for the mentorship. An additional budget of up to $5,000 is available as compensation for mentors and mentees. Grant recipients will also receive information about additional supports such as Arts Career Development workshops and Black Futures Studios Co-Creation Lab as they become available: ii. Arts Career Development – drop-in workshops focused on growing and establishing art practice. Project grant recipients may request and select sessions that are of benefit to them. All additional resources are optional. Arts career development workshops and Black Futures Studios co-creation lab may be accessed as needed. The mentorship component must be selected within the application. Please contact the Program Manager for more information about these supports. When can the project happen? The Project Start Date must be a minimum of 4 months after the submission date All projects must be completed within two years of the date on the Notification Letter Who can apply? If you have any questions about your eligibility or the eligibility of your project, please contact the Program Manager. To be eligible for this funding, an applicant must:3 Identify as a Black professional artist4 or artist collective, or be an incorporated not-for-profit arts organization that is Black-led, Black-focused, and Black-serving, including a majority of Black members on its Board of Directors and Board Executive. The payment of artists’ fees is a requirement of all categories in this program. You may not apply as an individual and an organization or collective for the same project at the same time. If you are one of the members of an applicant collective, you may also apply as an individual for an unrelated project in the same competition year. The project for which the funding is requested must take place in the City of Toronto Individuals must have been a resident of the City of Toronto for at least one year prior to the deadline, and live and work in Toronto for at least 8 months a year Applicants may receive only one grant per calendar year through the Black Arts Project program, and may not also have a pending application to the Black Arts Operating program. However, applicants may still apply for different projects to arts discipline programs as well as other strategic initiatives programs that TAC offers. In this case, the applicant may receive up to one project grant in each funding stream and three project grants [3] total per calendar year. Organizations and collectives must be incorporated non-profit organizations or unincorporated collectives which operate on a non-profit basis. A collective is defined as two or more artists working together under a group name, either on a single project (ad hoc) or on an ongoing basis. For collectives of two artists, both must be City of Toronto residents and Black. For collectives of more than two artists, the majority of members must be City of Toronto residents and Black. This Program does not fund: Projects that have been completed prior to the announcement of results. Toronto Arts Council does not fund retroactively. Non-Black artists, organizations and collectives; Organizations and collectives that receive Operating funding from TAC; Undergraduate students. Schools that are part of Ontario’s public or private education system; Educational and religious institutions, unless there is a clear separation in both programming and budget between their regular activities and their arts activities; This program is not intended to support ongoing operating costs, such as permanent staff salaries, general administration and ongoing activities of an organization or collective. Costs related to equipment purchase, capital projects , fundraising activities, deficit reduction, publishing and archiving projects, awards and award ceremonies, projects conceived for competitive purposes, art therapy; Activities taking place outside of the City of Toronto. Black Arts Program Development Over the past year, TAC has been consulting with Black arts communities across Toronto to support the development of a community-driven funding program to support Black artists and Black arts organizations in Toronto. Over 300 Toronto-based artists and arts workers joined the conversation. Here is what came out of those conversations, which informed the development of this program: Black Arts Funding for a Black Arts Future: Recommendations for Toronto Arts CouncilOpen PDF Community Co-design Following the report ‘Black Arts Funding for a Black Arts Future’, TAC implemented recommendations from Black arts communities through a community co-design process, and increased the overall budget for the first year from $300,000 to $500,000. During the co-design process Black artists and arts workers shared their feedback about the program design, program guidelines, and application process. While the first consultation focused on community needs, this process focused on how the program would best address those needs through the program design. We will be releasing a follow-up report soon outlining how community recommendations were implemented into the program through the co-design process. We want to thank all the Black artists and arts workers across the city who participated in the consultation and co-design process for their contributions to the development of this program. Additional Information How do I apply? Applicants register and submit the application on TAC Grants Online. Applications can be submitted on an ongoing basis, any time before 11:59 pm on the date specified in the Program Guidelines. TAC does not accept applications by any other means of delivery. You will receive a confirmation email when your application is submitted. Check your spam/junk mail folder if it doesn’t arrive in your in-box. After 11:59 pm, your application can still be accessed in your Application History page in TAC Grants Online. To work on a new application after the date specified in the Program Guidelines, you can start a new draft from the Apply page after the program re-opens for the following granting year. Please download the full Program Guidelines for complete program details and application specifics. TAC Accessibility Grant Projects involving Deaf artists and artists with disabilities may apply for an additional TAC Accessibility Grant that will provide up to a maximum of $5,000 towards accessibility costs for artists incurred during the project. Accessibility costs include but are not limited to: ASL interpretation, audio description, closed captioning, communications assistants, attendant care (including helpers for Elders), support workers and equipment rentals or other supports required to meet artists’ accessibility needs. Starting in 2026, the TAC Accessibility Grant will allow grant recipients to apply for an Accessibility Grant at any time during their project. The Accessibility Grant will be available to grant recipients as a separate application in 2026. Application Accessibility Support Applicants who are Deaf or have a disability and need support to complete their grant applications can apply for funds to cover the costs of assistance from Application Support Service Providers. Up to $500 is available per eligible applicant in each calendar year. Please contact your Grant Program Manager at least six weeks before the grant program deadline to determine eligibility, request application support funding, and to review the process for payment to be made to your Service Provider. Requests for application support require approval from the Grant Program Manager. Additional information here. What is a rolling deadline? We created rolling deadlines to offer flexibility to grant applicants. A rolling deadline means that applications are accepted on an ongoing basis with notification of results released approximately 3 to 4 months after the submission date. Program Guidelines include a specific date when applications for that year must be submitted. To work on a new application after the date specified in the Program Guidelines, you can start a new draft from the Apply page after the program re-opens for the following granting year. Can I apply to other TAC grants? Toronto Arts Council has two Grant Categories:1. Discipline (e.g.: discipline-specific project grants and operating grants in Theatre, Dance, Music, etc.)2. Strategic (e.g.: Animating Toronto Parks, Artists in the Library, Animating Historic Sites, Artreach, Open Door, etc.) Black Arts Projects is a Discipline program. Applicants may receive a maximum of one Discipline grant per calendar year. Applicants may not apply for more than one Discipline grant at a time. However, we offer other types of granting opportunities through our Strategic Category, and you may be eligible to apply to one of these programs. Please note: if you apply for a xxx grant you cannot also apply to another TAC program for the same project. For more detail on our granting categories, go to our About Our Grants page. about our grants
Dance Multi-Year Operating What does this program support? The Dance Program provides Multi-Year Operating support to professional non-profit dance organizations engaged in the creation, production, presentation and preservation of dance, and other activities that contribute to the development of dance, dance artists, and dance audiences in Toronto. The program aims to encourage long-term vision and planning and to provide stability for dance organizations. Funding through this program supports both operations and programming. The City of Toronto supports this program through a funding allocation approved annually by Toronto City Council. Grants awarded may be less than the full amount requested. These grants contribute to the artistic and administrative costs associated with an organization’s ongoing Dance activities. TAC does not provide funding for capital projects (e.g. equipment, renovations, purchase of buildings), fundraising events/projects or deficit reduction. Who can apply? ONLY organizations/collectives that have been already receiving a Multi-Year operating grant and are in the second or third year of their multi-year cycle may apply to this program. The first year of the multi-year cycle for Dance Operating program is 2025. First-time applicants may only apply to the Annual Operating program in the first year of a multi-year cycle. Additional information Application Accessibility Support Applicants who are Deaf or have a disability and need support to complete their grant applications can apply for funds to cover the costs of assistance from Application Support Service Providers. Up to $500 is available per eligible applicant in each calendar year. Please contact your Grant Program Manager at least six weeks before the grant program deadline to determine eligibility, request application support funding, and to review the process for payment to be made to your Service Provider. Requests for application support require approval from the Grant Program Manager. Additional information here. Can I apply to other TAC grants? Toronto Arts Council has two Grant Categories:1. Discipline (e.g.: discipline-specific project grants and operating grants in Theatre, Dance, Music, etc.)2. Strategic (e.g.: Animating Toronto Parks, Artists in the Library, Animating Historic Sites, Artreach, Open Door, etc.) Dance Multi-Year Operating is a Discipline program. Applicants may receive a maximum of one Discipline grant per calendar year. Applicants may not apply for more than one Discipline grant at a time. However, we offer other types of granting opportunities through our Strategic Category, and you may be eligible to apply to one of these programs. Please note: if you apply for a Dance Multi-Year Operating grant you cannot also apply to another TAC program for the same project. For more detail on our granting categories, go to our About Our Grants page.
Dance Projects What does this program support? The Dance Projects program provides funding to professional dance artists, organizations and collectives for the creation, production and presentation of dance works, and other projects that support the development of professional dance in Toronto. The program recognizes a diversity of dance practices. The City of Toronto supports this program through a funding allocation approved annually by Toronto City Council. You may apply in one of four categories described below. Grants awarded may be less than the full amount requested. In all categories except Creation, TAC will not fund 100% of a project: applicants must indicate a range of revenue sources, which may include donated goods and services. Creation: supports choreographic creation, including research and development, and commissions. Some form of presentation (e.g., in-studio, with invited peers or public) must be included as part of the process. If you create your work in stages, you may apply for funding for different stages of creation but note that you can only receive one grant in a calendar year from this program. The maximum grant in this category is $10,000. TAC may fund 100% of a project in the Creation category. Expenses can include: Fees paid to choreographers, dancers, and creative resources such as a musical composer, outside eye, mentor, elder, dramaturge, etc. Studio costs and production elements that are essential to the choreography. Production and Presentation: supports the rehearsal, production and presentation of live dance. The maximum grant in this category is $20,000. Expenses can include: Artistic, production and administrative fees and costs, including rehearsal, venue, publicity, marketing, and outreach. Dance Series and Festivals: supports dance series and festivals that present Toronto choreographers, dance artists and dance companies. The maximum grant in this category is $10,000.Expenses can include: Artists’ engagement fees, production and administrative fees and costs, including publicity, marketing, and outreach. Dance Field Development: supports projects that develop and advance the practice of professional dance in Toronto. Development projects must benefit a group of dance professionals; individual professional development projects are not eligible. Individuals are not eligible applicants in this category; the applicant must be an organization or collective. Projects can include: Short-term dance technique or choreographic workshops, laboratories, etc. Events designed to further develop or expand a specific dance technique, practice, or movement style. The maximum grant in this category is $8,000. Expenses can include: Artistic, production and administrative fees and costs, including venue, publicity, marketing and outreach. For all categories, project expenses could include: artists fees, production and technical fees, marketing and outreach costs, administrative costs, childcare costs, etc. The payment of artist fees is a requirement in this program. Works conceived for digital platforms are eligible in all categories. Looking for more details about this grant? You can watch last year’s recorded information session here. This Program does not fund Projects that have been started or completed prior to the announcement of results. Toronto Arts Council does not fund retroactively Choreographers who direct dance organizations that receive Operating funding from TAC Organizations or collectives that receive Operating funding from TAC Dance studios and schools Schools that are part of Ontario’s public or private education system Educational and religious institutions, unless there is a clear separation in both programming and budget between their regular activities and their arts activities Projects which are part of undergraduate or graduate courses. Ongoing operating costs, such as permanent staff salaries and general administration of an organization. This program is not intended to support an organization or collective’s ongoing activities. For information about Annual Operating funding, please contact TAC’s Dance Program Manager Costs related to equipment purchase, capital projects (such as building purchase or renovation), fundraising activities, deficit reduction, publishing and archiving projects, awards and award ceremonies, projects conceived for the creation of a film or for competitive purposes, art therapy Activities taking place outside of the City of Toronto (such as touring, travel, accommodations). When can the project happen? The Project Start Date must be a minimum of 3 months after the submission deadline date. Applications submitted to the February deadline should be for projects taking place after June 1 and applications submitted to the August deadline should be for projects taking place after November 1; All projects must be completed within two years of the date on the Notification Letter. Who can apply? If you are a first-time applicant, or if you have any questions about your eligibility or the eligibility of your project, please contact the Dance Program Manager. To be eligible for this funding, an applicant must:1 To apply to Dance Projects, applicants can be individual professional dance artists, or professional not-for-profit dance organizations or collectives. The payment of artists’ fees is a requirement in this program. Artists must be professional. A professional artist is someone who has developed their skills through training and/or practice; is recognized as such by artists working in the same artistic tradition; actively practices her/his/their art; seeks payment for her/his/their work; and has a history of public presentation with involvement (as a dancer, choreographer or producer) in at least 2 paid dance performances or productions. TAC recognizes that due to systemic barriers within the broader arts community (e.g. limited mainstream presentation opportunities for artists from equity-seeking communities) that some flexibility may be required in interpreting eligibility criteria to take into account equivalent professional experience and contexts. Potential applicants from equity-seeking communities are encouraged to discuss their eligibility with the Program Manager in advance of submitting an application. You may not apply as an individual and an organization or collective for the same project in the same competition. If you are one of the members of an applicant collective, you may also apply as an individual for an unrelated project in the same competition. The project for which the funding is requested must take place in the City of Toronto. Applicants may receive only one grant per calendar year through the Dance program and may not apply to other TAC discipline programs. However, TAC offers other types of granting opportunities through its Strategic Initiatives envelope, and you may be eligible to apply to one of these programs. Please note: if you apply for a Dance project grant you cannot also apply to another TAC program for the same project. Please consult TAC’s website for other granting opportunities. For Individuals: Individuals must be Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents or have an application pending for Permanent Resident status or be a Protected Person (approved refugee claimant) and, if requested, be able to provide documentation to verify this. Individuals must have been a resident of the City of Toronto for at least one year prior to the deadline, and live and work in Toronto for at least 8 months a year. A Post Office Box address cannot be used to meet the residency requirement. Note: Temporary absences of up to one year may be considered, subject to written explanation and special permission. Please contact TAC’s Dance Program Manager. The project’s choreographer must have completed at least one year of independent dance practice and a minimum of three publicly presented pieces, excluding student presentations. Professional artists pursuing undergraduate or graduate studies may not apply for work related to their academic program of study. For Organizations and Collectives: Organizations and collectives must be incorporated non-profit organizations or unincorporated collectives which operate on a non-profit basis. A collective is defined as two or more artists working together under a group name, either on a single project (ad hoc) or on an ongoing basis. The majority of the members of an organization or collective must have completed at least one year of independent dance practice. Organizations and collectives must be located in the City of Toronto. A Post Office Box address cannot be used to meet this requirement. For collectives of two artists, both must be City of Toronto residents. For collectives of more than two artists, the majority of members must be City of Toronto residents. Additional Information How do I apply? Applicants register and submit the application through TAC Grants Online. Applications must be submitted no later than 11:59 pm on the deadline dates. TAC does not accept applications by any other means of delivery. You will receive a confirmation email when your application is submitted. Check your spam/junk mail folder if it doesn’t arrive in your in-box. Please download the full Program Guidelines for complete program details and application specifics. TAC Accessibility Grant Projects involving Deaf artists and artists with disabilities may apply for an additional TAC Accessibility Grant that will provide up to a maximum of $5,000 towards accessibility costs for artists incurred during the project. Accessibility costs include but are not limited to: ASL interpretation, audio description, closed captioning, communications assistants, attendant care (including helpers for Elders), support workers and equipment rentals or other supports required to meet artists’ accessibility needs. Starting in 2026, the TAC Accessibility Grant will allow grant recipients to apply for an Accessibility Grant at any time during their project. The Accessibility Grant will be available to grant recipients as a separate application in 2026. Application Accessibility Support Applicants who are Deaf or have a disability and need support to complete their grant applications can apply for funds to cover the costs of assistance from Application Support Service Providers. Up to $500 is available per eligible applicant in each calendar year. Please contact your Grant Program Manager at least six weeks before the grant program deadline to determine eligibility, request application support funding, and to review the process for payment to be made to your Service Provider. Requests for application support require approval from the Grant Program Manager. Additional information here. Can I apply to other TAC grants? Toronto Arts Council has two Grant Categories:1. Discipline (e.g.: discipline-specific project grants and operating grants in Theatre, Dance, Music, etc.)2. Strategic (e.g.: Animating Toronto Parks, Artists in the Library, Animating Historic Sites, Artreach, Open Door, etc.) Dance Projects is a Discipline program. Applicants may receive a maximum of one Discipline grant per calendar year. Applicants may not apply for more than one Discipline grant at a time. However, we offer other types of granting opportunities through our Strategic Category, and you may be eligible to apply to one of these programs. Please note: if you apply for a Dance Projects grant you cannot also apply to another TAC program for the same project. For more detail on our granting categories, go to our About Our Grants page. about our grants
Indigenous Arts Projects What does this program support? The Indigenous Arts Projects program is an annual multi-disciplinary project grant specifically for Indigenous artists, collectives and organizations. For this program, “Indigenous” refers to people who self-define as a First Nations (Status or Non-status), Inuit, or Métis person of Canada. TAC recognizes Indigenous peoples are the original inhabitants of what is now known as Toronto, which has great historical and cultural significance as a place for ceremony, gathering, trade, and exchange. This program is designed to increase participation in and access to Toronto Arts Council funding by Indigenous artists, while increasing the creation and presentation of high-quality Indigenous art in the City. The City of Toronto supports this program through a funding allocation approved annually by Toronto City Council. The program recognizes a diverse range of art practices. You may apply in one of the four categories described below. Grants awarded may be less than the full amount requested. Except for the Project Development and Creation categories, TAC will not fund 100% of a project: applicants must indicate other revenue sources, which may include donated goods and services. Project Development: supports the development of an arts-based project in the beginning stage. It is designed to support artists in researching Indigenous ways of knowing, processes, seeking collaborative relationships, creating a body of research/support material, accessing knowledge or language keepers and archival and documentary materials to build on a component or the scope of a project. The maximum grant in this category is $3,000. TAC may fund 100% of a project in the Project Development category. Expenses can include: Mentor/Elder/Knowledge Keeper honoraria. Costs of networking or professional development events; visiting sites of significance. Rental of space or software to conduct interviews, accessing support materials, i.e.,archives. Creation: supports artistic creation in any artistic discipline, including research and development, film and media production, and commissions. If your project requires the work to be done in stages, you may apply for funding for different stages of creation but note that you can only receive one grant in a calendar year from this program. The maximum grant in this category is $10,000. TAC may fund 100% of a project in the Creation category. Expenses can include: Fees paid to collaborators, mentors and creative resources. Studio costs, materials and production elements that are essential to creation. Exhibition, Presentation and Dissemination: supports the exhibition, presentation and dissemination of Indigenous artistic work in any artistic discipline. The maximum grant in this category is $15,000. Expenses can include: Artistic, presentation, exhibition and administrative fees and costs, including installation,rehearsal, venue and production costs (not including film production). Dissemination costs including publicity, marketing, and outreach. Indigenous Arts Sector Development: supports projects that develop and advance the practice of Indigenous arts and Indigenous artists in Toronto.* Projects can include: Workshops and conferences; Events designed to further develop or expand Indigenous arts practices; The development of toolkits and resources to support Indigenous arts practices. *Development projects must either benefit a group of Indigenous arts professionals or be an arts education project led by an Indigenous artist(s); individual professional development projects are not eligible. The maximum grant in this category is $15,000. Eligible expenses include: Artistic, production and administrative fees and costs, including venue, publicity, marketing and outreach. This Program does not fund Projects that have been completed prior to the announcement of results. Toronto Arts Council does not fund retroactively. Non-Indigenous artists, organizations, and collectives. Organizations and collectives that receive Operating funding from TAC. Professional artists pursuing undergraduate or graduate studies may not apply for work related to their academic program of study. Schools that are part of Ontario’s public or private education system. Educational and religious institutions, unless there is a clear separation in both programming and budget between their regular activities and their arts activities. This program is not intended to support ongoing operating costs, such as permanent staff salaries, general administration, and ongoing activities of an organization or collective. Costs related to equipment purchase, capital projects (such as building purchase or renovation), fundraising activities, deficit reduction, publishing and archiving projects, awards and award ceremonies, projects conceived for competitive purposes. Activities taking place outside of the City of Toronto (such as touring, travel, accommodation). Exception: Indigenous-led projects based in Toronto may provide programming outside the boundaries of Toronto that yields direct benefit for Indigenous artists and Indigenous communities in Toronto. When can the project happen? The Project Start Date must be a minimum of 4 months after the submission date. All projects must be completed within two years of the date on the Notification Letter. Who can apply? If you are a first-time applicant, or if you have any questions about your eligibility or the eligibility of your project, please contact the Indigenous Arts Program Manager. The project for which the funding is requested must take place in the City of Toronto. Exception: Indigenous led projects based in Toronto may provide programming outside the boundaries of Toronto that yields direct benefit for Indigenous artists and Indigenouscommunities in Toronto. Applicants may receive only one grant per calendar year through the Indigenous Arts program. However, applicants may still apply for different projects to arts discipline programs as well as other strategic initiatives programs that TAC offers. In this case, the applicant may receive up to one project grant in each funding stream and three project grants [3] total per calendar year. Please note: if you apply for an Indigenous Arts project grant you cannot also apply to another TAC program for the same project. Please visit TAC’s website for other granting opportunities. To apply to the Indigenous Arts Program, applicants must identify as an Indigenous (Status or Non-Status First Nations, Métis, or Inuit) professional artist or incorporated or unincorporated not-for-profit organizations or collectives. The payment of artists’ fees is a requirement of all categories in this program. TAC recognizes that Indigenous Peoples may have experienced intergenerational grief and trauma due to Ancestral dispersal, disruption, incomplete or inaccurate records, or enfranchisement/loss of status. TAC does not make determinations about an applicant’s Indigeneity, rather, applicants are asked to describe their relationship to their community and culture, if known. Artists must be professional. A professional artist is someone who has developed their skills through training and/or practice; is recognized as such by artists working in the same artistic tradition; actively practices her/his/their art; seeks payment for her/his/their work; and has a history of public presentation. TAC recognizes that due to systemic barriers within the broader arts community (e.g., limited mainstream presentation opportunities for artists from equity-seeking communities) that some flexibility may be required in interpreting eligibility criteria to consider equivalent professional experience and contexts. Potential applicants from equity-seeking communities are encouraged to discuss their eligibility with the Program Manager in advance of applying. You may not apply as an individual and an organization or collective for the same project at the same time. If you are one of the members of an applicant collective, you may also apply as an individual for an unrelated project in the same competition year. For Individuals: Individuals must be Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents or have an application pending for Permanent Resident status or be a Protected Person (approved refugee claimant) and, if requested, be able to provide documentation to verify this. Individuals must have been a resident of the City of Toronto for at least one year prior to the deadline, and live and work in Toronto for at least 8 months a year. A Post Office Box address cannot be used to meet the residency requirement. Note: Temporary absences of up to one year may be considered, subject to written explanation and special permission. Please contact TAC’s Indigenous Arts Program Manager. Professional artists pursuing undergraduate or graduate studies may not apply for work related to their academic program of study. For Organizations and Collectives: Organizations and collectives must be incorporated non-profit organizations or unincorporated collectives which operate on a non-profit basis. A collective is defined as two or more artists working together under a group name, either on a single project (ad hoc) or on an ongoing basis. For collectives of two artists, both must be City of Toronto residents. For collectives of more than two artists, most members must be City of Toronto residents and Indigenous. Organizations must be artistically and financially led by an Indigenous person, as defined above or provide proof via letter from a board that is primarily Indigenous that the Organization is artistically and financially governed by the board and guided by membership; must have 51% majority of Indigenous members on its Board of Directors; and 51% majority of Indigenous members on the Board Executive. Organizations and collectives must be located in the City of Toronto. A Post Office Box address cannot be used to meet this requirement. Additional Information How do I apply? Applicants register and submit the application on TAC Grants Online. Applications can be submitted on an ongoing basis, any time before 11:59 pm on the date specified in the Program Guidelines. TAC does not accept applications by any other means of delivery. You will receive a confirmation email when your application is submitted. Check your spam/junk mail folder if it doesn’t arrive in your in-box. After 11:59 pm, your application can still be accessed in your Application History page in TAC Grants Online. To work on a new application after the date specified in the Program Guidelines, you can start a new draft from the Apply page after the program re-opens for the following granting year. Please download the full Program Guidelines for complete program details and application specifics. TAC Accessibility Grant Projects involving Deaf artists and artists with disabilities may apply for an additional TAC Accessibility Grant that will provide up to a maximum of $5,000 towards accessibility costs for artists incurred during the project. Accessibility costs include but are not limited to: ASL interpretation, audio description, closed captioning, communications assistants, attendant care (including helpers for Elders), support workers and equipment rentals or other supports required to meet artists’ accessibility needs. Starting in 2026, the TAC Accessibility Grant will allow grant recipients to apply for an Accessibility Grant at any time during their project. The Accessibility Grant will be available to grant recipients as a separate application in 2026. Application Accessibility Support Applicants who are Deaf or have a disability and need support to complete their grant applications can apply for funds to cover the costs of assistance from Application Support Service Providers. Up to $500 is available per eligible applicant in each calendar year. Please contact your Grant Program Manager at least six weeks before the grant program deadline to determine eligibility, request application support funding, and to review the process for payment to be made to your Service Provider. Requests for application support require approval from the Grant Program Manager. Additional information here. Can I apply to other TAC grants? Toronto Arts Council has two Grant Categories:1. Discipline (e.g.: discipline-specific project grants and operating grants in Theatre, Dance, Music, etc.)2. Strategic (e.g.: Animating Toronto Parks, Artists in the Library, Animating Historic Sites, Artreach, Open Door, etc.) Indigenous Arts Projects is a Discipline program. Applicants may receive a maximum of one Discipline grant per calendar year. Applicants may not apply for more than one Discipline grant at a time. However, TAC offers other types of granting opportunities through its Strategic Category, and you may be eligible to apply to one of these programs. Please note: if you apply for an Indigenous Arts Projects grant you cannot also apply to another TAC program for the same project. For more detail on our granting categories, go to our About Our Grants page. About our grants What is a rolling deadline? We created rolling deadlines to offer flexibility to grant applicants. A rolling deadline means that applications are accepted on an ongoing basis with notification of results released approximately 3 to 4 months after the submission date. Program Guidelines include a specific date when applications for that year must be submitted. To work on a new application after the date specified in the Program Guidelines, you can start a new draft from the Apply page after the program re-opens for the following granting year.
Black Arts Annual Operating What does this program support? The Black Arts Program provides Annual Operating support to non-profit Toronto Black arts organizations (both incorporated and unincorporated). Organizations qualifying for funding will be Black-led, Blackfocused, and Black-serving; 3 with the requirement for a majority of the leadership (including but not limited to board members, founders, and staff) to identify as Black (Black-led), the primary goals of the organization to meaningfully support the Black community (Black-focused), as well as a significant portion of program activities prioritizing serving the Black community (Black-serving). Funding through this program supports both operations and programming. The City of Toronto supports this program through a funding allocation approved annually by Toronto City Council. TAC recognizes the need to respond to barriers that Black arts communities face due to anti-Black racism. The program seeks to address these barriers by providing pathways to sustainable support to Toronto’s Black-led arts organizations serving Black artists. This program also seeks to encourage the development and sustainability of Black arts communities by increasing availability of dedicated resources and support provided to Black artists and communities through Black arts organizations. For the purpose of this program, “Black” refers to African descendant people across the diaspora including but not limited to African Canadian, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latinx, East African, West African, Southern and Central African, Afro-Arab, Afro-Indigenous, etc. ACTIVITY FUNDED Professional, Black-led arts organization that supports the work of professional Black artists in a variety of arts disciplines. This can include: multidisciplinary arts organizations that serve and support artist-members with a focus on Black artists-members organizations whose primary purpose is to support the professional practice of Black artists Please note: organizations are not required to exclusively support Black artists to be eligible, rather must have a consistent history of meaningful engagement of Black artists and a focus on Black artists in a significant component of their planned programming Operating costs covered by this funding could include staff retention, research and development, communications and donor relations, facility management, etc. Who can apply? To be eligible for this Annual Operating funding, an applicant must:5 be a non-profit professional arts organization; be Black-led, Black-focused, and Black-serving have professional artistic leadership and pay appropriate professional fees to artists; be located in the City of Toronto and have a significant portion of its activities occurring within the City; have a recent history of sustained arts activity of at least two years; have a viable administrative structure; demonstrate a range of revenue sources on an annual basis, which may include earned, government and private sector revenues; provide audited financial statements or internally prepared statements including a balance sheet, statement of income and expenses (if audited financial statements or review engagement is unavailable) be governed by a majority Black-led Board of Directors or other body responsible for the organization. Please consult with the Program Manager to discuss your organization’s eligibility. Schools, tuition-funded training programs and curriculum-based programs are not eligible to apply to this program. Organizations must conduct their activities on an annual, ongoing basis either throughout the year or on a seasonal basis. Organizations whose level of activity varies from season to season, in keeping with their mandate, must describe their production cycle. Black Arts Program Development TAC consulted with Black arts communities across Toronto to support the development of a community-driven funding program to support Black artists and Black arts organizations in Toronto. Over 300 Toronto-based artists and arts workers joined the conversation. Here is what came out of those conversations, which informed the development of this program: Black Arts Funding For A Black Arts Future: Recommendations For Toronto Arts Council Open PDF Community Co-Design Following the report ‘Black Arts Funding for a Black Arts Future,’ TAC implemented recommendations from Black arts communities through a community co-design process, and increased the overall budget for the first year from $300,000 to $500,000. During the co-design process Black artists and arts workers shared their feedback about the program design, program guidelines, and application process. While the first consultation focused on community needs, this process focused on how the program would best address those needs through the program design. We will be releasing a follow-up report soon outlining how community recommendations were implemented into the program through the co-design process. We want to thank all the Black artists and arts workers across the city who participated in the consultation and co-design process for their contributions to the development of this program. Additional Information TAC Accessibility Grant Projects involving Deaf artists and artists with disabilities may apply for an additional TAC grant by completing the Accessibility Expenses section of the application and including the requisite information in their budget. A TAC Accessibility grant will provide up to a maximum of $5,000 towards accessibility costs for artists incurred during the project. Accessibility costs include but are not limited to: ASL interpretation, audio description, closed captioning, communications assistants, attendant care (including helpers for Elders), support workers and equipment rentals or other supports required to meet artists’ accessibility needs). Application Accessibility Support Applicants who are Deaf or have a disability and need support to complete their grant applications can apply for funds to cover the costs of assistance from Application Support Service Providers. Up to $500 is available per eligible applicant in each calendar year. Please contact your Grant Program Manager at least six weeks before the grant program deadline to determine eligibility, request application support funding, and to review the process for payment to be made to your Service Provider. Requests for application support require approval from the Grant Program Manager. Additional information here. Can I apply to other TAC grants? Toronto Arts Council has two Grant Categories:1. Discipline (e.g.: discipline-specific project grants and operating grants in Theatre, Dance, Music, etc.)2. Strategic (e.g.: Animating Toronto Parks, Artists in the Library, Animating Historic Sites, Artreach, Open Door, etc.) Black Arts Annual Operating is a Discipline program. Applicants may receive a maximum of one Discipline grant per calendar year. Applicants may not apply for more than one Discipline grant at a time. However, we offer other types of granting opportunities through our Strategic Category, and you may be eligible to apply to one of these programs. Please note: if you apply for a Black Arts Annual Operating grant you cannot also apply to another TAC program for the same project. For more detail on our granting categories, go to our About Our Grants page. about our grants