Funding Parameters — Making Cultural Spaces Safe During COVID-19 Initiative
On this page
- Objectives and expected results
- Who can apply?
- Application deadline
- Eligibility
- Eligible projects
- Eligible expenses
- Limits of government assistance
- How to apply
- Application process
- Application processing time
- Funding decisions
- How funding is provided
- Funding conditions
- Contact us
- Glossary
Objectives and expected results
The Initiative will provide 1-time project-based support to arts and heritage organizations to upgrade their space to safely reopen while following relevant public health guidelines related to COVID-19.
The Initiative aims to:
- increase the number of cultural facilities able to safely re-welcome workers and the public to their spaces
Who can apply?
The following organizations are eligible for funding:
- a not-for-profit arts and/or heritage organization incorporated under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, or under the equivalent provincial or territorial legislation
- a provincial/territorial government and municipal administration and their agencies or an equivalent Indigenous peoples’ institution or organization (Indigenous peoples include Inuit, Métis, Status and Non-Status people)
In addition, your arts and/or heritage organization must:
- operate in a professional manner
- demonstrate that it has been active in the execution of its arts or heritage mandate for at least two years or a combination of demonstrated experiences
- demonstrate that your programming is accessible to all Canadians
- demonstrate how it supports professional artistic, creative and/or heritage practices
- demonstrate that it owns the property or has a long-term lease (minimum of 5 years) for a construction and/or renovation project
Important
Eligible applicants may only apply once to the Making Cultural Spaces Safe During COVID-19 Initiative administered by the CCSF and must include all proposed activities in one project application.
Application deadline
There is no deadline to apply for the Initiative. Applications will be accepted on a continuous basis for projects to be carried out before March 31, 2022.
Applications will be assessed as they are received by the program, until the funds are fully disbursed.
Eligible organizations are encouraged to apply as soon as possible to ensure that the program has sufficient time to assess their application and the organization has enough time to carry out its project before March 31, 2022.
Although all efforts will be made to assess applications in a timely fashion, the program cannot guarantee that applications received later than January 14, 2022, will be assessed before March 31, 2022.
Eligibility
The Department of Canadian Heritage is responsible for determining the eligibility of each applicant, its project, and project-related expenses.
The Program is highly competitive. Requests for funding typically exceed available resources. If your organization is eligible, applying does not guarantee funding.
Eligible projects
To be eligible for funding from the Initiative, applicants must clearly demonstrate how their project will contribute to the safe reopening of a cultural spaces. This can include:
- adaptation of existing spaces, such as the creation or adaptation of an outdoor programming space
- acquisition of special equipment for health and security and or live-streaming equipment
Feasibility studies are not eligible under this Fund.
Eligible expenses
Only project-related cash expenses are eligible; these may include:
- upgrades or improvements to existing HVAC/ventilation systems to comply with industry-set standards for reducing transmission of viruses
- cleaning equipment such as electrostatic sprayer seat cleaning system, antimicrobial misters
- hand sanitizing stations
- equipment such as digital signage, stanchions, directional floor markings
- front or back house renovation to structurally reconfigure spaces for safer reopening
- touchless fixtures such as sensor flusher, touchless faucet
- automatic doors or the removal of unnecessary doors for better traffic flow
- digital/touchless ticketing equipment
- plexiglass barriers to separate staff/artists and audiences
- touchless temperature scanners for staff and audience
- digital equipment for livestreaming
- reconfigurable seating
Ineligible expenses include:
The following expenses are not eligible for support under the Fund. This list is not exhaustive:
- operating expenses
- personal Protective Equipment
- cleaning supplies and hand sanitizer
- feasibility studies
Only eligible expenses incurred after April 19, 2021 may be considered. If you incur expenses for your project before receiving written confirmation of your funding approval, you will be doing so at your own risk.
Limits of government assistance
- You can submit only one application to Making Cultural Spaces Safe During COVID-19 Initiative, however an application can include several activities such as small retrofits and the purchase of health and safety-related specialized equipment.
- The total financial assistance received from the Initiative and other levels of government (federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal) cannot exceed 100% of your total project-related costs.
- We can fund up to 100% of eligible expenses or $150,000 per fiscal year in the case of grants, and 100% of eligible expenses or $300,000 per year in the case of contributions.
- Only eligible expenses incurred after April 19, 2021 may be considered.
- We can only fund projects to be carried out before March 31, 2022.
How to apply
- Read these funding parameters in their entirety.
- Contact the Canadian Heritage Regional Office nearest you to discuss your project and obtain an application package.
- All applicants will be required to fill out:
- an application and attestation form that includes a project description
- a budget form related to the project
Only complete applications will be accepted.
Additional information and documents may be requested by Program advisors to complete the assessment, which must be provided within ten business days.
Applicants will also be required to attest to the following:
- their application is for a separate project from any other CCSF regular program funding
- it does not include any expenditures already funded through CCSF regular program, or already funded under any other government COVID-19 emergency measures, including but not limited to the Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative, Tourism Relief Fund, Canada Community Revitalization Fund, Canada Recovery Benefit, Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Business Account, and the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance for small businesses
- you will act in compliance with applicable statutes, laws, bylaws, regulations, orders, codes, standards, directives, and guidelines governing the activities for which funding is being sought, including those related to public health and safety due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Application process
Applicants are required to submit their documentation by email to the nearest Canadian Heritage regional office.
Applications will be processed as they are received by the program, until the funds are fully disbursed. However, the Department reserves the right to apply its discretionary judgment to ensure a diversity of projects that reflects the many perspectives of Canada’s cultural life.
Applications will be assessed according to the extent to which the proposed project is expected to contribute to this time-limited initiative’s objectives, and the extent to which it will address the needs of underserved communities and groups, such as official-language minority communities, Indigenous communities, and ethnocultural communities.
Failure to comply with any conditions of a previously funded project will be considered in the evaluation of your new application and could result in a rejection of your new application.
Application processing time
The program will seek to notify applicants of a decision within 16 weeks (from receipt of a completed application to notification of decision).
Funding decisions
Please note that decisions regarding eligibility and funding amounts are final.
How funding is provided
Funding will be disbursed as a grant or as a contribution, as appropriate.
A grant is a payment issued to a recipient for a project. The conditions you agreed to at the time of application will apply. At the end of your project, you may be required to submit a report and/or participate in the evaluation of results.
A contribution is a conditional payment issued for a specific purpose, as outlined in a funding agreement. The agreement is signed by your organization and by us and specifies the terms and conditions to receive payment. At the end of your project, you must submit a final report.
Funding conditions
This funding is subject to the funding conditions outlined in the regular CCSF published guidelines, and to the following additional conditions:
- the final report for the project will focus on the how your construction or renovation and specialized equipment will have contributed to the create of a safe and secure cultural space to build the public confidence in returning to cultural activities with the support of the Fund
- funding received from the Making Cultural Spaces Safe During COVID-19 Initiative, whether received as a grant or a contribution, may be audited by the Department to ensure funding conditions have been respected
Contact us
For further information, please contact us:
Canada Cultural Spaces Fund
Department of Canadian Heritage
15 Eddy Street
Gatineau QC J8X 4B3
- Please contact the nearest office of the Department of Canadian Heritage.
- Telephone
- 819-997-0055
1-866-811-0055 (toll-free) - TTY
- 1-888-997-3123 (toll-free)
Agents are available to answer your questions Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 5 pm (ET).
Regional offices of the Department of Canadian Heritage
Glossary
- Arts organization (operating in a professional manner)
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- A not-for-profit organization that creates, produces and/or presents works in dance, theatre, music, visual arts or media arts where the majority of activities undertaken include professional artists who are remunerated for their work.* Such organizations may include performing arts companies, artist run centres, arts festivals and other presenters;
- A not-for-profit organization which develops and manages multi-tenant facilities for the creation, production and /or the presentation of artistic works; and
- A national arts training institution that has a significant impact upon training for a professional career in the above-noted artistic disciplines which is not funded as a provincial post-secondary education activity.
*Under exceptional circumstances, the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund may consider providing support to an organization where less than a majority of activities undertaken include professional artists who are remunerated for their work. Exceptional circumstances will be determined by the CCSF and may include organizations located in rural or remote areas or targeting underserved communities and groups, such as official-language minority communities, Indigenous communities and ethnocultural communities.
- Heritage organization (operating in a professional manner)
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Incorporated not-for-profit Canadian organizations with a mandate and key policies related to the collection, preservation, interpretation, research and study, and/or the exhibition of cultural collections which are regularly open to the public.
The following are recognized as heritage organizations: museums, art galleries, archives, botanical gardens, aquariums, insectariums, zoos, biodomes, science and interpretation centres, planetariums and archaeological, historical and ethnographic sites.
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