Eligibility

Find out which organizations and projects are eligible. Not sure if you qualify? Test your eligibility

On this page

• Who can apply
• Who can't apply
• Project objectives
• Eligible projects and activities
• Ineligible projects and activities
• Costs

Who can apply

Local documentary heritage organizations can apply.

With the exception of Indigenous government institutions, these organizations must be non-profit and receive at least half their funding from private sources^{Footnote 1}. Eligible organizations include :

• archives
• genealogical organizations or societies
• historical societies
• Indigenous government institutions (band council, autonomous First Nations, Métis regional governments and Inuit regional governments, etc.)
• private libraries
• organizations with an archival component (an organization with a documentary heritage collection that portrays the past of the organization, its predecessors or the community in which it is located. The archival component would provide a dedicated storage for the collection(s), include accessible high-level descriptions and be accessible to the public.)
• professional library or archival associations (incorporated bodies that represent the professional development of archivists, librarians, historians, authors, and information managers)

Who can't apply

• Businesses (for profit)
• Government institutions (except Indigenous government institutions)
• Crown corporations
• Publicly funded organizations (such as municipal libraries)
• Educational institutions (public and private institutions, as well as institutions of higher learning, such as colleges, universities or trade schools)
• Non-profit organizations administered by a government or an education institution
• Non-profit organizations receiving more than 50% of their annual operating funding from any level of government

Project objectives

The program has two main objectives. We provide funding to local documentary heritage organizations for projects that meet one or both of these goals.

Access and awareness

Our first objective is to increase access to, and awareness of their holdings. Projects related to this goal include:

• Collection-, catalogue- and access-based management (systematic, planned and documented process of maintaining and preserving collections, such as activities to enhance the archival standard descriptions of collections in order to increase physical, intellectual and bibliographical access to them)
• commemorative projects (initiatives that celebrate historical figures, places, events and accomplishments of local, regional and/or national significance)
• digital file conversion (from one format or media into another) and digitization for access purposes
• development (research, design and production) of virtual and physical exhibitions, including travelling exhibits that circulate to one or more venues

Improving capacity for preservation

Our second objective is to increase their capacity to keep and preserve Canada's documentary heritage. Projects related to this goal include:

• conservation and preservation treatment
• conversion and digitization for preservation purposes, including recording interviews for oral history projects
• increased digital preservation capacity (excluding digital infrastructure related to day-to-day activities)
• training and workshops that improve professional competencies and build the organization’s capacity
• development of standards, performance and other measurement activities

Eligible projects and activities

• Migrating a collection or holdings to an online database
• Adding archival standard descriptions, translations and transcriptions to finding aids
• Recording oral history^{Footnote 2} interviews (for example: with local veterans or Indigenous Elders)
  • Editing the recording is not (except for adding subtitles and translations). It is considered as creating new documentary heritage. It is essential that the oral history interview be preserved in its original form.
• Conserving and/or restoring portraits or photographs of historical and/or local significance
• Creating an exhibition based on a specific collection
• Developing and sharing best practices and policies for processing holdings
• Digitizing a mixed media collection or local oral history interviews
• Digitizing newspapers for which the applicant owns the copyright
• Organizing a documentary heritage conference

Applicant organizations must own the documentary heritage collections they're seeking funding for.

Published materials

For applications involving published materials, your organization must have:

• the originals in its possession
• clearance for questions related to rights and permissions

This applies to newspapers, serials, books, sound and video recordings, among others.

This criterion was established to avoid duplication of effort and to prevent the same activities from being funded multiple times. If you have any questions regarding the eligibility of your collection, please contact the program before submitting your application.

Ineligible projects and activities

• Acquiring a new collection
• Projects involving documentary heritage collections that:
  • the applicant does not own
  • are not originals
  • for which the applicant does not hold appropriate rights and/or permissions
• Activities related to artifacts or objects (such as statues, globes or medals)
• Creating a book, booklet, magazine, theatre script, documentary film or podcast that features a collection
• Editing oral history recordings into documentaries or short clips for publication on the web
• Clearing backlogs of received materials
• Developing an exhibition with material not owned by the applicant
• Renovating a building
• Activities which the applicant would normally undertake as part of its ongoing operations
• Revitalization of brand image (website, logo, etc.)

Costs

We can provide financial help for project-related expenses only, which can include:

• Translating project-related communications material
• Translating descriptive information (such as metadata), notably for official-language minority communities
• Administration, shipping, promotion and communication expenses related to the project
• Salaries and wages for project staff and consultants, and any travel expenses (consistent with the National Joint Council's Travel Directive)
• Honoraria for Indigenous Elders
• Buying and/or renting equipment and software required for the project (for example, to convert, digitize, preserve or catalogue)
• Purchasing materials required for the project (such as archival boxes)
• Project launch event costs, such as hospitality and acknowledgement/visibility of the contribution provided by the Government of Canada
• Gifts to Indigenous Elders, valued at less than $100 each
• Insurance costs for a travelling exhibition
• Professional costs for conservation/preservation treatments
• Project results evaluation costs (for example, staff or consultants to report on progress and results)
• Training, competency and capacity-development activities

General administrative^{Footnote 3} and travel costs can't add up to more than 20% of the total funding. This does not apply to projects involving travelling exhibitions or workshops.

We don't fund operational expenses^{Footnote 4}, nor costs related to:

• Acquiring documentary heritage
• Expenses that would have been incurred if the project had not been undertaken
• Acquiring or maintaining land, buildings, and equipment such as office furniture or vehicles
• Creating books or documentaries based on a collection
• Developing a project proposal or application for this or other funding programs
• Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan and other benefits
• Hospitality, other than the exceptions listed above
• Honoraria for oral history interviews
• Maintenance and overhead costs such as rent, heating or insurance
• Salaries paid to staff at any level of government
• Percentage for contingency expenses (an amount of funds set aside to cover any unexpected expenses of the project)
• Taxes (for organizations that are exempt or eligible for reimbursement)