Funding & grants

The Watt Scholarship was established in 1995 and is awarded annually to eight Inuit in Canada currently enrolled in a post-secondary institution with a demonstrated interest in art, history and culture. Each scholarship provides $2,500 to assist, support and encourage Inuit in their pursuit of post-secondary studies in Inuit art and culture. The IAF funds this scholarship in partnership with Indspire as part of their Building Brighter Futures program.

How to Apply

The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation exists to ensure that all Canadian kids have access to books and the opportunity to fall in love with reading. The Literacy Fund Grant is our largest national granting program, and was created to dramatically increase literacy access for kids across the country. 

The Travel component of Creating, Knowing and Sharing funds First Nations, Inuit and Métis artists, arts/cultural professionals (including artists’ representatives), cultural carriers, artistic groups, collectives and organizations working in all disciplines. Grants support travel costs to attend significant events within Canada or abroad that advance your professional development, enable you or the artists you represent to access new markets or build national and international presence.

The Collective Initiatives program is comprised of three components that, singly or in combination, help finance music industry events, showcases and productions that have a collective benefit for the Canadian music industry.

Every event or initiative funded under this program must be collective in nature. Projects cannot predominantly benefit any one artist or enterprise. Successful projects will create new market development results for Canadian artists or music entrepreneurs.

The Artist Development program (AD) offers 75% of eligible expenses up to a maximum of $5,000 towards a year of artist development activities including sound recording, touring, showcasing, video content production, and marketing.

This program is intended to provide support towards the professionalization and integration of early career artists into the music industry. Artists with an established track record and ongoing market momentum should review the Juried Sound Recording: Album or Juried Sound Recording: Single/EP programs.

The Canada Arts Training Fund (CATF) supports arts training in Canada and contributes to the development of future artists and cultural leaders.

The CATF provides financial support for the ongoing operations of Canadian arts organizations that specialize in training artists for professional national or international artistic careers, at the highest levels.

Priorities:

Funding priorities are Indigenous and equity arts training.

The Building Communities through Arts and Heritage program was created to help you celebrate your community – both its past and its present. This program increases opportunities for local artists; local artisans; local heritage performers or specialists; and local First Nations, Inuit, and Métis cultural carriers to be involved in their community through festivals, events and projects. It also allows local groups to commemorate their local history and heritage.

The Building Communities through Arts and Heritage program offers funding through three separate components.

The Canada Cultural Investment Fund encourages private sector investment, partnership and sound business practices to help arts and heritage organizations be better rooted and recognized in their communities.

The Canada Cultural Investment Fund provides support through three components:

Strategic Initiatives

The Strategic Initiatives component provides financial assistance for projects involving multiple partners that will help arts and heritage organizations improve their business practices and diversify their revenues.

The Film or Video Production Services Tax Credit (PSTC) provides eligible production corporations with a tax credit at a rate of 16 per cent of the qualified Canadian labour expenditures incurred in respect of an accredited production.

Co-administered by the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office and the Canada Revenue Agency, the PSTC is designed to enhance Canada as a location of choice for film and video productions employing Canadians, as well as to strengthen the industry and secure investment.

The Creative Export Canada (CEC) program provides visibility and funding to help Canadian creative works achieve financial success abroad. CEC aims to heighten exposure of Canadian creative works in international markets and to increase export profitability for Canada’s creative industries.

The CEC program’s total funding envelope is $33 million over three years ($11 million per year, from 2023-2024 to 2025-2026). The $11 million per year is divided into two funding streams: the Export-Ready Stream and the Export Development Stream.