We provide project and operating grants to:

• Arts and cultural groups and other members of creative industries
• Public libraries, community museums, heritage organizations and historical societies. Three museum advisors, one conservation advisor and one historical resources consultant offer specialized advisory services to these grant recipients and other Ontario museums and heritage groups. Their services include site visits, training workshops and printed material such as a Museum Notes series.
• Tourism associations, economic development corporations, municipalities, festivals and events, tourism businesses and organizations interested in undertaking tourism-related initiatives which support industry development and increased visitation.
• Business Service Standards for our funding programs

Grants Ontario

Grants Ontario provides you with one-window access to information about grants that are available to you, how to apply for grants and how to check the status of your application.

Grants Ontario makes applying for a grant easy. Enter your organization’s information once and it will remain safe and secure, ready for you to access any time you want to apply for a grant – regardless of whether you’re applying for one grant or multiple grants.

 

Project Grants

Celebrate Ontario is an annual program that helps new and existing Ontario festivals and events enhance their programs, activities and services to grow Ontario’s tourism market. The program also supports bid and event hosting costs of major one-time events and festivals attracting out-of-province visitors.

See the 2012-2013 Celebrate Ontario Festivals and Events listings
Read about Celebrate Ontario success stories

 

Convention Development Fund. Ontario cities can apply for support from this fund to help attract increased convention business and visitor spending.

 

Creative Communities Prosperity Fund provides Ontario municipalities and Aboriginal communities with financial assistance for cultural planning projects. It also provides funding to help not-for-profit organizations carry out specific capacity-building initiatives that enhance the cultural planning process.

See the list of previous Creative Communities Prosperity Fund recipients

 

Cultural Strategic Investment Fund supports not-for-profit organizations working in arts, public libraries and public library organizations, heritage, cultural industry organizations or Ontario-based research/academic institutions which focus on the cultural sector. It helps build a strong and stable cultural sector by providing non-capital funding for projects that will contribute to Ontario's cultural development and achieve economic and creative growth.

See the list of previous Cultural Strategic Investment Fund recipients

 

The Healthy Communities Fund (HCF) provides funding to community partnerships to plan and deliver integrated programs that improve the health of Ontarians. The Healthy Communities Fund plays a key role in helping the Ministry achieve its vision of Healthy Communities working together and Ontarians leading healthy and active lives.

See the list of previous Healthy Communities Fund (HCF) recipients

 

The International Promotions Exchange program provides reimbursement for travel-related expenses.

 

Museums and Technology Fund provides arts and heritage organizations that house collections, such as community organizations, art galleries and archives with support to invest in digital technology that makes Ontario's heritage and its history in their collections more accessible to the public.

See the list of previous Museums and Technology Fund recipients.

 

The Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund helps not-for-profit organizations cover the marketing and promotional costs of their new attraction or special event.

 

Tourism Development Fund supports projects which result in investment attraction, product and experience development and industry capacity building.

 

Operating Grants

Community Museum Operating and Pay Equity Grants

This ministry provides annual operating grants to approximately 200 community museums. These museums contribute to their communities' economic well-being as employers and tourist attractions, attracting over 2,300,000 visitors per year. This support strengthens their role in their communities as custodians and interpreters of the province's irreplaceable heritage collections. Museums that receive this support are required to meet the criteria established in Regulation 877, "Grants for Museums" under the Ontario Heritage Act and this ministry's Standards for Community Museums in Ontario.

 

Public Library Operating, Pay Equity, and First Nation Salary Supplement Grants Program

Library operating grants are statutory under the Public Libraries Act. This funding goes to public library boards and First Nations libraries as well as municipalities, local service boards or First Nations that establish a contract for library service with a neighbouring public library board.

 

Provincial Heritage Organization Operating Grant

This ministry provides annual operating support to the 12 Ontario Provincial Heritage Organizations listed below. They are umbrella organizations for the major types of heritage activities across the province, representing disciplines such as archaeology, genealogy, architecture, history, archives, and museums. The programs and services they deliver promote wide public access to Ontario's heritage and encourage public participation in heritage conservation activities.

• Architectural Conservancy of Ontario
• Archives Association of Ontario
• Centre franco-ontarien de folklore
• Community Heritage Ontario
• Multicultural History Society of Ontario
• Ontario Archaeological Society
• Ontario Black History Society
• Ontario Genealogical Society
• Ontario Historical Society
• Ontario Museum Association
• Réseau du patrimoine franco-ontarien
• Save Ontario Shipwrecks

 

Heritage Organizations Development Grant

About 175 historical societies, museums and heritage organizations that meet the criteria established in Regulation 879, Grants to Incorporated Historical Societies and Associations under the Ontario Heritage Act receive annual operating grants from this ministry to help promote public awareness of Ontario's rich and diverse heritage.