We’ve scanned the funding landscape to bring you some key funding opportunities across the country.
Canada Council for the Arts: Sector Support, Innovation & Development
The Canada Council for the Arts is accepting applications for its Sector Support, Innovation and Development grant, which funds projects that strengthen and grow Canada’s arts sector, including new resources and platforms, mentorship and professional development, sector research, capacity-building, and innovative solutions to sector-wide challenges. Eligible applicants include individual artists and arts workers; First Nations, Inuit and Métis artists, cultural carriers and organizations; and a range of artistic, supporting and not-for-profit groups. Grants provide up to $100,000 per year (two applications per calendar year), and can be submitted any time before your project’s start date.
WorkInCulture: Catalyst and Transformation (CAT) Fund (Ontario only)
WorkInCulture is accepting applications for its Catalyst and Transformation (CAT) Fund, which supports time-bound “exploration” projects that help arts organizations test assumptions and make informed decisions about operational changes such as new business models, succession planning, or restructuring. Eligible applicants are Ontario-based incorporated non-profit arts organizations (and some artist collectives) with at least five years of operation and annual revenues of $5 million or under. Grants provide up to $15,000, with applications closing August 28, 2026 at 5:00 pm ET.
Rosza Foundation: Future Focus Program (Alberta only)
The Future Focus Program helps arts organizations explore a key question or challenge and make significant, purposeful shifts in how they operate. Funding is offered across three phases: Investigation (up to $5,000), Exploration (up to $15,000), and Implementation (up to $25,000), and organizations don’t have to move through them in order. Eligible applicants are arts-focused organizations operating in the Treaty 7 region (including Red Deer) with a registered charity, non-profit, or comparable structure. Deadlines for all three phases fall in September – see the individual phase pages for exact dates and full guidelines.
New – Ontario Trillium Foundation: Sector Grant (Ontario only)
The Ontario Trillium Foundation’s Sector Grant funds projects that strengthen the capacity and resilience of Ontario’s non-profit sector as a whole through sector-wide tools, shared systems, data infrastructure, training platforms, and funding-readiness resources that benefit the broader sector rather than a single organization. Eligible applicants are registered charities or incorporated non-profits (in operation at least two years) with a mandate to support Ontario’s non-profit sector and at least $500,000 in gross annual revenue. Grants range from $50,000 to $300,000 per year over one to three years (up to $900,000 total), through a two-step online application: Step 1 runs September 23–October 14, 2026, with invited applicants completing Step 2 by December 2, 2026.
Culture Works Canada: Student Work Placement Program (SWP)
Culture Works Canada is accepting applications for the Student Work Placement Program, supports partnerships between arts and culture employers and post-secondary education (PSE) institutions to create paid quality work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities for students so that they can develop the work-ready skills that are required to secure meaningful employment upon graduation. Eligible employers are Canadian based: cultural sector establishments, for-profit or not-for-profit, of any size so long as they employ an eligible student for the subsidy (full or part time). To be eligible, students must meet all of the following requirements: Active student status (Registered as a student in a recognized Canadian PSE institution in any program or field of study); Legally allowed to work in Canada according to the laws and regulations of the province or territory where they work; Either a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or a person granted refugee protection under the law; and the WIL (work integrated learning) experience must be relevant to the student’s field of study. SWP reimburses eligible employers up to 50% of the student’s wages (maximum wage subsidy: $5,000 per placement) between April 1st, 2026 and March 31st, 2027. Applications will remain open as long as funding remains. Contact nicola.schneider@cwc-coc.ca for more information.
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