Professional Performing Arts Organizations Operating Funding
This funding is designed to support your organization’s operations, which are specific to your organization’s mandate, strategic and/or business plan and activities as described in your application and/or reporting. AFA operating funding typically supports expenses such as administration programming salaries and fees maintenance of equipment and fixed assets promotion other expenses as required to fulfill your organization’s mandate Organizations which have an average annual CDR under $1 million, and have been in an AFA funding stream for a minimum of three years, may apply to the Creative Year option under this funding. This option allows organizations to receive non-reduced funding in a year without a performing season. Discipline-specific project expert panels assess the proposals for this option. To prepare for this option, organizations must contact the AFA at least one year prior to the proposed Creative Year.
Grant Deadline
2025-11-03
Funding Amount
Deadline not available amount varies
Type of Grant
Funding
Sectors
Arts & Culture
Demographics
Incorporation
Non Profit
Perks
Region Restriction
This grant is restricted to whole of Canada
Keywords
Age Restriction
This grant is age restricted from 18 to 100
Eligibility and Requirements
Eligible Applicants
To be eligible for Professional Performing Arts Organizations operating funding, you must:
- have public performing arts programming as your organization’s principal mandate as stated in its incorporation documents
- engage in on-going development, implementation and promotion of performing arts programming as its core primary activity in an annual program or full season of professional self-created and self-produced work for public presentation
- employ at least one full-time equivalent administrative and/or artistic staff member for the minimum duration of your programming season
Your organization must:
- be a not-for-profit organization
- be registered and in good standing under the appropriate legislation and have been in operation in Alberta for at least three years
- have at least 50% of the organization’s board members living in Alberta
- pay a ‘fee for service’ at minimum industry standard rates (such as a union or nationally recognized rate) to at least 75% of the artists involved in the organization’s performance program for all performances
- demonstrate the ability to operate using good governance principles, effective administration practices, and a commitment to fiscal responsibility while maintaining an artistic mandate
- operate as a stand-alone arts organization at arms-length from municipalities, commercial enterprises, or organizations and institutions receiving annual operating funds from the Government of Alberta or its affiliates
- comply with all Canadian Arts Database (CADAC) financial and statistical data requirements
- have a board-approved cash reserve policy
Ineligible Applicants
Organizations that engage primarily in competition-based activity are not eligible for AFA funding.
Organizations can only receive operating fudning from one AFA grant program.
First-Time Applicants
Eligible first-time applicants are accepted only at the beginning of each three-year cycle.
If this is your organization’s first application for Professional Performing Arts Organizations operating funding, you must contact us at least three months before the deadline for a preliminary eligibility assessment to ensure your organization meets the eligibility criteria.
As a first-time applicant, your organization must have met all eligibility requirements for the three annual fiscal periods prior to application. You must also provide board-approved financial statements that demonstrate the organization has positive net assets and has been operating with no annual deficit for each of these three fiscal periods.
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