Community Presenters Assistance

There are a few changes to the 2024-2025 program.

We are pleased to announce that both funding programs received an increased investment from our partners, the Province of BC and BC Arts Council, for 2024-2025. The Community Presenter Assistance program received a 28% increase for a total grant budget of $563,000, up from $440,000 in 2023-24. Into the Act, funding increased by 56% from $45,000 in 2023-24 to $70,000 for 2024-25. These investments recognize the increased costs of touring and presenting the live performing arts in British Columbia. We thank our funding partners for the increased investment that will contribute to a vibrant touring and presenting network in BC.

Updates! Community Presenters Assistance – see the Guidelines (PDF) for more details.

• Community Presenters are eligible for up to $15,000.
• Key Presenters are eligible for up to $25,000.
• Applicants can apply for activity between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025.
• Applicants outside the municipalities of Vancouver and Victoria are eligible to apply.
• Applicants can apply for 50% of fees for BC and Canadian artists, up to a maximum of $5,000 for each event.
Presenters receiving BC Arts Council Operating Clients are eligible to apply.

Updates! Into the Act – see the Guidelines (PDF) for more details.

• Applicants can apply for up to $5,000 for activities between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025, to engage with early-career artists.
• Applicants outside the municipalities of Vancouver and Victoria are eligible to apply.
• 100% of funding must be used to pay artists’ fees and touring expenses, including travel and accommodation.Please note that there is only one intake for both programs.

Proposed activity must occur between July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.

We have assembled information regarding artist fees for your reference. These provide guidelines on what to consider for professional fees. See our FAQ Artist Fees also.

Applications are evaluated by a peer assessment panel representing the touring arts and presenting communities throughout BC. The panel weighs applications based on the following:

Contribution and Significance (50%)

Because this grant is based on the series/season of artists you are presenting, this is the most critical section to address in your written narrative. This is where you can address things such as:

• Approach to and considerations when programming your season/series;
• Efforts to program boundary-pushing new and inspiring work that supports the development of the performing arts in Canada;
• How your programming reflects a dedication to equity, diversity, accessibility, truth and reconciliation through practical application. Please provide examples.

Engagement and Impact (25%)

Applicants should identify the proposed artists, audiences, and/or communities involved and show how the project will offer stimulating and varied forms of engagement. Engagement may include performance, exhibition or other presentation, artistic development, participation, discourse, outreach and/or education. Assessors may consider the following:

• Strategies to engage with new audiences, communities or networks;
• Depth of your engagement with Indigenous and culturally specific groups in the context of your community or region;
• Reciprocity in artistic, cultural and community relationships;
• Consideration of culturally appropriate protocols, practices and permissions, including consent, support, advice and/or collaboration.

Feasibility (25%)

How does your organization plan and execute its financial and operational goals? Describe the role and work of the board and volunteers. Assessors may consider the following:

• Demonstrated capacity to realize the presentation series;
• Overall suitability of the activity to the applicant’s stated artistic and/or development goals;
• Alignment of the projected series presented with the stated purpose of the program;
• Quality of working conditions for artists and cultural workers, including fair remuneration, equitable employment, cultural competency, cultural safety, and respectful work environments.

The Community Presenters Assistance application does not include a budget. You are asked to submit a financial statement for your last fiscal year that includes – see the Guidelines (PDF) for more details:

• Balance Sheet, Income Statement and Notes with two comparative fiscal years;
• Artists’ fees should be a separate line item and identifiable in your statements;
• Signature of the auditor/bookkeeper/accountant (if applicable);
• Signatures of two board members of the organization, demonstrating board approval.
• If you are producing or reviewing statements from the current fiscal year, please send the previous year’s statement with your application, followed by the current year’s statements when they become available.

Awards are available on a project basis to assist BC-based non-profit community-based arts organizations that present BC and Canadian professional performing arts touring events as part of a series/season.

Applicants from the municipalities of Vancouver and Victoria are not eligible to apply. See exclusions in the Guidelines (PDF).

There are two funding categories: Key Presenters and Community Presenters. Both require applicants to present an artistically diverse program of not less than three eligible professional performing arts events on an annual basis, have demonstrated, through previous activity, an ability to realize a program of comparable scale and complexity and adhere to the principle that artists must be paid for their work at recognized professional rates.

Key Presenters must also:

• manage a performing arts facility with approximately 300 or more seats;
• engage full-time, paid management

Key Presenters are eligible for up to $25,000 and Community Presenters are eligible for up to $15,000. The eligible amount is based on the following formula for performing artists’ fees:

• 50% of fees for professional BC artists, including local artists, to a maximum of $5,000 per event.
• 50% of fees for professional Canadian artists, including local artists, to a maximum of $5,000 per event.
• 0% of fees for Non-Canadian artists or non-professional artists (e.g. amateur choirs), highly commercial acts and any/all ‘non-performing artist’ presentations (e.g. films, readings, lectures).

While the maximum eligible level of an award is calculated on a formula basis, the full amount is not automatic. The Assessment Panel will apply the evaluation criteria to determine the award level. Applicants should be aware that they may not receive the full amount requested.

We encourage you to include your entire season/series in the report. This helps with reporting and demonstrating the level of presenting activity in the province.

On the form, you will be asked whether an artist is contracted or tentative: “Contracted” means a contract or letter of agreement has been signed with the artist for a set fee.

Tentative performances should also be listed, and a request can be made; however, tentative performances may or may not be approved and/or made conditional upon confirmation. In other words, the more bookings you have contracted by the application deadline, the better.

Applicants will be informed of the committee’s decision by email approximately 12 weeks after the deadline. Funds will be paid out to successful applicants following notification.