Indigenous Organizations
Creating, Knowing and Sharing: The Arts and Cultures of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples
The Indigenous Organizations component of Creating, Knowing and Sharing funds First Nations, Inuit and Métis organizations that engage in contemporary, customary or traditional artistic and cultural activities. These activities can include non-Indigenous artists and collaborations with non-Indigenous organizations. Grants support the exploration of innovative strategies for Indigenous creative and cultural expression, and related administrative activities.
First-time applicants must speak with a Creating, Knowing and Sharing program officer before applying to this component.
Individuals who are Deaf or who have disabilities, including those living with mental illness, and require accommodation at any stage of the application process may be eligible for additional assistance.
Activities - what you can apply for
You can apply for a contribution towards:
- ongoing costs to support your organization, including staffing
- expenses related to your artistic and/or cultural activities, including any combination of eligible Creating, Knowing and Sharing activities:
- Creating – research; creation; production; critical discourse (including research or writing); residencies; collaborations
- Knowing – mentorships; artistic training; community-based initiatives to engage young people through artistic practices; language preservation through artistic practices; intergenerational transmission of artistic knowledge; preservation of traditional knowledge through artistic practice; development of administrative, artistic, cultural or organizational capacity; research; collaborations
- Sharing - local, regional, national or international exhibitions; implementation of dissemination strategy and organizational objectives; publishing activities; gathering events involving artistic practices; collaborations; marketing and publicity; presentations, festivals and showcase events; networking events involving artistic practices; outreach activities
You can’t apply for activities that receive funding from another Canada Council grant or those on the general list of ineligible activities.
Who can apply
Your eligibility to apply to this component is determined by the validated profile created in the portal and a conversation you have had with a Program Officer.
To be eligible, your organization must:
- Presently receive core (operating) support from this component.
If your organization is presently receiving core support from another component, you must contact your program officer to confirm your eligibility before you apply.
OR: - Be an Indigenous publisher, Indigenous arts service organization or other Indigenous not-for-profit organization and meet all the following criteria:
- completed at least 2 consecutive years of artistic or cultural activity
- have received core funding from the Canada Council, 1 composite grant or Long-Term Projects grant, or 2 Canada Council project grants in the last 5 years. This excludes grants from the following components and programs: Small-Scale Activities, Travel, Representation and Promotion, Translation, Digital Strategy Fund, Creation Accelerator, Frankfurt initiatives, Digital Originals, Digital Now, Digital Generator, the COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund, Grow Stage 1 and the Canada-Korea Connections Fund.
- have a board of directors or an identified governance group with oversight and decision-making authority, made up of at least 60% First Nations, Inuit or Métis individuals
Core grant categories and amounts
Category A
Grant amount: up to 60% of total annual revenues, averaged over the last 3 years
For organizations that meet all of the following criteria:
- have a mandate and primary activities concerned with artistic and/or cultural practice
- have artistic and/or cultural activities that are national and international in scope
- have been in continuous operation for at least 10 years
- have a total annual operating budget greater than $500 000, averaged over the last 3 years
Category B
Grant amount: up to 60% of total annual revenues, averaged over the last 3 years
For organizations that meet all of the following criteria:
- have a mandate and primary activities concerned with artistic and/or cultural practice
- have artistic and/or cultural activities that are regional and/or national and/or international in scope
- have been in continuous operation for at least 7 years
- have a total annual operating budget greater than $250 000, averaged over the last 3 years
Category C
Grant amount: up to $100 000 per year
For organizations that meet all of the following criteria:
- have a mandate and primary activities concerned with artistic and/or cultural practice
- have been in continuous operation for at least 3 years
For non-arts/cultures-specific organizations that meet all of the following criteria:
- are multi-faceted organizations with regular and formalized artistic and/or cultural programming
- have ongoing artistic programming for at least 2 years
Category D
Grant amount: up to $100 000 per year
For organizations that qualify as an Indigenous Arts Service Organization
For organizations that qualify as an Indigenous Publisher
About core grants for organizations
Core grants are available through several Canada Council programs like this one.
Learn more about application and assessment
Visit Core Grants: Multi-Year Funding for Organizations for information.
If your organization is receiving a core grant
Get details about your core grant and a summary of reporting requirements for Organizations Receiving a Core Grant.
Deadline and Grant Amount
Consult the Deadlines and Notification of Results page
Grant amount varies (see guidelines)