Application Assistance

Application Assistance helps cover costs for services that support account creation and the application or nomination process for grants and prizes.

Who can request assistance?

Individuals or the lead applicants for groups who self-identify as:

• Deaf, hard of hearing, having a disability or living with mental illness; or
• First Nations, Inuit or Métis facing language, geographic and/or cultural barriers

What type of support can I request?

Account creation assistance to: 

• create a portal account and submit an applicant profile

• complete and submit an Assessor Self-nomination Form

and/or

Grant or prize assistance to:

• submit a grant or prize application, nomination, grant acceptance, project update or final report

Categories of support for grant or prize application assistance are:

• general assistance
• Indigenous language translation into written English or French
• sign language interpretation and translation

When do I submit my request?

Recommended timelines:

• Account creation or peer assessor self-nomination: Before the work begins
• Application or nomination: 1 to 4 weeks before you plan to submit the application or nomination
• Grant or prize acceptance: As soon as you know your results
• Updates or reports: 1 to 4 weeks prior to your report due date

How do I request assistance?

You can request assistance on the Canada Council for the Arts portal by:

1. navigating to the Canada Council for the Arts portal
2. selecting Help in the top navigation header
3. filling out an online form to log a case (the system will display the Help – Log a Case screen, where you will be able to request Application Assistance)

or

Send a description of the support needed to info@canadacouncil.ca.

Questions? Call 1-800-263-5588, extension 5060.

What do I need before I request assistance?

Account creation assistance 

You will need:

• the name and contact information of someone who can help you (a service provider)

Please note that, as part of this process, you must complete the Self-ID or the Strategic Group Information forms for the account.  

Grant- or prize-related assistance

You will need:

• the name of the grant or prize you need help with
• a brief description of your project or activities
• the category of support you need (General assistance, Indigenous language translation into written English or French, Sign language interpretation and translation (see Category of support for grant or prize assistance)
• Please note: You must complete the Self-ID or the Strategic Group Information forms for your account.   

After you have submitted your request

Once you have made a request:

• the Council will review what you sent
• the Council may ask you for additional or missing information
• the Council will verify your eligibility (this will take 3 to 5 business days)
• a case number will be given to you (if assistance is approved)
• your service provider assists you
• you submit your application, report, etc.

Once the work is finished and we have received the invoice (see Maximums covered by the Council for rates), the Council will pay the invoice.

• See ‘Where do I send my invoice?’ and ‘What do I include on my invoice?’

You will not need approval for different stages (application/prize submission, grant/prize acceptance, reports, etc). However, each type of assistance must be itemized in the invoice.

What if I received grant or prize assistance in the past?

• If you are asking for assistance for a new application or nomination using the same category of support, send us the name of the grant or prize you are applying for and a brief description of your project or activities.
• We will confirm that you are within your annual application limits.
• The rest of the steps are the same as above.

Maximums covered by the Council

Account creation assistance

	Maximum number of hours	Maximum amount
Create an account and submit a profile or Submit an Assessor Self-nomination form	2 hours	$100

Grant or prize assistance

• You can only receive one category of support for grant or prize assistance.
• When eligibility is approved, you will use the case number for invoices related to the stages of an application or prize (application, report, acceptance, etc.).

• For additional applications or nominations, you must submit the name of the grant or prize you are applying for and a brief description of your project or activities. We will confirm that you are within your annual application limits and confirm the case number you should use moving forward.

The Council recognizes that service rates vary from region to region. Please base the total amount on the hourly rates in your area. The total cost of your request should not exceed the maximum amounts below.

Category of support for grant or prize

General assistance

This category of support is for applicants who face barriers with the writing process. Services can include general transcription, application development, writing, editing and organizing support materials. Please note: First Nations, Inuit and Métis applicants facing language, geographic and/or cultural barriers are eligible for this category of support.

Grant/Prize	Maximum number of hours	Maximum amount
Prize nominations (candidate) Access Support Reports	5 hours	$300
Microgrants Small-Scale Activities Travel	7 hours	$420
Project grants Short-Term Projects Prize applications (candidate)	10 hours	$600
Composite grants Long-Term Projects Prize nominations (nominators)	17 hours	$1020
Grant/Prize acceptance	2 hours	$100

Indigenous language translation into written English or French

This category of support is for applicants writing an application in an Indigenous language who require translation into written English or French.

Grant/Prize	Maximum number of hours	Maximum amount
Prize nominations (candidate) Access Support Reports	6 hours	$300
Microgrants Small-Scale Activities Travel	7 hours	$420
Project grants Short-Term Projects Prize applications (candidate)	12 hours	$600
Composite grants Long-Term Projects Prize nominations (nominator)	18 hours	$900
Grant/Prize acceptance	2 hours	$100

Sign language interpretation and translation

This category of support is for applicants who self-identify as Deaf and use sign language.

Grant/Prize	Maximum number of hours	Maximum amount
Prize nominations (candidate) Access Support Reports	8 hours	$800
Microgrants Small-Scale Activities Travel	12 hours	$1,200
Project grants Short-Term Activities Prize applications (candidate)	16 hours	$1,600
Composite grants Long-Term Projects Prize nominations (nominator)	21 hours	$2,100
Grant/Prize acceptance	2 hours	$100

I’m a service provider. What do I need to know?

Application assistance requests must be submitted and approved before the work is started.

Note that you cannot have a leadership or artistic role in the project, except in the Creating, Knowing and Sharing program.

If you are applying under the same program as the person you are assisting, it is your responsibility to let that person know.

Here are some tips to help you get started:

• Have a discussion with the person you will help. Discuss how their project, activity or nomination aligns with the grant or prize. Your responsibility is to assist the person you are supporting in articulating their idea and answers in their authentic voice and to take direction from the person you are supporting. 
• Read the guidelines, form and budget (if applicable).
• Ensure that the person has an up-to-date arts and cultural CV.
• Review the funding Guidance and Resources to familiarize yourself with the application process.
• If applicable:
• ensure that all required documents and support materials are attached
• follow up to ensure that the application or nomination was submitted successfully

Where do I send my invoice?

Send your invoice to info@canadacouncil.ca.

You must include the approval case number that was sent to the applicant and state whether this is for Account creation assistance or for grant or prize assistance.

What do I include on my invoice?

Invoices will be paid after the account has been created, or after the application, nomination, report, grant/prize acceptance has been submitted.

• Your legal name, address and contact information
• The name of the applicant/prize candidate or nominator
• The grant/prize and project name (if applicable)
• The case number the applicant was provided with
• The type of assistance (Account creation or Grant/prize assistance)
• The category of assistance (general assistance, sign language, Indigenous language)
• If there is more than one type of grant/prize assistance, itemize everything (grant/prize submission, acceptance, report, etc.)
• The date the work was done (and when the application/nomination was submitted)
• Number of hours
• Total amount (based on maximum amounts)

If you provided assistance through different stages of the granting or prize process (with applications or nominations, Access Support, reports, etc.), each type of assistance must be itemized on the invoice.

We will follow up with you for payment information, if required.

Other ways to get help

If you are not eligible for or do not wish to request Application Assistance, you may have other options:

• Call 1-800-263-5588, extension 5060, or email info@canadacouncil.ca with general inquiries.
• Ask a family member, friend or colleague to help you.
• Review the tips (I’m a service provider. What do I need to know?).