1. Funding
  2. Grants
  3. Guide
  4. If You Receive a Grant

If you receive a grant

Grant acceptance

You must accept your grant in the portal by the date stated in your results package; otherwise the grant will be cancelled.

Acknowledging Canada Council support

You must acknowledge the support of the Canada Council in all promotional material associated with the grant. To learn more, see Logos and acknowledgment.

Enhanced review

The Canada Council may randomly or selectively undertake a deep analysis of recipients’ activities after a grant has been awarded. This may include:

  • Substantive review of application documentation
  • Site visit
  • External assessment of activities
  • Request for substantiation of financial information provided
  • Audit of an applicant or project

Grant amounts may be reviewed or revised if Enhanced Review has found serious misrepresentation or errors in a profile registration, a grant application or a report.

Project, composite, and micro grants

Payments

To receive payment, you must complete and submit a grant acceptance form and have met the conditions in your results package (if any). Once this is done, it can take up to 3 weeks to receive your payment

Reporting & changes to your project

You must provide all required reports as part of the terms and conditions of the grant. Details about updates and reports are outlined in your results package.

If your project has changed to the point where it alters the original intent and impacts what you hope to achieve, you must submit a project update report. For example, when you have:

  • made significant changes to the focus of the project
  • major budget changes
  • a delay in project start or completion date by a month or more
  • changes to key artists, partners or collaborators

The Canada Council must approve any major changes to your funded activities before you carry them out.

Application Assistance

You may be eligible for Application Assistance to pay someone to help you with the application process if you are experiencing difficulty and self-identify as:

  • an artist who is Deaf, hard of hearing, has a disability or is living with a mental illness
  • a First Nations, Inuit or Métis artist facing language, geographic and/or cultural barriers.

Traveling abroad

If you plan to travel abroad as part of your project, you can request a letter of introduction identifying you as a Canada Council grant holder. Presenting the letter to the cultural attaché at the Canadian embassy or high commission, other officials, or arts organizations may allow access to facilities not available to the general public. Contact your Program Officer to request the letter. Global Affairs Canada may also be able to help you present your project through official channels.

It is advisable to learn about any visa requirements from a consulate or the consular section of the country’s embassy. Contact the host country’s embassy or consulate in Canada, and inform Global Affairs Canada. If you travel abroad to countries requiring visas, you should also communicate with individuals and institutions in the host country before traveling abroad.

Taxes (for individuals)

Because Canada Council grants are considered taxable income, you may wish to receive the funds in the same year(s) that you have expenses related to your activities. You may also request to receive your project grant over multiple years. The Canada Council issues T4A slips to individuals at the appropriate time. If you have any tax-related questions, contact the Canada Revenue Agency or your provincial or territorial revenue department. 

Core grants

Payments and reporting

You must provide all required reports as part of the terms and conditions of the grant. Details about updates and reports are outlined in your results package.

  • Your first annual installment can be requested any time after the beginning of your fiscal year by fulfilling all conditions provided in your results package.
  • Your remaining annual installments can be requested at the beginning of each subsequent fiscal year by submitting an annual update.
  • Payments will be issued upon approval of your submission and after April 1 (the beginning of the Canada Council’s fiscal year).
  • You must report on each completed year within 6 months following the fiscal year-end. Magazines and literary publishers submit a publisher year-end report. Other core grant recipients’ year-end reporting is done in CADAC.1
  • Each year-end report must be accompanied by a set of financial statements.2
  • If you receive $100,000 or more per year, you are required to submit an audited financial statement.
  • If you receive between $50,001 and $99,999 per year, you are required to submit a review engagement or an audited financial statement.
  • If you receive $50,000 or less per year, you may submit an internal financial statement.

Parliamentary appropriation

  • Should its parliamentary budget appropriation be reduced, the Canada Council may adjust funding allocated to your organization.