Message from Peter Caldwell
Director & CEO

On June 28, 2017, I wrote to tell you about a $5 million increase to the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) for 2017-18. Then, on August 29, 2017, Premier Kathleen Wynne and Eleanor McMahon, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, announced a further funding increase of $5 million per year, for each of the next three years. This will bring OAC’s base funding from $60 million per year in 2016-17 to $80 million per year by 2020-21. This is in addition to the recently launched Indigenous Culture Fund, which has been funded by the government at $5 million per year.

This is all wonderful news, especially after eight years with no funding increase. Here’s how the government’s new investment in Ontario’s not-for-profit professional arts sector will flow:

  2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21
Increase by year over
2016-17 base funding 		  $5M $10M $15M $20M
OAC’s base funding $60M $65M $70M $75M $80M

I’d like to tell you how this very welcome funding increase aligns with the information I shared in my June message to organizations that receive OAC operating funding. Our plans for the $5 million increase previously announced for 2017-18 remain unchanged. To refresh your memory, in the current year (2017-18) there have been:

  • across-the-board increases of 3.5% to all organizations assessed at C or higher in their 2016-17 (or most recent) OAC operating grant assessment;
  • larger assessment-based increases for those in Year one of multi-year funding, assessed at B or higher (up to 15% for A, up to 10% for B+, up to 5% for B);
  • an additional increase (to a maximum of $40,000) for organizations assessed at B or higher in 2016-17, to bring their base funding to 4.5% of total revenues;
  • increases of 10-15% to existing OAC project programs that have a high number of applicants and a particularly low percentage of funded applicants; and
  • an increase of 20% to OAC’s Touring Projects program.

Here is how we anticipate the new funding will be allocated from 2018-19 to 2020-21:

Operating Grants to Arts Organizations

Approximately two-thirds of OAC’s granting budget will continue to be used for operating grants to arts organizations – the backbone of our province’s arts and culture infrastructure. These arts organizations showcase creation, offer arts experiences that enrich communities, and provide employment to artists and other arts professionals, as well as many other significant economic benefits. This funding will also continue to support emerging organizations, often from under-represented communities, and help strengthen their organizational and artistic development.

The OAC operating grants provide continuity and stability and allow organizations to take creative risks that are part of their artistic evolution.

Over the next three years, the government’s increased investment in OAC will allow for much-needed increases to organizations that receive operating grants. It will also provide a tremendous opportunity to begin addressing existing funding inequities that have developed over time, something that OAC has had little capacity to respond to until now.

  • Each year, from 2018-19 to 2020-21, all organizations assessed at C or higher will receive across-the-board (ATB) increases of 2.5%.
  • For organizations that receive annual operating grants, or who receive multi-year grants when they are in year one, there will be higher assessment-based increases (up to 25% for A, up to 20% for B+ and up to 15% for B).
  • There will also be assessment-based increases of up to 10% in years two and three of multi-year grants, for organizations assessed at A, B+ and B in their most recent multi-year assessment.
  • Assessment-based increases will continue to take into account contribution to OAC’s six priority groups (Indigenous Artists, Francophone Artists, Artists of Colour, New Generation Artists, Deaf Artists and Artists with Disabilities, and Artists Living in Regions Outside Toronto), as well as the funding level of each organization, relative to other relevant organizations. And for the first time, increases will also take into account organizational growth.

It will be obvious from the above that assessment results in the years ahead will be more important than ever. Aside from the 2.5% ATB annual increases, the biggest increases will be available to the most highly assessed organizations. This is in keeping with OAC’s strategic plan, Vital Arts and Public Value: A Blueprint for 2014-2020, which calls for focusing support on Ontario’s most vital artists and arts organizations. As stated in the plan, vital was chosen to reflect the qualities essential to a healthy arts sector, including artistic merit, relevance, impact, risk-taking and effectiveness. These are the qualities OAC’s peer assessment process seeks to evaluate.

Project Grants to Individuals, Collectives and Organizations

Approximately one-third of OAC’s granting budget will continue to support project grants for individual artists and arts groups – the heart of our province’s arts and culture sector. The OAC project grants fuel creativity, innovation, skills development and organizational effectiveness.

Professional artists and not-for-profit organizations are vitally important to Ontario. They are also the crucial first link in the “creative chain” that drives the arts and culture sector. Ontario’s successful cultural industries are built on the work of creators, and the economic impact of these industries wouldn’t exist without the kinds of artistic creation, production, professional development and audience-building that are made possible by OAC project grants.

  • OAC will invest more in existing, high-impact, high-demand programs that have a high number of applicants, but a relatively low number of funded projects (due to budget constraints).
  • OAC will develop new strategic investment initiatives, including partnerships and collaborations, in areas that support OAC’s strategic plan and the government’s Ontario Culture Strategy, provide a high level of support for OAC’s six priority groups, and have strong demand demonstrated through pilot programs or public consultation.
  • This will include opportunities for Ontario artists and arts organizations to:
    • enhance diversity and inclusion;
    • enhance diversity and inclusion;
    • increase public awareness of the value of the arts;
    • present their work nationally and internationally, building new markets and showcasing Ontario to the world; and
    • support children, youth, recent immigrants and Ontario’s Indigenous, culturally diverse and disadvantaged communities, to participate in arts education and community arts engagement activities.

Next Steps

I am looking forward to travelling to approximately 15 Ontario communities later this fall, along with OAC Chair Rita Davies, Director of Granting Carolyn Vesely, and Director of Communications, Kirsten Gunter, to hear your thoughts and answer your questions. As soon as we have confirmed dates and venues we will communicate these widely. In the meantime, please contact your Program Officer as usual.

Finally, I would like to emphasize how grateful we are to the government of Ontario for its increased investment in Ontario’s not-for profit professional arts sector through OAC. I look forward to working with all of you to hear and share your success stories.

Sincerely,

Peter Caldwell
Director & CEO