Would you like to enliven the extended downtown area by producing cultural events and festivals in public spaces? Financial support is being offered to cultural organizations for 2022.

Objectives 

• Organize activities in the extended downtown area to make it lively and attractive all year long; 
• Support agencies that produce festivals or events during the pandemic;
• Prioritize direct support to artists in general and to next-generation younger artists in particular; 
• Act in synergy with event initiatives underway by offering cultural activities in sparsely used public spaces; 
• Showcase cultural projects that reflect the vision of Montréal’s 2030 strategic plan, such as: 
  • Diversity and inclusion in all its forms; 
  • The promotion of the French language; 
  • Eco-friendly values.

Area in question 

Programming should take place in at least one of the six following boroughs: (Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grace, Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Le Sud-Ouest, Outremont, Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie and Ville-Marie), delimited by the following quadrilateral: 

• Rue D’Iberville to the east;
• The Décarie expressway to the west;
• The St. Lawrence River to the south;
• Avenue Rosemont/Van Horne to the north.

Type of programming

Programming should be entirely free of charge and scheduled between June 1 and December 31, 2022 over a minimum of three days (not necessarily consecutive).

Proposed activities may be contemplative or interactive. All projects should be offered in person (face to face). They should meet current Public Health department requirements and offer alternative scenarios if restrictions are lifted.

The maximum contribution will be $75,000 per project for a minimum of 10 projects. Financial support can reimburse up to 100 per cent of eligible expenses. As part of the Montréal 2030 Strategic Plan, we encourage socially diverse communities to submit a project.

Eligible expenditures: 

• Design and production of the programming, including artists’ and cultural workers’ fees; 
• Production costs, including adaptation to public health measures imposed by agencies (hygiene materials, additional human resources, etc.); 
• Project administration costs (maximum 8% of total budget). 

Ineligible expenditures: 

• Organizations’ operating costs (rent, utilities, insurance, etc.);
• Capital projects, including rental improvements;
• Projects already supported by the city’s culture department; 
• Project cost overruns accruing to the organization’s deficit.

This financial aid is part of the Service du développement économique’s downtown COVID-19 pandemic recovery plan.

The applicant must:

• Be constituted as a non-profit organization (legal person) for at least five years before the date of filing the application; 
• Have its head office in Montréal;
• Have a cultural mission;
• Have as its main activity the production of a festival or a public event, regardless of the discipline (with the exception of the circus arts which are eligible for a specific measure); 
• Have met its commitments with respect to previously allocated financial support and be in good standing with the various city departments and tax authorities;

• Have relevant experience within the past 5 years in the organization of events related to the proposal submitted;
• Submit a complete application consistent with the program’s objectives;

• Demonstrate its impact on the allure of the extended downtown; 
• Be distinct from festival and event projects receiving 2022 financial support from the city’s culture department; 
• Highlight the project’s direct economic benefits on the support offered to participating artists and cultural workers; 
• Declare the partnerships and financial assistance agreements with the city for the same project (central departments, boroughs, maisons de la culture and other presentation centres) and with the federal and provincial levels of government, if any. One project cannot be the subject of two applications to the culture department;
• Submit a project which can easily adapt to any location that may be assigned upon project acceptance;
• Submit projects that will require liability insurance (at the applicant’s cost) in the amount of $5 million covering the activities in public spaces.

Projects must be approved by the boroughs concerned.

Ineligible applicants:

• Non-profit organizations that submit requests for contributions to: 
  • Their operations; 
  • Fairs, markets, product or service shows, galas, contests, symposia or conferences; 
  • Outdoor activities presented in a public or private location and charging a fee to the public.
• Educational and vocational training establishments.

Partnerships with the milieu 

Projects may involve a private partner (for example, the owner of a commercial space) or another Montreal NPO, regardless of its domain of activity. This approach is encouraged with the goal of building synergy between milieux, and pooling resources and collaboration to maximize the impact of the financial aid.

A jury composed of internal members from the culture and economic development departments and external members will analyze the projects submitted using the following criteria: 

• General quality and originality of the project:
  • The project’s alignment with the objectives stated in the call for projects;
  • The quality of  activities offered to the general public;
  • The project’s respect for public health guidelines and its adaptability if current public health restrictions are lifted.
• Project impacts:
  • The organization’s ability to work in synergy with partners in the milieu;
  • An inclusive approach that integrates the diversity of the targeted population and districts;
  • The programming’s originality and integration with urban life that make it a “must-see”
• Applicant’s expertise: 
  • The organization’s ability to implement the project;
  • Cultural expertise:
  • Ability of the project leaders to manage the budget presented;
  • A healthy and dynamic governance of the organization. 
• Financial stability:
  • Clarity and relevance of the budget to the foreseen impacts;
  • Presentation of a realistic and balanced budget including the city’s financial contribution.

You have until Friday, May 13 at 11:59 p.m. to submit your proposal.

You should allow for roughly six weeks’ delay between application submission and announcement of the decision. Eligible expenditures will be retroactive to June 1, 2022 even if confirmation of financial support is announced after this date.

Documents to submit

• History of the organization and of project partners, if applicable;
• Detailed presentation of the project (in french) including partnerships;
• Detailed budget (in french); 
• Letters of commitment from partners, as applicable;
• Administrative documents of the applicant organization: 
  • A copy of the letters patent; 

• Financial statements for the last completed period;
• The list of members of the Board of Directors; 
• A resolution of the Board of Directors authorizing submission of an application for financial support and designating a representative to sign any related documents.

The deadline for filing the financial reports for all accepted applicants is March 31, 2023.

The applicant must commit to:

• Inform the city’s representative of any changes to the project in midstream, and report on advances and challenges encountered based on the objectives;
• Produce a final report on the project, signed by the authorized representative, and deliver two royalty-free photographs in electronic format;
• Submit the final report on the form provided for the purpose.

The responsibilities and obligations of the applicants will be recorded in a memorandum of understanding. 

The final payment of the grant (10% of total) will be delivered to the applicant upon approval of the full report by the City’s representative.