Role of the Saskatchewan Foundation For the Arts in the funding ecosystem
The Saskatchewan Foundation For the Arts (SFFA) is a public foundation created by provincial legislation in 1999 to provide long-term financial support for the arts and artists of Saskatchewan. Operating as a registered charity, it offers a way for individuals, businesses and corporations to create permanent endowment funds whose investment income is used to sustain artistic activity. The foundation focuses on individual artists, helping them develop and share their work through targeted awards and prizes.
SFFA’s awards program provides financial assistance to Saskatchewan artists working in literary, multidisciplinary, performing (dance, music and theatre) and visual arts. Funding is delivered primarily through donor-established endowments and a small number of donor-directed non-endowed awards. Examples include the Glengarry Book Award, multiple named endowment awards such as the Colleen and Allan Bailey Memorial Fund for emerging writers, Indigenous-focused awards through the Dick & Jane Fund and the Cameco Endowment for Indigenous Artists, and discipline- or community-specific awards like the Regina Artist Award or the Prairie Folk Arts/Craft Award.
General funding approach and adjudication
The foundation’s model is endowment-based: it receives donations, bequests and other planned gifts, invests them in perpetuity, and disburses only the interest earned to eligible arts activities that benefit the people of Saskatchewan. Each year the Board of Trustees reviews available investment income to determine the level of awards that can be offered. When sufficient funds are available, SFFA opens calls for applications, such as the Endowment Awards and the Glengarry Book Award.
Awards are decided using peer-jury adjudication to ensure fairness and artistic expertise. Juries of qualified arts professionals assess applications against the intent of the relevant fund and the needs of the arts community. Donors can indicate whether their fund is named, designated or undesignated, and may specify art forms, artist communities, or geographic priorities, which are then reflected in adjudication and disbursement.
Supported audiences and overall impact
SFFA’s funding is aimed at artists who are residents of Saskatchewan and engaged in arts activities within the province, while still allowing some projects that involve travel or external training when they clearly enhance the arts in Saskatchewan. Its portfolio of endowment funds serves a broad spectrum of artists, including emerging and established practitioners, women artists, Indigenous artists, LGBTQ2S+ creators, and craftspeople working in traditional and contemporary forms.
Through annual reports and recipient lists dating back to 2007, the foundation demonstrates a sustained impact on the provincial arts ecosystem. By combining donor-directed endowments with transparent, peer-driven adjudication, the Saskatchewan Foundation For the Arts helps build stable, long-term financial resources that nurture artistic creation, cultural expression and community vitality across Saskatchewan.