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Community Arts Award

Recognition for community-engaged arts in Toronto

Offered by

Toronto Arts Foundation

Official source: torontoartsfoundation.org

Source change captured October 1, 2026

Funding available: $ 1,000 - $ 10,000
Deadline: Unspecified
Location: Ontario, Quebec, Canada
Who can apply: Organizations and collectives; See full eligibility

Overview

This program offers a $10,000 cash prize to recognize a significant contribution to Toronto’s arts and culture through community-engaged work. It supports nominations of eligible artists, organizations, or collectives and includes finalist awards.

At a glance

Funding available

Maximum funding: $10,000
Minimum funding: $1,000

Financing goals

Increase social or community impact
Strengthen organizational capacity
Raise awareness or mobilize a population
Ensure financial sustainability

Eligible candidates

Location: Toronto
Montréal
Ontario, Quebec
Eligible Industries: All industries
Annual revenue: All revenue ranges
Organisation size: All organization sizes
Audience: Canadians
Legal structures: Non-profit

Non-profit candidates

Sector of operation: Culture and Arts
Target groups: Artists / creatives, Community leaders
Revenue structures: 100% donations / grants
Scope: Local

Receipt of requests is now closed

Get notified about updates to this grant.

Availability timeline

2026

Periods: 1

Latest changes

October 1, 2026

Community Arts Award updated for 2027

The 2027 Community Arts Award guidelines now show a November 3, 2026 nomination deadline, shift eligibility to organizations and collectives, and update the official contact to awards@torontoarts.org.

The 2027 Community Arts Award guidelines now publish a nomination deadline of November 3, 2026 and describe the award as being presented to an organization or collective in 2027. The official contact is now awards@torontoarts.org, and the new award description lists a $15,000 recipient prize with $1,000 finalist prizes.

Official source: torontoartsfoundation.org

October 1, 2026

Eligibility

Who is eligible?

Organizations and collectives

Who is not eligible

Nominees who are already serving on the Toronto Arts Foundation or Toronto Arts Council board or committees.
Individuals or organizations seeking more than one Toronto Arts Foundation award in the same year.
Any nominee submitted more than once for the same award, unless it was the first chronologically submitted nomination.

Eligible geographic areas

Toronto

Activities funded

Community-engaged arts activities.
Work that increases access to arts and culture in Toronto.
Arts and culture contributions made with, in, and for communities.

How to apply

Visit the Toronto Arts Foundation Nomination Portal
Register an account on Toronto Arts Foundation’s Nomination Portal or sign into your existing account
Submit the nomination online, complete with supporting material
Save the application as a draft before submission if needed

Documents Needed

Biography of the nominee
Nomination rationale
Accompanying support material in the form of visual, audio or text-based attachments

Selection criteria

Artistic strength and achievement
Strength of the candidate’s artistic goals and objectives
Contribution to the development of arts and culture in Toronto
Overall public impact, including community engagement and animation

Processing and Agreement

Nominations are reviewed by an award panel of up to 10 assessors.
The panel recommends a shortlist and recipient for final approval by the Board of Directors.
Finalists and recipients are announced publicly.