Ontario Creates Industry Development Program

• Organizational profile
• Project description and objectives
• Budget and financing details
• Support letters and financial statements

Who is eligible?

• Ontario-based not-for-profit trade organizations
• Ontario-based not-for-profit event organizations
• National not-for-profit organizations with significant benefit to Ontario participants

Who is not eligible

• Organizations that are not incorporated as not-for-profit entities.
• Organizations that are not Ontario-based and cannot demonstrate significant benefit to Ontario participants.
• Organizations operating for less than one full year.
• Organizations receiving operational funding from the Ontario Music Investment Fund.

Eligible expenses

• Administrative costs, such as project management, bookkeeping, office rent, utilities, and insurance, up to 15% of the budget.
• Labour costs directly related to the project, including salaries and wages, up to 50% of total eligible costs.
• Equipment and materials, including software, subject to the program’s capital cost limits and amortization rules.
• Other expenses that are necessary and directly related to completing the approved project.

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Costs incurred outside the approved activity period or before the application is submitted.
• Labour not directly related to the project, and staff benefit costs.
• Real estate costs, leasehold improvements, and capital costs for permanent structures.
• Alcohol, general liability insurance, recoverable sales taxes, and unrelated-party transactions without pre-approval.

Eligible geographic areas

• Ontario
• National organizations outside Ontario, where the project provides significant benefit to Ontario participants

• Applications are first reviewed for eligibility and completeness.
• Eligible applications with all required documents are then assessed by a jury of industry professionals and/or Ontario Creates.
• Decisions are communicated within 16 weeks of the deadline.
• Successful applicants must execute an Ontario Creates agreement before funding is issued.
• Recipients must submit a final report and complete all deliverables before the final payment is released.

• Applicants are encouraged to attend an information session, with the possibility of a separate French session or accessibility accommodations upon request.
• Organizations may submit more than one application per deadline, but each application can only cover a single project.
• Previously funded projects must be re-submitted annually for consideration and are not guaranteed renewed support.
• Ontario Creates applies a diversity, equity and inclusion lens to all decisions, including attention to equity-deserving communities and accessibility.