Calgary Arts Foundation is a registered charity that was created to generate support for Calgary’s arts sector. It is governed by a small volunteer board of directors. Knowing that many non-profit arts organizations conduct their own successful fundraising activities, Calgary Arts Foundation will ensure that its efforts will not compete with the very sector it is here to support but, rather, will seek to find new support for the arts in Calgary.
Support where it’s needed most
Calgary Arts Foundation is particularly interested in finding ways to engage people and businesses who believe in the power of the arts to change lives and make our city a better place, but do not want to select a specific arts organization or individual to support. They would rather contribute to an umbrella organization that understands the arts sector and can steward resources where support is most needed. The foundation will partner with other foundations and organizations who are focused on the arts, creative industries, and cultural sectors to strengthen existing programs that support organizations, artists and arts workers.
Raising Funds for Artists and Project Grants in Calgary
Music, stories, images, videos, scripts – these things bring beauty, joy, and meaning to our lives.
Concerts, plays, exhibitions, dance performances, readings, classes, festivals – all of those things we love to experience have been cancelled due to COVID-19. But, even though we can’t gather in person, the arts have been lifting our spirits and keeping us entertained, enriched and connected through online platforms. We realize now more than ever the important role cultural vibrancy plays in our communities and in our lives.
In 2020 and the first half of 2021, we mounted a campaign called the Cultural Vitality Fund, which was a way to give back to our artists and arts workers and help build the relief, recovery and resilience they needed to weather this storm. The campaign raised just over $200,000 and was generously matched by Calgary Foundation, for a total of $400,000. The funds raised will be used to support Calgary Arts Development’s project grants and a special microgrant program that was set up for artists during the pandemic. We are pleased that these funds are supporting the rich talent, creativity, skills and vision that fuel cultural vibrancy in our city.
Together we can support and show appreciation for our artists and arts workers and help them come out of this stronger than ever!
We continue to look for ways to support artists in our community through the remainder of 2021. Please consider making a donation to our general campaign for individual artists and arts workers because:
- They bring enormous value to our communities and our lives
- We lean on the arts during good times and bad to lift our spirits, entertain and connect us
- The arts sector was one of the first to feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and will likely be one of the last to fully recover
- Arts councils across Canada are identifying individuals as being at risk during this time because of lost income and unrecoverable expenses
- Arts workers earn on average 38% less than the average Calgarian worker even in the best of times
- No one knows how long the effects of this pandemic will last, but we do know that cultural vitality is critical to our city and to our lives
- Individuals don’t have the same mechanisms as organizations to raise funds on their own and many are not eligible for other support programs
Our goal is to help as many artists and arts workers as possible.
Cultural Vitality Fund Lead Donors
An anonymous donor to the
Cultural Vitality Fund Campaign Donors
Anonymous
Helen Moore-Parkhouse
Patti Pon
Karen Prentice
Dean Prodan
The Auxilium Foundation
The Palmer Family Foundation
Katherine Wagner