One Year Sustaining Grant

Eligible organizations must:

• Be registered not-for-profit societies or not-for-profit cooperatives in good standing with the Nova Scotia Provincial Registry of Joint Stock Companies, or federally registered under the Corporations Act as a not-for-profit society or cooperative based and operating in Nova Scotia. Organizations must be registered for a minimum of two years before applying.
• Have been active for at least four years.
• Have a primary mandate to create, produce and/or present work by professional artists. Pay professional fees to artists according to industry standards.
• Have received a minimum of three project grants for professional arts activity from public funders. 
• Have a minimum annual budget of $40,000 per year.
• Maintain active public engagement or show a form of community support that includes Nova Scotia residents and persons other than those who serve on the board of directors
• Provide ongoing programming and engagement with the community. 
• Secure multiple sources of revenue such as corporate contributions, donations, sales, and membership fees and pursue other sources of public or private funding.
• Not receive operating assistance from any other Government of Nova Scotia agency or department.

• Administration 
• Creation 
• Facilities
• Outreach
• Production 
• Presentation 
• Professional Development

Funding will be distributed according to each organization’s size and scope. 

The minimum funding amount for successful applicants is $10,000. 

This program is temporary and will only be offered in the 2023-2024 fiscal year. 

Please refer to the Application Checklist at the top of the page for detailed information on what to include.

Applications will be assessed internally by Arts Nova Scotia staff and funding recommendations will be approved by the Arts Nova Scotia board of directors. 

Evaluation will consider the following: 

• Artistic Impact (quality and quantity of artistic activity;  correspondence of activity to artistic vision and mission, and to organizational capacity; development of the art form and artistic practice in NS; commitment to NS artists)
• Audience and Community Engagement (quality and quantity of engagement with public, artistic community, and cultural/community partners; dissemination; audience development, education, outreach; collaboration; professional development; marketing and communications)
• Organizational Effectiveness (governance; planning; Human Resources; financial management; operational effectiveness)

All efforts will be made to confirm funding with organizations within 8-12 weeks.

Successful organizations will be required to submit a signed copy of their financials and a one-page report on the impact of sustaining funding on their organization by April 30, 2024.

Send your application to artsnssubmissions@novascotia.ca according to the instructions below. You can watch our YouTube tutorial Submitting Your Application Over Email for more detailed instructions.

Before Sending Your Email

• Include your name on all files
• Number your files in the order they should be opened (application forms have a list of required documents in order)
• Ensure your page limits and file sizes are in line with the program guidelines
• Upload large audio and video files to a streaming service such as YouTube, Vimeo or SoundCloud

When Submitting

• Address your email to artsnssubmissions@novascotia.ca
• Send one application per email 
• Subject line should be: “Organization Name – Program Name – Category”
• Keep attachments under 25MB
• Do not attach large audio or video files; include a streaming link in the body of the email
• Do not send cloud-based attachments (WeTransfer, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.)
• Do not duplicate your application; do not send an additional hard copy

Only submissions will be accepted to this email address. Please direct all questions to the program officer. 

If you are unable to submit by email please contact the program officer.

All applications sent to ArtsNS Submissions should receive an auto-reply confirmation. If you do not receive confirmation within one week, please contact a program officer. You must contact the program officer within two weeks of the deadline for us to consider your application. Applications will only be considered if there is proof of email being sent by the deadline.