The Manitoba Arts Council (MAC) offers 15 grants that fund different kinds of arts and cultural activities. Each grant has its own specific set of guidelines and application form. This document outlines important information that is relevant to many of the 15 grants.
When applying for a MAC grant, use these general guidelines alongside the guidelines specific to each grant.
Table of Contents
How to Apply
1. Online through Manipogo
MAC has an online application system called Manipogo where you can draft and submit grant applications and manage documents related to awarded grants such as funding agreements and final reports.
In order to apply online, you need to have a valid profile in Manipogo.
Watch our video tutorials for step-by-step instructions on how to create a profile in Manipogo:
For more information, please visit our How to Apply webpage.
2. Offline applications (PDF and paper forms)
Applicants who are D/deaf or living with a disability who require an accessible application, or those who have limited internet access may apply using our Printable or fillable PDF application forms. These applications are available on each grant’s webpage.
To request a PDF or paper application form, contact helpdesk@artscouncil.mb.ca or call toll free 1-866-994-2787.
Accessibility fund
If you are D/deaf or living with a disability, or you represent a D/deaf and disability arts/cultural group or organization, you can apply for financial assistance to help cover the costs of disability-related services to:
- create a profile in Manipogo, MAC’s Online Application System;
- write a grant application;
- submit a final report; or
- complete your project.
See MAC’s Accessibility page for details.
Eligibility
Applicant types
MAC accepts applications from applicants who are:
- professional artists
- arts/cultural professionals
- Indigenous Knowledge Keepers
- students of the arts
- professional arts groups
- professional not-for-profit arts organizations
- professional for-profit arts organizations (book and periodical publishers)
- professional arts service organizations
- community not-for-profit organizations
MAC also accepts nominations for our Recognize – Prizes program. Any person, group, or organization that has no conflict of interest with the nominee can submit a nomination.
Definitions for each applicant type can be found on our Eligibility Criteria webpage.
Ineligible applicants
The following organizations are generally ineligible to apply for all Manitoba Arts Council grants:
- Museums and Heritage groups
- Libraries
- Organizations, affiliated with large institutions, that are not financially, curatorially, and artistically independent
- Municipalities and sub-committees of municipalities
- Charitable Foundations
- Organizations that directly or indirectly receive ongoing funding from the Department of Sport, Culture, Heritage and Tourism
Manitoba residents
To apply for MAC grants, you must be a resident of Manitoba and either a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident.
This means that before applying for a MAC grant:
- You must have a permanent physical address in Manitoba; and
- You must have lived in Manitoba for at least one full year*
*Exemptions:
If you live in Manitoba, you can be absent from the province for up to one year if:
- the absence is temporary (for example: because of an artistic opportunity, or because you’re in school);
- you do not apply for public funding from the province or country where you are temporarily living.
Grant amounts and application limits
- You can only receive up to $30,000 of MAC grants within a calendar year.*
- Only one application can be submitted per grant deadline (except for Share – Artists in Schools grants).
- The project or activity that you need funding for must begin after the grant application deadline.
- When applying for multiple grants, you cannot apply for funding to cover the same expenses twice.
- You cannot apply for more grants if you have a final report overdue from previous grants (which is due within 18 months of being awarded).
- If your application is unsuccessful, you will only be able to resubmit your application one more time to a different deadline.
*Grants received through the Share — Tour, Support — Strengthen, Support – Looking Forward, Support — Operate, Support — Community Impact, and the Recognize — Prizes programs are excluded the $30,000 limit.
Ineligible activity
The following activities are ineligible in most of MAC’s programs, with some exceptions:
Activities that do not have art as a primary focus
- Activities that are predominantly political, religious, academic, or sports-related
- Art therapy in all disciplines, where the primary intention is therapeutic as opposed to artistic
- Journalistic podcasts
- Fundraising activities and contributions to endowment funds
- Academic writing and publishing
- Presentations of academic papers at academic conferences
- Youth activities that are not led by a professional artist
- Equipment purchases that constitute more than 25% of the MAC grant request with the exception of the Support – Strengthen grants
Activity which prioritizes sales over the creation of artist work
- Commercial, corporate, or industrial production work in any discipline (for example: promotional videos)
- Travel guidebooks, how-to books, reference books, self-help books, cookbooks, catalogues of exhibitions, trade or professional periodicals and books
- Previously published material
Activities where the applicant does not have creative control over the work
- Works commissioned by a government agency
- Assistant directing
Activities that do not follow standards of the art practice or sector
- Activities carried out by groups and organizations that are not planning to pay fees, honoraria or royalties to artists and performers
- Printing and distribution costs of literary materials that are not produced by a professional publisher
Activities without a majority of Manitobans or touring outside Manitoba
- Touring* and producing outside the province of Manitoba
- Activities that do not employ a majority of Manitoban professional artists, arts/cultural workers, or Indigenous Knowledge Keepers
Activities that are funded through other provincial government funding
- Music recording and music videos**, with the exception of the Indigenous 360 grants
- Television projects**
*Touring outside of Manitoba may be eligible for funding through the Canada Council for the Arts’ Arts Across Canada grants.
**Music recording and other commercial production work may be eligible for funding through Manitoba Film & Music’s grant programs.
Components of a grant application
Project information
Every grant application form has unique questions related to your proposed project. Read the grant-specific guidelines to know what information to include in your application.
Budget
Budget
For most MAC grant applications, you must complete a budget form. A standard budget form is used for most MAC grant applications and some sections may not apply to your project. Include brief explanations of items within the budget by using the description fields, if necessary.
Check the grant-specific guidelines to see if a budget is a component of your application.
MAC uses the following guidelines for determining expenses:
- Mileage: $0,45 per kilometer
- Living expenses: approximately $2,500 per month, but may vary based on your location, living situation, and other factors
- Meal per diem (if traveling more than 100 kms to another community):
- South of 53rd parallel or in Canada: $75,00 per day
- North of 53rd parallel or outside Canada: $90,00 per day
Note: In your budget, the total revenues must match the total expenses.
Support material
Most MAC grants require support material. These are samples of your current work that help give context for your grant application. They may include the work or activities of other artists or collaborators involved in your project.
For more details on support materials, see our Support Material webpage.
Check the grant-specific guidelines to see if support material is a component of your application.
Collaborators
For some grant applications, you will be asked to describe who will be involved or participating in the project. Explain why you chose to work with them and what they bring to the project. You will also be asked to include “bios” — a short description of who the person is, what they do, and what experiences or credentials they have — for key collaborators.
Check the grant-specific guidelines to see if the collaborators section is a component of your application.
Application tips
MAC occasionally publishes blogs and tutorials to help you put together the best application possible. You can find these here: https://artscouncil.mb.ca/category/blog/application-tips/
Have an idea for a topic we should cover? Let us know by emailing esaurette@artscouncil.mb.ca.
Submitting your application
Submitting applications through Manipogo
Your application must be submitted online before 11:59 pm CT on the deadline date. We recommend that you submit your application during MAC’s office hours when staff is available to help in case you need assistance (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.)
We highly recommend that you contact a program consultant well in advance of the grant deadline to discuss and review your application and the eligibility of your project.
Extend button
If you need more time to finish your application, you can automatically give yourself two (2) additional days to submit your application by clicking the “Extend” button on the bottom right corner of the application.
Submitting offline applications
Paper or PDF applications must be submitted together with the support material and must be received or postmarked on or before the deadline. The application deadline moves to the next business day if it falls on a weekend or a statutory holiday.
If you submit an offline application, a MAC staff member will contact you to confirm that your application has been received by mail or email. Please contact the MAC Help Desk if you do not hear back within two weeks of submitting your application.
Submitting an application in French
MAC welcomes applications in both official languages. When MAC receives applications in French, we select bilingual assessors who are familiar with your discipline and activities to sit on the assessment panel. An assessment panel that includes at least one French application will have a minimum of one bilingual assessor.
Portions of the application will also be translated into English for non-French speaking assessors. Support material will not be translated.
When parts of an application need to be translated, you have two options:
- MAC will translate the application for you.
- You can hire a translator of your choice and MAC will then repay you at a rate of $0,27 per word. MAC will let you know which portions need translation.
For more details on how MAC processes and assesses applications submitted in French, read our French Services webpage.
Assessment process
MAC uses a peer assessment process to make decisions on who receives funding. Assessment panels include professional artists, arts/cultural professionals, and Indigenous Knowledge Keepers who can speak about the different kinds of projects and activities within the eligible applications for any given grant deadline.
For a few grants that are time-sensitive and have restricted grant amounts, MAC program consultants assess the applications and decide who is awarded internally.
Assessors decide which applications are awarded based on several different factors, including:
- artistic merit: the project’s artistic value
- impact: how it will affect your communities
- feasibility: how possible it is to complete the project
Assessors will look over all eligible applications, including support material. MAC then gives them an evaluation rubric. Refer to your grant’s specific guidelines for details on the rubric.
All assessors that participate in a panel are listed in the annual Grants Listing on our website. However, MAC does not disclose which assessors served on which panels.
For more information, read about MAC’s Granting Decision Process.
Grant results
The granting process is competitive and funds are limited. Submitting an application does not guarantee that you will be awarded all or any of the amount you’ve requested.
For most grant programs, you will receive an email from MAC with the funding decisions within three months of the deadline date. Refer to the program guidelines to determine the time frame in which you will be notified of the review results.
There are three possible decisions:
- Awarded
- Declined with merit
- Declined
Awarded
If your application is awarded, congratulations! You must log into your Manipogo profile and complete the funding agreement to receive your grant. Your name and the amount of your grant will be published on the MAC website and in MAC’s annual Grants Listing.
Note: MAC must approve any large changes to a project. If the project is significantly changed without approval, MAC has the right to rescind your grant.
Declined with merit
If your application is declined with merit, it means that the assessment panel would have awarded your project if they had the funding. Once a year, MAC takes the money from rescinded grants and grants it to applicants who were declined with merit, starting with the highest scoring applications. Your name and the amount of your grant will be published on the MAC website and in MAC’s annual Grants Listing, but it will not say that your project was originally declined with merit.
Declined
If your application is declined, you can request feedback from a MAC program consultant to learn how you can improve your application. Declined applications are kept confidential.
Grant payment
Most of MAC grants are released in two installments (with the exception of Support – Operate, and Recognize – Prizes).
- First installment:
After you complete the funding agreement, MAC will send your first grant payment (90% of the awarded amount).
It will be sent at the earliest two months before the project start date listed in your application.
If your project starts within 60 days of being awarded, MAC will send your first grant payment within 2 to 4 weeks of receiving your funding agreement.
- Second installment:
After you submit your final report and it is approved by MAC, we will send the remaining 10% of your grant.
It may take MAC up to 15 business days to process your payment.
If you applied on behalf of an arts group or an organization, your grant will be made payable in the group or the organization’s name. A bank account in the group or organization’s name is required.
Rescinded funds
If you are awarded a grant but can’t complete your project, contact MAC to discuss repaying your unused funds. Once a rescind has been processed, it cannot be reversed.
If you owe MAC money from a rescinded grant, you will not be able to submit any more applications until MAC receives payment.
If you have not signed your funding agreement within six months of being awarded and you have not responded to our correspondence, we will rescind your grant.
Acknowledgement of support
MAC requires that grant recipients prominently acknowledge MAC’s financial assistance on all promotional materials, publications, and programs related to the grant. This includes advertising, news releases, posters, brochures, websites, social media posts, and other promotional material.
See MAC’s logo standards for more information.
Taxes
For taxation purposes, you will receive a T4A form if the total of all grants you’ve received in the past calendar year is $500 or more. When grants are awarded to groups, a T4A form will be issued to the name of the group.
MAC cannot provide advice on the income tax implications of your grant. We recommend that you speak with an accountant to determine how the grant you receive will impact your personal or business income taxes. The payment terms of a grant may also have an impact on the calculation of the taxes payable.
Reporting requirements
You must submit a final report when your project is finished, or within 18 months of your award date. The final report will be available to fill out through your Manipogo profile after you submit your funding agreement.
Note: You do not need to submit receipts for project expenses with your final report, but MAC reserves the right to request them.
If you have not submitted a final report within 18 months, you cannot submit any more applications until the overdue report is approved.
If you have not submitted your final report within 24 months of being awarded and you have not responded to our correspondence, we will rescind the remaining 10% of your grant.
Use of personal information
Information you provide, including contact information, becomes part of MAC’s database. MAC is subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), and this information is protected under the Act.
You can choose to complete the voluntary identification portion of the applicant profile. This information will not be used in the assessment process and will not be seen by assessors. This information will only be used to monitor how well MAC grants reflect the full diversity of the residents of Manitoba. See MAC’s Use of Personal Information for more information.
The content of submitted applications are confidential and the names of unsuccessful applicants are not released.
