Blog

Hard to believe, we can actually turn our thoughts to these four words…..”Recovering from the pandemic”. The environment for arts and culture remains grim and cloudy, the level of federal support through income support programs has allowed many arts organizations to sustain their core operations and keep key staff with them. Often that means people

Navigating uncertainty: Building resilience in Canada’s social sector is a short but well set out article from Price Waterhouse Coopers setting out key insights on how leaders of not for profit (arts ) organizations and their Boards can focus on. Capacity – In what ways can the social sector adapt to meet new needs under changing conditions

As arts organizations seek to manage the financial challenges they face during the current pandemic, the place an endowment holds in their financial picture is gaining attention.   Long-Term AssetFoundations are being called upon to use endowments ‘more actively’, and provide much needed cash flow and income to their beneficiary organizations. It has long been

I’ve observed recently that Ontario arts organizations are now moving to an environment where they are trying new ways to communicate their arts mission, how best to respond to the current COVID-19 world we live in.   Plans for the futureTRG Arts has produced a helpful report that may be useful as arts managers and Boards make plans

During this morning’s address to the country, Prime Minister Trudeau offered more important details on the Government of Canada’s Emergency Wage Subsidy that was first announced on Friday of last week. The following eligibility parameters and details were announced: Businesses that can show that their revenues have decreased at least 30% since the start of

One of the most important benefits to arts organizations who established endowments with the Ontario Arts Foundation under the Arts Endowment Fund program (AEF) (and new organizations continue to) is the fact that endowment distributions are unrestricted. Unlike most grant funding, which is directed towards particular programs, AEF income can be used by an organization where

A recent report from the U.S. based Council on Foundations on investment returns for community and private foundations in 2018 is an interesting read. We monitor these reports as one way to confirm how the Foundation investment performance compares to similar size foundations. Challenging Year The report articulates how 2018 was a challenging year. On average private

Putting Wealth to Work: Philanthropy for Today or Investing for Tomorrow?by Joel L. Fleischman. PublicAffairs. New York, New York, 2017ISBN: 9781610395335     The Philanthropist, a good Canadian journal on philanthropy, recently issued a book review on a book that is worth reading – Putting Wealth to Work: Philanthropy for Today or Investing for Tomorrow? by Joel Fleischmann. The

Much of what we read in the financial press these past few weeks and months speaks of increasing economic volatility and political and market uncertainty. Talk is less about will there be an economic recession, but when will we see the next downturn.   Long-term PerspectiveAt the Ontario Arts Foundation, we continue to hold a long-term

Arts organizations should be encouraged by a small, but easily accessible funding program launched in November by Canadian Heritage. The First Spark Initiative The First Spark Initiative is intended to support arts organizations to focus on innovation in solving common business challenges. An organization can apply for a $5,000 grant to organize a collaborative problem-solving activity