History of the Awards

This funding program is intended to support arts organizations in their efforts to engage arts audiences, both by learning more about their existing audiences and by designing and testing new engagement strategies aimed at increasing attendance.

 

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OVERVIEW

 

The Rozsa Foundation’s Audience Development Funding Program is intended to support arts organizations in their efforts to engage arts audiences, both by learning more about their existing audiences and by designing and testing new engagement strategies aimed at increasing attendance. This work can assist arts organizations to reposition their relationship to audiences, attracting new audience members in the short-term, while developing stronger connections with them in the long-term.

 

This funding program is intended to allow organizations to build upon the findings and strategies emerging from the Spotlight on Arts Audiences research project being led by the Rozsa Foundation and Stone Olafson.  

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​​DEADLINES

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The 2025 Audience Development Funding application deadlines have passed. Information about our 2026 funding programs will be published in early January.

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POTENTIAL & INELIGIBLE PROJECTS

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There are two streams of support available through this program: Understanding Your Audience and Acquiring Your Audience. 

 

Understanding Your Audience

This program stream supports arts organizations who have not undertaken recent audience analysis and segmentation processes. It provides funding to hire experts to complete audience research to understand who is currently interested in their events, how to reach them, and how to promote to those aligned demographics.

 

The project should include a clear plan for the transfer of knowledge from the consultant that enables the organization to refresh this research themselves in the future.

 

Funding can be used to:

• Complete audience analysis and segmentation with support from an external consultant.

• Access other tools or expertise required to deepen your understanding of your audience.

• Develop and implement strategies and tools to begin collecting audience data.

• Support staff to undertake professional development learning to strengthen the organization’s understanding of these processes.

 

Acquiring Your Audience

This program stream supports arts organizations who have already completed work to understand their audience and are ready to experiment with new strategies designed to attract or regain specifically identified audience segments. The understanding work does not have to have been completed with previous support through this funding program.

 

The focus is on experimenting with approaches that are new to the organization – something they have not attempted before. The goal is to experiment with strategies that are designed to effectively reframe the value proposition your arts experiences offer so that you can target, attract, and engage new audiences, increasing immediate and future attendance, access, and participation.

 

Funding can be used to:

• Design targeted approaches to reach identified audience segments in new ways.

• Identify and reduce barriers to attendance.

• Design and test new pricing strategies, such as ticket scaling or dynamic pricing.

• ​Design and test new strategies that deepen engagement with new attendees, with the goal of developing them into donors.

• Explore new ways to monetize online attendance or programs.

• Design new outreach efforts to reach new audiences.

• Support efforts to recapture lost audiences.

• Creation of new partnerships or the extension and evolution of existing partnerships:

  • between arts organizations, through initiatives such as

    • combined marketing campaigns

    • group promotional packages

    • collaborative ticket approaches.

  • between arts organizations and organizations outside the sector, through strategic community partnerships to maximize reach and efficiency.

• Support the development of new marketing or promotional materials related to new strategies or the translation of materials to other languages to reach new audiences.

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Ineligible Projects

 

The program is intended to support new and strategic ways forward for organizations, so requests centered around existing or planned advertising buys or offsetting the cost of tickets will not be considered.

 

The program also does not provide funding for artistic projects, expenses related to artistic creation, or regular ongoing programming. Strategies that include events or supplemental programming that are designed to test and measure new marketing or engagement strategies to capture specifically identified audience segments or communities are eligible for funding requestions.

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Spotlight on Arts Audiences

 

Organizations who are interested in applying for funding are strongly encouraged to review the latest Spotlight on Arts Audiences reports. We do not require projects to align directly with the research work, but the materials may be a helpful tool as you ideate your approach and speak about your goals. 

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FUNDING AMOUNTS

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You can apply for up to $15,000. 

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WHO CAN APPLY?

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Your organization may be eligible to apply if:

• Your organization is a registered Canadian charity with a valid CRA charitable business number (9 digits, 2 letters, 4 digits), and

• Your organization is arts-focused and presents arts-based work for a public audience, and

• Your organization is operating in the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta, encompassing Calgary and the surrounding area, as well as Banff, Canmore, Drumheller, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Red Deer, and others, and

• Your organization does NOT have an active Audience Development Funding agreement with the Rozsa Foundation. 

 

Equity-deserving organizations that are not charities may be able to apply for funding in partnership with a registered charity through an agency agreement.

 

We may also grant to provincial organizations in Alberta whose initiatives will directly benefit the Calgary arts community. Organizations located outside of the Treaty 7 region may still be eligible but should contact us prior to beginning the application. ​

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Organizations can submit only one application per deadline.​

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Not sure about your eligibility? Contact Ayla Stephen at ayla@rozsafoundation.com.

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