2020 Grants

Quarter 4

 

BIPOC TV & Film – Muslim Representation in Hollywood Panel
Online
$1,000
BIPOC TV & Film held an online webinar and panel with Sue Obeidi, Evelyn Alsultany, and Farah Merani titled: Muslim Representation in TV & Film: The Odeibi-Alsultany Test on November 24, 2020. The panel explored issues related to Muslim representation in Hollywood, and the role of advocacy in challenging and shifting production norms. This is important context for Muslim content creators, as Hollywood is a significant hub for Canadians in the industry.

Canadian Association of Black Journalists – Quebec French Language Webinar
Online
$1,000
The Canadian Association of Black Journalists presented an online roundtable entitled “Noirs et journalistes au Canada: Les joies et les défis” on October 9, 2020. Inspirit funding covered live translation services and additional organizing costs.

Canadian Journalists of Colour – RISE Conference (Trustee: C4C Canada)
Online
$20,000
Canadian Journalists of Colour (CJOC), in partnership with Canadian Association of Black Journalists, will plan and co-host an online conference in May 2021. Conference programming will be geared towards helping journalists in Canada find community, challenge journalistic conventions developed through a white lens, as well as skills development to prepare for the future of journalism with Indigenous, Black, and people of colour participants.

Drawing Wisdom/Hello Cool World Media – HIV: Healing Inner Voices – Stakeholder Engagement (Phase 1)
Vancouver, British Columbia
$20,000
Drawing Wisdom/Hello Cool World Media will develop a social impact campaign using the film HIV: Healing Inner Voices to provide stakeholders with tools and teachings to support Indigenous peoples and communities affected by HIV.

Hot Docs – Podcast Festival Partnership and BIPOC Fellowship Incubator Program
Toronto, Ontario
$30,000
Funding from Inspirit will support two components: (1) A co-presentation of a festival session in January 2021 that will bring together audio storytellers to explore issues of race, equity, and diversity; and (2) a BIPOC Fellowship program, that will support five participants from Hot Doc’s Podcast Career Accelerator program with post-festival mentorship, industry-focused training, and seed funding.

Indigenous Curatorial Collective/Collectif des commissaires autochtones (IC/CA) – IC/CA Unrestricted Grant
Toronto, Ontario
$150,000 over three years
IC/CA is a registered non-profit founded in 2005. Created to provide a forum for Indigenous arts professionals to respond to the dominant role that non-Indigenous curators and academics had within the field of Indigenous arts, the IC/CA has become a leading membership-based network of Indigenous curators and artists in Canada.

This grant will support IC/CA’s key internal capacity building activities over the next three years. As they continue to grow and develop new programming, they will also be focusing on strengthening governance and financial protocols, and building operational capacity.

Indigenous 150+ – INYAP Training Program – Level 1 and Advanced Media Training Program; Changemakers Impact Campaign (Trustee: Digital Arts Resource Centre)
National
$65,000
This grant will support a second year of the Indigenous 150+ Indigenous Youth Ambassador Program (INYAP), as well as an advanced training course for previous participants. INYAP is an online leadership and media training program for Indigenous and non-indigenous youth from across Canada. Through the program participants gain skills in media production, strengthen communication and cross-cultural competencies, and expand individual networks and access to mentors. The advanced program aims to build on these outcomes while connecting participants more fulsomely to broadcasting, while gaining additional skills related to impact campaigns and communications. The program also aims to increase representation of First Nations, Métis and Inuit stories and voices within the Canadian digital media space.

Inner Vision Productions Inc. – BIPOC Writers Room Training Bootcamp
Online
$12,000
Inner Vision Productions Inc. will run a virtual writer’s room training bootcamp for six participants from BIPOC and underrepresented communities in Canada. The training runs from November 2020 to March 2021. Writing rooms are among the most difficult places for BIPOC writers to access. The goal of the program is to support mid-level and emerging writers in their efforts to improve their craft, and to increase professional experience and opportunities within the film and television industry. Costs will cover program delivery and participant expenses. Inner Vision Productions will provide a report on participant outcomes at the completion of the program. Inspirit’s funding supports the participation of a Muslim writer.

Story Money Impact (SMI) – SMI Pod Program (Trustee: C4C Canada)
National
$10,000
The SMI Pod Program will grow and expand the field of impact producing in Canada. Impact producing focuses on collaborating with not-for-profits, educational and civic institutions in the production, and dissemination of documentaries. This training program is the only one of its kind in Canada and will be offered to four participants over a four-month period to participate in workshops and seminars, develop campaign strategies, including participation in Good Pitch Vancouver Virtual.

OCAD University – Indigenous Visual Culture Program
Online
$65,000
OCAD University’s Indigenous Visual Culture Program will offer two-week long virtual residencies with Indigenous creative leaders in art, design, digital media, curatorial and traditional practices from across Canada and OCAD University’s Indigenous students and faculty  

This Inspirit-funded initiative gives aspiring Indigenous art and design students access to the mentorship of Indigenous cultural creatorsIn turn, students participate in placements with community partner organizations to build connections while extending their new knowledge to Indigenous learners who are either in high school or out of school or work, but are considering an art or design education. 

Volcano Non-Profit Productions Inc. – Treemonisha
Toronto, Ontario
$25,000
Volcano Non-Profit Productions Inc., a live performance creation company in association with the Moveable Beast Collective, is reimagining one of the world’s first Black operas, Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha. The new version of this opera is a 21st-century take on Joplin’s music and is being developed predominantly by Black women. Volcano will run an impact and community outreach campaign to introduce new audiences to the production. Inspirit’s funding will support additional production staffing and campaign content that will highlight Black artists. The world premiere of the opera is scheduled for 2022 in Toronto. 

Woodland Cultural Centre (WCC) – Save the Evidence Campaign
Brantford, Ontario
$65,000
The Woodland Cultural Centre (WCC) was established in 1972 after the closure of the Mohawk Institute Residential School. The school stripped the children and communities of their language, history and culture with a view towards assimilation.  The WCC preserves and reinterprets the original residential school site and also runs the Museum and Art Gallery building to showcase the Haudenosaunee civilizations of the Great Lakes area and their contemporary artistic practices. Inspirit’s grant will contribute to WCC’s Save the Evidence campaign and will support the development of digital programming to ensure that Mohawk Institute Residential School survivors’ histories and stories are preserved and shared. 

Quarter 3 

 

Black Women Film! Canada  – Thrive Campaign  (Trustee: Scarborough Arts Council)
Toronto, Ontario
$20,000
Black Women Film! Canada is a leadership collective dedicated to the careers, networks and skills of professional filmmakers and media artists from Canada’s African diaspora.

Inspirit’s grant will support a leadership program and mentorship series offering education, capacity-building sessions, and mentorship for emerging Black women filmmakers.

Emancipation Arts – Free Up! 2020 (Trustee: UforChange)
National
$10,000
Emancipation Arts, in collaboration with UforChange, will produce FreeUp! 2020, a festival of arts and activism led by young people to mark Emancipation Day. In partnership with CBC Gem, this year’s event will include a multi-platform special with performances from Toronto, Montreal, and Stratford streamed from indoor and outdoor venues, including theatre houses, historical sites, and iconic landmarks. Other collaborating organizations include Pop Montreal and The Phi Centre. Inspirit will support the festival by providing an unrestricted grant.

Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) - COVID-19 Emergency Solidarity Fund
Toronto, Ontario
$60,000
The COVID-19 Emergency Solidarity Fund was created in partnership between ISO, Racial Equity in Media Collective (REMC), and BIPOC TV and Film, and is focused on supporting racialized creators in Canada.

Inspirit’s funding will support up to four screen-based projects, and provide tools and resources to help content creators develop new projects. The fund will be disbursed in grant amounts ranging from $15k-30k and will support the following activities in all content genres and screen-based platforms: Research and script development for new Intellectual Property (IP); Development for translating existing IP into new works; Online courses, training and resource development related to project development; Mentorship and/or collaboration related to project development; Development of web-based media outlets by established journalists or experienced media producers. Individuals and production companies can apply for grants through the Solidarity Fund.

Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) - Pathways + Protocols Phase 2
Toronto, Ontario
$49,000
Drawing on the  On-Screen Protocols & Pathways: A Media Production Guide to Working with First Nations, Métis and Inuit Communities, Cultures, Concepts and Stories, the ISO will research and develop an online resource and toolkit to inform policies and best practices in screen-based industries. The resources and toolkit will be hosted on the ISO website. The ISO will also develop and offer live trainings to Indigenous-led productions and groups and other organizations. Long-term outcomes will focus on how principles and practices are being adopted ‘on the ground’ at the production level and evolving to meet the needs of Indigenous creators and communities.

IndigiNews – Indigenous Editor Position  (Trustee: C4C Canada/Canada C4C)
Okanagan Valley and Vancouver Island, British Columbia
$25,000
IndigiNews aims to debunk stereotypes about Indigenous communities perpetuated by media. Supported by The Discourse and Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN), the first IndigiNews team was hired in April 2020 to tell stories of Indigenous communities in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. The team then expanded to Vancouver Island.

Inspirit’s grant will help IndigiNews build capacity through the hiring of a full-time Indigenous editor. The editor will guide the team, document decolonizing approaches, and share the impact of their work.

La Converse  - Project Development (Trustee: C4C Canada/Canada C4C)
Montreal, Quebec
$20,000
La Converse  is a new digital media outlet serving underrepresented communities in Quebec. Launched as a month-long pop-up newsletter to fill an urgent need for reporting during COVID-19, it has quickly engaged an audience and made a measurable impact in underserved communities.

Inspirit’s grant will fund the transition of this pop-up newsletter to a fully operational, bilingual, digital news website.

Racial Equity in Media Collective (REMC) – Funding Analysis for Indigenous & Racialized Screen-based Creators in Canada & Organizational Development
National
$15,000
The Racial Equity Media Collective (REMC) advocates for creators in Canada’s film, television, and digital media industries who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of colour (BIPOC). Established in 2019 by a volunteer group of working creators, REMC’s mission is to remove barriers to access and increase the production, export, and sustainability of BIPOC content.

Inspirit’s support will help REMC build its organizational infrastructure. REMC is also a partner in an Inspirit-funded study in collaboration with Nordicity to investigate the state of data collection on BIPOC screen-based creators in Canada. The study will analyze up to three years of data from Canadian public funding agencies.

Shareholder Association for Research & Education (SHARE) and  the National Aboriginal Trust Officers Association (NATOA)  - Reconciliation and Responsible Investment Initiative (RRII)  (Sponsor: Columbia Institute)
Vancouver, British Columbia
$150,000 over 3 years
The RRII is a multi-year partnership between the National Aboriginal Trust Officers Association (NATOA) and Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE). As part of the initiative, NATOA and SHARE conduct workshops, webinars, and conferences for Indigenous trust officers. Legacy institutional investors coordinate a leadership cohort of trust officers and develop guidance, policy, and metrics for investors on reconciliation objectives.

Inspirit has supported the initiative since it began in 2017 and will continue to provide general operating funds for three years.

Quarter 2

 

The Aboriginal Curatorial Collective / Collectif des commissaires Autochtones (ACC-CCA)  – Curating Care
Toronto, Ontario
$10,000
The ACC-CCA is an Indigenous run and led non-profit organization that aims to support and connect fellow Indigenous curators, artists, writers, academics, and professionals through various methods of gathering. In 2020, the ACC-CCA is running Curating Care – a campaign that focuses on how Indigenous curators and artists working across the country locate care in the work they do and produced through a series of video stories from Indigenous artists. Inspirit funds will support honoraria for up to 40 artists.

Canadian Journalists of Colour  - Anti-Black Racism in Journalism Webinar
Online
$2,000
In collaboration with the Canadian Association of Black Journalists (CABJ), Canadian Journalists of Colour (CJOC) will host a one-hour panel and Q&A to provide journalists of colour with concrete strategies for covering racial injustice while working in newsrooms already struggling with their own historic and contemporary structural racism.

imagineNATIVE  (The Centre for Aboriginal Media) - Digital Pivot: COVID-19 Response
Toronto, Ontario
$50,000
In response to COVID-19, this grant will support a series of rapid digital programming that will allow imagineNATIVE to test out different platforms and methods and assess how best to engage with Indigenous and non-Indigenous audiences, as well as Indigenous content creators, as they shift the majority of its 2020 programming online.

Indigenous 150+ – Podcast Impact Campaign (Trustee: Canada World Youth)
Montreal, Quebec
$22,500
Indigenous150+ will conduct a national social impact campaign to disseminate 50 podcasts produced by young content creators in their Youth Ambassador Training Program. The campaign will launch during the week of the National Day of Indigenous Peoples and be disseminated on digital platforms. The impact campaign will be led by Indigenous producers, and Indigenous youth participants in the project will be featured on more established podcasts.

Institute for Investigative Journalism (IIJ) at Concordia University – Indigenous Journalist Position
Montreal, Quebec
$110,000 over two years
This grant will support the funding of an Indigenous Journalist Position within Concordia University’s Institute for Investigative Journalism (IIJ) over two years, beginning Fall 2020. The selected candidate will help lead and coordinate reporting on IIJ’s ongoing and new investigations and work with staff members, student reporters, faculty, and news media across Canada, providing their expertise on reporting on Indigenous communities and as a data journalist, investigative journalist, and collaborator.

The Indigenous Communication Arts Program (INCA) at First Nations University – Intergenerational Learning for Indigenous Language Broadcasting
Regina, Saskatchewan
$70,000
Intergenerational Learning for Indigenous Language Broadcasting is a proposed multi-year project that aims to offer the first journalism education program delivered in Indigenous languages. The INCA program will partner with fifteen broadcasters from the Missinipi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) to develop a Cree-language radio workshop curriculum to be piloted in subsequent years, with youth aged 18-34 as the primary recipients of the training/education.

Institute for Investigative Journalism at Concordia University – Project Pandemic
Montreal, Quebec
$20,000
Project Pandemic is a data co-op and collaboration with journalism schools and media across the country to support Canadian news organizations by providing local maps of infection data and other unique information at no cost. The IIJ is specifically focusing on vulnerable communities, including rural and other communities, who may be most affected by the health, social, and economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their maps will be distributed to Indigenous language radio stations across the country. Project Pandemic is also working with organizations serving newcomer communities to collect data on COVID-19.

Raven Institute – RavenSPEAK: Amplified 2020
Online
$5,250
This grant will support Raven Institute’s event online. RavenSPEAK: Amplified is an event showcasing eight Indigenous change-makers sharing personal, punchy, passionate, and powerful 11-minute talks.

Silk Road Institute (SRI) – General Operating Grant
Montreal, Quebec
$150,000 over 3 years
Silk Road Institute (SRI) is a non-profit arts organization founded in 2013. It is based out of Montreal, with additional volunteer staff in Toronto and Ottawa. SRI’s artistic vision focuses on showcasing narratives that express what it means to be a Muslim minority living in the West. SRI’s aim is to present a variety of Muslim narratives in an effort to build and strengthen relationships through cross-cultural dialogue and understanding. This grant will support Silk Road Institute’s internal growth for the next three years as they carry out the marketing and fundraising efforts, including expanding audiences and programming and developing new partnerships to broaden reach, critical to their long-term viability. The grant will also subsidize professional theatre program costs.

Yellowhead Institute at Ryerson University: Call for Collaboration – Response to COVID-19
Toronto, Ontario
$10,000
The Yellowhead Institute is commissioning community policy work from Indigenous content creators in response to COVID-19. To date, they have received twenty submissions in a variety of formats, including documentary, photography, short videos, and comics, which will be published on their website and disseminated through their networks. The content covers broad areas of Indigenous policy (health, education, lands, climate, etc.). Inspirit funding will support commissioned work from Indigenous content creators.

Quarter 1

 

Loaded Pictures – The Mosque Impact Campaign
Montreal, Quebec
$25,000
Loaded Pictures will develop and execute an impact campaign for the film The Mosque: A Community’s Struggle / La Mosquée: Une Communauté Menacée. The campaign will include in-person and online outreach work in French and English to build audience engagement with stakeholders, including the broader community, educators, and the press, and a series of community screenings/discussion events in Quebec and Ottawa to raise awareness about Islamophobia and build connections between communities.

Noor Cultural Centre – Islamophobia Video Project
Toronto, Ontario
$20,000
Noor Cultural Centre will produce and disseminate a five-part series of short animated videos addressing issues of Islamophobia in Canada. The grant will support the development of an outreach strategy and impact campaign.

Toronto Ward Museum – Block by Block: COVID-19 Digital Capacity Response
Toronto, Ontario
$25,000
Block by Block is a participatory, multimedia program that engages young people, particularly from underrepresented groups, in the collection and interpretation of oral histories from neighbourhoods to enhance public dialogue, exploring inclusion, displacement, and similar themes. In response to COVID-19, this grant will support the Toronto Ward Museum to increase its digital capacity to produce the Block by Block project online.

Women in View – Women in View Study
Toronto, Ontario
$5,000
Women in View (WIV) will conduct research and analyze women’s participation in Canada’s publicly funded media. The final product will be a report.