Looking to promote sales at your Art Gallery? Creative Saskatchewan has a grant for that!
Creative Saskatchewan is the economic development agency for Saskatchewan’s creative industries, including the craft and visual art sector, and we exist to propel YOUR creative endeavours. As a SaskGalleries member, you may be familiar with our Market & Export Development Grant program. If not, here’s what you need to know: this grant helps cover the cost of marketing your commercial art gallery.
Some examples of past projects that we have supported through this grant include:
· Travel costs to markets, fairs, and trade shows where your product will be sold
· Advertising (print and online)
· Hiring marketing, advertising, and promotion experts
· Hiring a publicist
· Promotional trailers
· Promotional merchandise not for sale
If you can make the case that your business is in a place where targeted marketing is the next logical step, you’ve got a business plan for the investment, and some sound marketing ideas to pull it off, this could be the program for you!
Our investment for this program is broken into two funding streams:
Major Stream
This stream assists with larger-scale marketing opportunities.
Approved projects will be funded up to 50% of the approved project budget to a maximum of $25,000 per applicant per fiscal year, or to a maximum of $50,000 per applicant per 24 months, whichever is the lesser.
Micro Stream
This stream assists with smaller, more sharply focused marketing projects.
Approved projects will be funded up to 50% of the approved project budget to a maximum of $5,000.
Funds received through this stream are included in an applicant’s annual marketing investment cap of $25,000.
Applicants are limited to one Market & Export – Micro Stream Grant per fiscal. Unsuccessful applicants are eligible to reapply twice per fiscal.
Eligibility
As with all of our programs, entrepreneurs applying for funding must meet our general eligibility criteria (outlined in the General Program Guidelines) and the grant-specific criteria (in this case, outlined in the Major Stream Guidelines or the Micro Stream Guidelines, depending on the size of the project).
Have you read both sets of guidelines and still have questions about eligible activities? Read on friends!
How do I apply?
If you’re a first-timer applying for one of our grants, we encourage you to set up a one-on-one consult with a Program Advisor to walk you through the process and eligibility requirements. They are YOUR resource, and excellent at what they do.
We also encourage applicants to reach out to the good folks at SaskGalleries for questions about your business and marketing plan, they will be happy to answer any industry-specific questions you may have.
When you’re ready to apply, head over to our online Grant Management System (GMS) to fill out an application form. You will be asked for your personal and business information and your project proposal. You will be required to include a business and marketing plan to account for a return on investment for the people of Saskatchewan, and your goals. Once our team and industry experts have reviewed and assessed the application, applicants will be notified if they are eligible for funding.
Don’t fear the process – embrace it!
Regardless of the outcome, the application process is a fabulous opportunity for any business owner to better understand their own strategy. For new entrepreneurs, we recommend reaching out to the SK Start Up Institute – they are a free resource to Saskatchewan business owners and offer one-on-one advice on a plethora of topics such as market research, business planning, marketing, legal, and more.
Finally, as the old saying goes, “nothing worth having comes easy.” Those thousands of dollars in funding (that you don’t have to pay back!) are worth spending the time to fill out an online application. Don’t take our word for it, just take a look at our awards last year here and our most recent commitments here. You can do this!
Grants for all aspects of your business
We understand that showcasing and selling local art is your passion, but a true entrepreneur understands that to achieve commercial success, there is more to it than having amazing artworks on hand and a Facebook page. That’s why we provide grants that cover the full spectrum of business success (and yes, you can apply to more than one, in fact, we encourage it!)
Below we’ve highlighted a few more of our programs that may be of particular interest to gallery owners – we’ll take a deeper dive into each in future articles:
o This program helps cover the costs of travel expenses to specific market opportunities, for example, if you have been invited to showcase at an art show or conference.
o If you’re looking to expand or make the business side of things run more efficiently, this program is for you.
o This program can support your efforts to better understand, interpret, and capitalize on market forces affecting your sector. For example, conducting market research, or exploring new technologies.
If you or someone you know is operating in Saskatchewan’s craft and visual arts sector, know that when the time is right, we are here to support your flywheel.
Additionally, if you service folks that operate in this space, keep us in mind if our programming might help artists with the costs associated with your service offering. For example, if an artist is invited to attend an art show to showcase and sell their work, this could be an eligible expense in our Market Travel Grant.
More information can be found on Creative Saskatchewan’s website, creativesask.ca. Our team can be reached during regular business hours at office@creativesask.ca or by calling (306) 798-9800. We’re pretty social too! Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn @CreativeSK.