Item - 2023.EC6.4

The Economic and Community Development Committee recommends that:  

1. City Council direct the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to formally establish the Cultural Hotspot as a grant program with four funding streams: Signature, SPARK, Ignite Ideation and Live Arts Mentor, in accordance with the City's Community Grants Policy.

2. City Council authorize the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, to allocate, approve, and disburse one-time, and multi-year grants to not-for-profit organizations through the Cultural Hotspot Program, with funding allocation to be subject to the necessary budget processes and in accordance with the City's Community Grants Policy.

3. City Council authorize the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to negotiate, enter into and execute single and multi-year contribution agreements with not-for-profit organizations funded through the Cultural Hotspot program, with funding recipients and grant amounts to be determined annually by the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, within the budget allocation for the program, and on such content, terms and conditions deemed necessary by the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor

4. City Council direct the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to formally establish the Youth Cultural Incubators Stabilization Initiative as a multi-year grant program with two funding streams: Mentor and Mentee, in accordance with the City's Community Grants Policy.

5. City Council authorize the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, to allocate, approve, and disburse one-time and multi-year grants to not-for-profit organizations through the Youth Cultural Incubators Stabilization Initiative program, with funding allocation to be subject to the necessary budget processes and in accordance with the City's Community Grants Policy.

6. City Council authorize the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to negotiate, enter into and execute one-time and multi-year contribution agreements with not-for-profit organizations funded through the Youth Cultural Incubators Stabilization Initiative program, with funding recipients and grant amounts to be determined annually by the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, within the budget allocation for the program, and on such content, terms and conditions deemed necessary by the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

7. City Council direct the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, to work with the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto Arts Council to ensure the most efficient and effective deployment of City resources in support of Toronto’s cultural sector, and to include any recommendations in a renewed Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Toronto and Toronto Arts Council and report to the Economic and Community Development Committee in the fourth quarter of 2024. 

This report responds to direction from City Council to align three Economic Development and Culture (EDC) initiatives with the City's Community Grants Policy: Cultural Hotspot, Live Arts Mentor (LAM) and the Youth Cultural Incubators Stabilization Initiative (YCISI). Along with other EDC programs and initiatives, such as funding to Local Arts Service Organizations (LASOs), these initiatives run concurrently and operate collectively to provide critical arts-focused resources for some of the city's most vulnerable, equity-deserving arts and culture organizations, collectives and artists to advance cultural development and engagement in communities outside the downtown core, while supporting the next generation of arts leaders and organizations. They are aligned with the City of Toronto priority to advance people and neighbourhoods and with EDC's 2022-2023 strategic direction to grow and promote Toronto's cultural vibrancy.

The Cultural Hotspot program, Live Arts Mentor and Youth Cultural Incubators Stabilization Initiative are recognized as important initiatives with demonstrated impacts through robust and rigorous external program evaluation and internal review processes. Since its inception in 2014, the Cultural Hotspot program has been strategically deployed to spotlight areas of cultural heritage significance, such as Little Jamaica. To date, it has successfully supported 269 projects and highlighted communities in Scarborough, North York, East York, Etobicoke, and other areas. Live Arts Mentor, in turn, has helped build the capacity of small and mid-sized arts organizations, supporting 22 mentorships to local arts organizations, including Stolen from Africa and Tangled Arts + Disability. The Youth Cultural Incubators Stabilization Initiative, finally, has supported youth-led and youth-serving organizations including The Remix Project, Nia Centre for the Arts, Manifesto, and RISE.

The proposed changes in this staff report are part of EDC's grant reform, which started in 2019 – when the City of Toronto Community Grants Policy came into effect – and aims to improve accessibility, transparency and accountability of all EDC grants. Through this report, EDC is seeking recognition of these initiatives as grant programs with specific streams and transparent processes, and the required divisional discretion to review applications, allocate funds and enter into funding agreements, in compliance with the Community Grants Policy.  If adopted, changes will allow for continued supports through distinct grant programs with a clear application process to different streams within existing budget allocation, increasing transparency and accountability of City funding to local arts and culture organizations.