At Quest Theatre, we believe that cost should never be a barrier to children receiving an arts education. If cost is an issue, there are multiple avenues schools can pursue in finding financial assistance to bring in one of our drama programs. In this blog post I will be covering three of the major funding opportunities we usually recommend schools explore.
The first opportunity I make all schools aware of is Quest’s Priority Funding. We have our own list of matching donors who may be able to provide partial subsidies. The application form takes about five minutes to fill out. Or it could be a casual conversation with me, our Tour & Education Coordinator. Our funders are passionate about helping schools bring arts education to students so we strongly encourage all schools to apply for funding assistance if there is a need for it and a desire to bring one of our drama programs into your school. By filling out the form or speaking to us, we are just looking to be made aware of your school and your needs. We have done our best to make the process quick and painless as we know how busy teachers and school administrators are and want to be respectful of your time and energy. Funds can be used for a program in the current school year or in the next two years. We let you know the final decision on how much we could fund your program often within a couple weeks and at most a month. I do encourage schools to apply early, as the funding is taken from a communal pot and diminishes as it is used.
Secondly, the largest funder of arts residencies across Alberta is the Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA) Artists and Education Funding. The application typically opens two to three months before the deadline and the 2023 deadline is May 1 for funds that are meant to be spent in the 2023/24 school year. A successful application could provide 50% of the program fee in a large municipal centre such as Calgary or Edmonton. If your school is in a rural area, the AFA could provide 75% of the program fee. Applications are done in partnership with your artist/residency provider of choice. In this way, we would do our best to contribute to your application with supporting materials, grant reviews, as well as guidance on the application process, as needed. It’s a good idea to let us know if you are applying so we can be sure to provide you with everything you need well ahead of the application deadline. The AFA endeavours to let schools know if they are successful by September. So I always recommend schools book their programs to take place between December and April. This way schools who are successful have enough time to do their residency and report on it in time for the next funding cycle for the next school year.
Thirdly, there is a charity called Daytrippers Children’s Charity who works to enable experiential learning opportunities by providing funding to students in low-income and remote communities. Their focus is on elementary students and provide up to $1500 to cover program fees. Their application process is similar to Quest’s priority funding in that they are really looking to be made aware of your school and its needs. You can find all their application criteria and deadlines on their website.
Lastly, we have compiled a few additional funding avenues on our website.
If you have any questions or are looking to discuss options, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.
–Helena Deng
Pixie of Paperwork (Tour & Education Coordinator)
403-264-8575 ext. 2
