CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Develop your project. Find the right funding. Tell your story clearly.

Your first arts grant may be closer than you think.

In two major Canada Council creation programs during 2024–25:

7,370
applications were assessed

$52 million
was awarded

35% 
More than one in three successful recipients received their first Canada Council grant.

Source: Canada Council for the Arts, Explore and Create Funding Results, 2024–25

My Vision

I want more independent, emerging and newcomer artists to understand and access Canadian public arts funding. 

I have years of experience obtaining grants for my own work, supporting artists and organizations across Canada with applications, and serving on a BC Arts Council jury,

I help artists transform their ideas into clear, practical and competitive projects—without losing their individual voices.

Who Is This For?

This support may be right for you if:

  • You have an artistic idea but don’t know how to turn it into a fundable project.
  • You’re applying for your first grant and the process feels overwhelming.
  • You have a draft but aren’t sure whether it is clear, convincing or complete.
  • You’re new to the Canadian arts-funding system.
  • English isn’t your first language, but you want the application to retain your voice.
  • You’ve applied before without success and want a fresh perspective.
  • You’re an independent artist without a producer or organization handling the administrative work.
  • Your arts organization needs additional support during a major deadline.

I work primarily with independent filmmakers, performing artists, dance artists, multidisciplinary creators, artist collectives and small to mid-sized arts organizations.

You don’t need to arrive with a perfect project. A rough idea, an unfinished draft, or even a document full of chaotic notes—is enough for us to begin.

How I Can Help

  • Funding Strategy Consultation — Clarify your project, funding options and next steps.
  • Application Review — Receive strategic feedback on an existing draft.
  • Full Application Development — Develop the project and application collaboratively.
  • Support for Arts Organizations — Additional capacity for applications, strategy and development.

Additional support is available for funding research, budgets, artist CVs, pitch decks and work-sample selection. 

Frequently Asked Questions

You absolutely can—we all do.

But jurors read a lot of applications, and generic, overly polished prose is easy to feel, even when nobody can prove how it was written. AI should be your assistant, not your artistic director.

We develop the ideas and first draft ourselves, then use AI selectively for clarity, grammar, translation or word-count reduction. The final application should still sound like you, and not like a very sophisticated robot describing “a transformative exploration of the human condition.”

No lol and you should be suspicious of anyone who says they can.

Grants are a little like auditions. A strong application matters, but so do the competition, the jury, available funding, program priorities and the kinds of projects already on the roster.

Even if your application is unsuccessful, the work is not wasted. You will have a developed project, budget and application draft that can be adapted for another funder or the next funding round.

The Canada Council for the Arts and BC Arts Council are my home turf.

I have also worked with foundations in British Columbia and Ontario, and I support clients across Canada with federal and provincial applications. If your funding program is outside my existing expertise, I’ll assess the fit and necessary research before accepting the project.

The scope of every project is different. After learning about your application, materials and deadline, I will recommend a service and provide a clear quotation before work begins. I can tell you that a consultation session starts from $100 CAD. 

It depends on your needs. Application reviews focus on feedback and recommendations. Full application development is a collaborative writing process. You remain involved, provide the underlying information and approve everything before submission.

 

Not really. You can begin with an idea, a rough plan or a complete application. I will recommend the appropriate level of support based on where you are in the process.

Not Sure Where to Begin?

Book a free 20-minute consultation to tell me about your project, where you are in the process and what you’re trying to accomplish.

We’ll determine whether grant funding is a good fit and what kind of support would help you move forward.