July 21, 2020

UPDATE: COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund for Heritage Organizations

July 21, 2020 – The Department of Canadian Heritage (PCH) has expanded the eligibility criteria for the Museums Assistance Program — COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund for Heritage Organizations to include small museums with budgets between $2,000 and $10,000. You can access the application via the funding portal.

This extension of funding was the result of ongoing dialogue between the Canadian Museums Association, the provincial and territorial museums associations and the Department, where the museums associations very strongly advocated for this funding at the smaller museum level. We want to thank the Department of Canadian Heritage for their openness in extending this much needed funding to smaller institutions.

The closing date for applications is September 1, 2020 . PCH invites people to apply early, as the intake and processing of applications is ongoing. They have also provided an infographic for estimating the amount of support you could be receiving from the Emergency Support Fund ranging from $1,000 to $100,000.

Click here to access the COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund for Heritage infographic.

During our last meeting with PCH, certain funding details were clarified. Please note that this funding is eligible to all institutions that would typically be open at any time through the year, regardless of open status for 2020. For example, if you are typically open for the summer season, but have elected to remain closed this summer due to the pandemic, you are still eligible for this funding.

Also, the definition of a collection has been expanded to include “Indigenous cultural heritage and belongings,” as defined by the holding institutions, in an effort to make the funding more inclusive of Indigenous cultural centres that may not use collection definitions more actively used by Western museums.

Should you require support with your application you can contact the Department of Canadian Heritage regional office closest to you, but are also encouraged to contact the PCH main line, who have been well trained in this funding and its requirements.

Contact the Department of Canadian Heritage
Email: PCH.info-info.PCH@canada.ca
Telephone: 1-866-811-0055, Call toll-free from all regions, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern time)

Disponible en français.

Disponible en français.