These questions and answers relate to the
Operating funding framework 2024-25 section of the Guide to OAC Operating Programs.
What is OAC’s budget context for 2024-25?
OAC’s allocation from the provincial government for 2024-25 is set at $60 million dollars. OAC’s base budget has been mostly at this level since 2009.
What are the notification timelines?
Grant notification will be available about five months after the program deadline.
What are the objectives for the 2024 funding framework?
These changes bring our funding decisions into closer alignment with our strategic plan, which was developed following broad community consultation.
Specifically, we want our operating programs to produce measurable benefits to equity, the economy, the careers of artists and arts workers, and quality of life of Ontarians – even more than they already do.
Here are high-level definitions of what we mean by those four outcome-based priorities.
- Benefiting equity: Serving and engaging with equity-deserving groups in the arts sector and the community.
- Benefiting the careers of artists and arts workers in Ontario: Creating opportunities and providing training or resources to benefit artists and arts workers in the sector.
- Benefiting the economy: Leveraging OAC’s investment, creating jobs and tourism.
- Benefiting the quality of life of Ontarians: Providing deep or wide-ranging engagement with audiences, particularly for remote or underserved communities, arts education opportunities and community engaged opportunities, all of which have been proven to include social, mental and physical wellbeing.
Why is “benefit to the economy” one of OAC’s outcome-based priorities?
OAC operating funding not only promotes equity, supports the careers of artists and arts workers, and enhances the quality of life of Ontarians but also provides a positive net investment for the province, thereby contributing to a strong provincial economy.
In 2023-24, we incorporated economic impact into grant amount recommendations via OAC program officers – to help them determine grant recommendations within the range associated with their assessment-based rating group.
This year, we have formalized that process by first calculating the economic score for all returning organizations based on quantitative data, and then combining this score with their peer assessment score.
Can you explain the economic score?
As of 2024-25, returning organizations will receive an economic score calculated as a
ratio, with recent financial information
divided by the size of their annual grant from OAC (to offer a reasonable comparison for organizations of all sizes). For most organizations, this year’s economic score will use financial information from their fiscal year ending in 2022.
This calculation uses three economic indicators – consumer and donor behaviour, labour market investment and organization finances – as demonstrated through an organization’s revenue generation and expenditures on labour costs.
An organization’s economic score is then compared to the five-year average of all operating organizations and calculated to produce an economic score out of 100.
Once the economic score is calculated, how does it affect grant amounts?
If an organization’s economic impact score is higher than its peer assessment score, the two will be combined into a slightly higher overall score. In
some cases, this will result in a higher overall rating group.
If the organization’s economic impact score is equal to or lower than its peer assessment score, it is
not factored into the overall score at all.
There is no possible negative impact of any organization’s economic score on their grant amount.
Can you give more information about the three indicators?
Here’s how they’re calculated:
- Consumer behaviour = (earned revenue + private revenue) ÷ OAC grant
- Labour market investment = salaries and fees ÷ OAC grant
- Organization finances = total revenues ÷ OAC grant
What CADAC (or financial form) lines are you specifically looking at?
The CADAC lines we use are listed below. For publishing organizations’ financial forms, we use the closest equivalents.
4175 - Total Earned Revenue
4345 - Total Private Sector Revenue
5105 - Artists and professional fees
5110 - Artistic salaries – employees
5115 - Copyright, reproduction and royalties payment
5125 - Production / technical salaries – employees
5130 - Production / technical services professional fees
5205 - Facility operating salaries – employees
5210 - Facility operating professional fees
5305 - Marketing and communications salaries – employees
5310 - Marketing and communications professional fees
5405 - Fundraising salaries – employees
5410 - Fundraising professional fees
5505 - Administrative salaries – employees
5510 - Administrative professional fees
4700 - Total Revenues (C)
Will the economic score that is applied as a bonus only benefit already larger organizations?
No. In fact, this is exactly why the economic score is being calculated as a ratio – to account for the wide range of sizes and budgets among the organizations that OAC supports.
This means that financial information for a major performing arts company is not being directly compared with financial information for a local community arts council. We’re only looking at the ratio that results from that data being divided by the organization’s grant size.
Before deciding to implement the economic score, we first tested and reviewed how it would impact organizations across disciplines and sizes, and in particular, how it would affect organizations serving equity-deserving communities. Because the indicators are divided by the organization’s OAC grant amount, having a small grant actually made it more likely in many cases that an organization would get an economic bonus.