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Local festivals and events are important strategic investments in Edmonton. They provide opportunities for citizens and visitors to connect, be active in the community, celebrate our heritage and diversity, and contribute to the local economy.
This grant program has been created to support smaller, outdoor community (niche) festivals and events that showcase local talent, celebrate local histories and cultures, and add vibrancy to our city throughout the year.
The Festivals and Events Micro Grant Program is now accepting applications for 2025.
The deadline for submission is April 15 at 11:59pm.
Apply for Festivals and Events Micro Grant
Applicants should allow 6-8 weeks from the deadline to receive a decision.
The Festivals and Events Micro Grant funding allocations will vary based on the size, scope and scale of each event as well as alignment with the grant program objectives and priorities.
Grant awards will range between $500-$10,000.
Events are eligible for up to 50% of the total cost to host the event. However due to the anticipated demand for funding, organizations are encouraged to manage expectations as in the past available funding only allowed for 10-20% of total costs to be covered.
To improve your chances of success, please ensure that you complete all sections of the form and add sufficient detail about how you intend to use the funds.
Funding decisions made by the City are final and cannot be appealed.
The City reserves the right to audit applications and projects that receive funding. You may need to provide additional information to verify the funding was used for the intended purpose outlined in your application.
Niche festivals and events that meet the eligibility criteria are welcome to apply. However, the Festivals and Events Micro Grant Program prioritizes the following events:
Applications must be aligned with the City Plan.
Grant funding awards will be based on the following criteria:
Eligible events must:
Note: organizations may submit an application for more than 1 event per year. Organizations are eligible for a maximum grant award of $10,000 per year regardless of whether the funding supports one or multiple festivals or events.
The program will be assessed at the end of each year to confirm and/or modify eligibility and criteria.
Grant funding awards will be considered for eligible events only.
Eligible types of outdoor events include but are not limited to:
Eligible Expenses
Ineligible types of events or organizations include, but are not limited to:
Ineligible Expenses
Send these documents directly to eventsmicrogrant@edmonton.ca. Please include your organization name and event name in the email.
The deadline for application submission is April 15 at 11:59pm.
Apply for Festivals and Events Micro Grant
Applicants should allow 6-8 weeks from the deadline to receive a decision.
Note: Funding decisions made by the City are final and cannot be appealed.
Successful applicants will provide a final report within 90 days of the completion of the festival or event, and must include a summary of the event outcomes and detail how City funds were used. Pictures of the event are strongly encouraged.
Receipt of these reports is a precondition for future eligibility for any City of Edmonton grant program. Final Reports for the Festivals and Events Micro Grant may be considered as part of the assessment of any future applications by the organization to the same grant program.
Wherever possible, recipients are requested to acknowledge funding received from the City of Edmonton Festivals and Events Micro Grant program in related advertising or promotional materials. The City of Edmonton will provide logos as required.
Yes - if each event has a different program content, purpose, dates, and/or location an application (with required documentation) must be submitted for each event.
However, if the event will be hosted in a “series format”, meaning a similar program, on multiple dates and/or in multiple locations, only one application is required for the series of events.
Note: organizations are eligible for a maximum grant award of $10,000 per year regardless of whether the funding supports one festival/event or multiple festivals/events.
Yes. This funding is available to new event opportunities as well as to those event producers who have organized public events previously.
Yes. Please identify the expenses that you intend to use the funding towards in your application, and in the Event Budget document.
This grant program cannot be combined with the Neighbourhood Services Funding Program or the Community Services Live Active Grant. Events that receive a grant award from those grant programs in the same calendar year are ineligible for the Festivals and Events Micro Grant.
However, if your organization has received other City of Edmonton funding, you may apply for this grant. Please note that grant funding assessment is based on established criteria including receipt of funding from other City of Edmonton sources. Available funding and financial need will be considered when determining grant awards.
The most common reasons for unsuccessful applications are:
Unsuccessful applicants can reapply the following year. Please ensure you fully understand why the application was unsuccessful. If you have questions or would like feedback on your application in order to prepare for a future submission, please contact eventsmicrogrant@edmonton.ca.
Note: The City’s decision is final, however you can reapply if a second intake is advertised.
Niche Festivals and Events – these are specialized and emerging one-time or recurring festivals, events and parades that hold a local, community or neighbourhood profile, encourage community participation, and align with civic priorities. Primarily held on a single day, these events are typically smaller, homegrown, and run by Edmonton-based non-profits associations, volunteer groups, community leagues, and so on. This classification includes local and provincial level sporting events.
Cultural Event – cultural festival programming includes performing arts, visual arts, literary arts, interdisciplinary arts, craft, design and expressions of cultural identity.
Multicultural Event – an event that supports the practice of promoting human and group relations, in which ethnic, racial, religious and linguistic similarities and differences are valued, respected and exchanged.
Indigenous-led/Indigenous Serving Event – these are national, regional or local Indigenous and Indigenous-serving not-for-profit or charitable organizations that operate within Edmonton or serve Indigenous people in Edmonton.
