Film, television and video game creatives have a variety of needs, both planned and emerging throughout the year. Whether it’s a last minute invitation to a film festival, an upcoming workshop, or the need for professional services to support their new business. The Community Development Grant provides a flexible and responsive program to advance these needs. The aim of the program is to help remove barriers to growth of local individuals and businesses.

This program has three eligible categories:

Event Attendance: Funding to assist with attending festivals and markets to promote a project
Professional Development: Funding to assist individuals with training and development
Incorporation: Funding to assist with start-up costs of new screen media companies

Program Highlights

Funding is available up to $2,500 per application (up to $5,000 per individual per year)
Funding is provided to support individuals to support their professional development, promote a project at market, or get a new business off the ground
Funding could cover things such as local, national or international travel, registration, or incorporation costs
Intake is ongoing and applications will be assessed on a first come, first serve basis

Eligibility

This program is open to individuals directly involved in the creation of film, television and video game projects based in the Edmonton region.

Applicants must be in good standing with the ESIO.

Attending a festival, event, or market to promote one or more film, television or video game projects outside the Edmonton Region
Individual training initiatives which increase the skill level, exposure, and experience of individuals (e.g. attending a conference, course or workshop)
Incorporation of a new film and television or video game production company
Funding may not go directly into the production of a film, television, or video game project
Activities may not begin prior to application approval. Please allow sufficient time based on the key dates below for application processing.
Initiatives that contain propaganda; elements of serious or gratuitous sexual violence or exploitation; obscene, indecent or pornographic content within the meaning of the Criminal Code; or elements which are libelous or in any other way unlawful, are ineligible.

75% of registration fees, transportation, accommodations for attending a festival or market outside the Edmonton region or professional development opportunities
Per diem at a maximum of 60 local currency (or $60 CAD whichever is higher) per day per attendee for events outside the Edmonton region
75% of costs for promotional materials that will be used at festival, event or market
75% of required course material costs
50% of start-up costs for new businesses (incorporation fees, business license fee, professional services)
Only expenses incurred after application approval will be eligible for reimbursement.

Application Information

Applicants must submit a separate application form for each activity.
If applying for Event Attendance or Professional Development for more than one person, each person must submit their own application.
Applicants may recieve a maximum of $5,000 total from this program in one year.
Applications must be submitted prior to the start date of the activity and only expenses incurred after application approval will be eligible for reimbursement.

Application Requirements
Information required for the application form:

Applicant contact information (company, phone, address, etc.)
Business Activity Type
Business Description (1000 character max)
Diversity and Inclusion (1000 characters max)
Activity
- Type
- Name
- Description (1500 character max)
- Start / End Date
- Individual Impact (1500 character max)
- Community Impact (1500 character max)
- Outcomes (1000 character max)
Related Projects (Title, Description, if applicable)
Financials
- Activity Expenses (Description, Amount, Source)

The following general criteria will be used to assess funding requests:

Alignment to one or more ESIO Objectives
Application quality
Impact on applicant
Impact on local economy/ecosystem
Available funding

Other criteria may also be considered.

Process

Applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
All applications will first be reviewed for eligibility and completeness.
If additional information is required, staff will reach out to the applicant.
Once an application is completed and deemed eligible, it will then be assessed based on the criteria above.
Funding decisions will be made based on the available funding.
Applicants will be notified within 14 days of a completed application of the status.

Based on a variety of factors, Edmonton Screen may provide partial funding.

Funding is approved based on the specific activity submitted and is not transferable to another activity. If you are unable to complete the original activity, your agreement will be cancelled and funding revoked. You must submit a new application for any new activity.

Detailed recognition and reporting requirements can be found in the participant toolkit.
Reporting deadlines will vary based on the activities completed and will be indicated in the funding agreement provided.

Applicants with overdue final reporting for this program will not be eligible for future Edmonton Screen funding until the reporting is submitted.

Applications Open: February 7
Applications Close: when available funding has been exhausted
Notification within: 14 days of receipt of an application
Reporting due within: 30 days of activity end date

June 2025 – Only expenses incurred after application approval date (previously application submission date) will be eligible for reimbursement.

April 2025 – Removed ‘Training Initiatives’ as a funding category. Organizations looking for funding to hosting training initiatives can apply to the Sponsorship program.