About the 2025 Arts Grants Program

Thriving communities support the Arts.

WRCF established the Arts Grants Fund in 2020 and continues to provide funding through arts-focused grants based on the needs in our community, and indicators of the impact of this fund.

In 2025, approximately $220,000 will be distributed to nonprofit arts and culture organizations in Waterloo Region.

The Arts Grants Fund reinforces WRCF’s approach to encouraging self-led activities, with a committee of volunteers from the local arts community approving the funding guidelines, reviewing applications, and determining funding recipients and allocations.

WRCF’s Arts Grants will promote social infrastructure through grants that support arts and culture experiences that take place in Hubs, Havens, and Hangouts in Waterloo Region, turning them into dynamic opportunities for meaningful social interaction.

Small to medium-sized nonprofit arts and culture organizations are open to apply for funding that brings people together in meaningful ways to participate in and/or experience artistic programming in community.

See the Arts Grants Funding Guidelines for information about how the activity you are applying for must align with social infrastructure.

Social Infrastructure

There is growing evidence that social infrastructure is associated with more social cohesion, higher belonging, and higher wellbeing. As Waterloo Region grows to one million residents, we need to ensure we have the social infrastructure in place now – and for future members of our communities.

WRCF has researched social infrastructure over the past few years and found a framework we support that was created by Gehl Studio. As WRCF works to positively impact social infrastructure in Waterloo Region, we view places as the physical spaces—both formal and informal—where social interactions are made tangible. But what these places are is less important than what they do – which tends to fall into three categories linked to organizations, spaces, and experiences. The categories are:

• Hubs: Spaces that encourage interactions among diverse groups that may not otherwise interact, creating opportunities for people to connect from different backgrounds, and fostering broader community ties.

• Havens: Spaces that provide safe environments for people with shared identities or backgrounds to come together, fostering close ties and a sense of belonging. They shouldn’t be so exclusive that they prevent connections across differences.

• Hangouts: Informal spaces that support casual, everyday interactions, offering people the chance to connect organically and live life in public.