Parcours

Who is eligible to apply?

Professional arts organizations that receive support from a Conseil program, meet the Conseil’s criteria and have signed a program partnership agreement.

What are the program objectives?

Pursuant to the 2020 study Rethinking Cultural Philanthropy in Montréal: Relationships and Community, the Conseil is implementing the Parcours program to address one of the report’s five key actions: to train emerging arts professionals in philanthropy and nurture a culture of philanthropy within their organizations.

Réalisé en partenariat avec la Caisse Desjardins de la Culture, HEC Montréal et la Faculté d’Éducation Permanente de l’Université de Montréal, le programme Parcours aims to:

• facilitate and invest in the professional development of future cultural philanthropy managers within the community
• offer professional internship experiences for cultural and philanthropy management students in organizations with effective philanthropic development practices in place
• introduce students to a broad range of philanthropic practices and endeavours during their time with the host organization

What type of assistance is provided?

The grant covers the intern’s salary of $20 per hour, any costs incurred for hosting the student, and must be used according to the number of hours determined by the Conseil.

Guidance for the intern and the organization:

An additional budget of $1,500 is allocated to help support the student and the organization throughout the internship period.

This amount must be used to meet needs specific to the internship project, including:

• providing training to interns
• attending presentations
• purchasing books or documentation on philanthropy
• accessing fundraising databases
• paying consultants for time spent providing support, depending on the internship objectives
• inviting a philanthropy expert to give a talk on the culture of giving to the organization’s staff or board of directors

The cohort of interns will meet throughout the internship to promote support, networking and learning as a group.

How long is the internship?

The host organization will determine the dates of the internship and the weekly schedule based on mentorship availability and the type of work involved.

In all cases, the internship should last between 200 and 826 hours in order to meet the minimum of 24 hours per week required to qualify for academic credit.

How are interns and host organizations matched? Do students receive support during the internship?

Successful host organizations are matched with interns during the fall semester, in collaboration with the partner universities. Organizations must not have found an intern at the time the application is submitted.

Each of the program’s stakeholders plays a role in supporting the intern:

• the program manager: the Project Manager – Arts and Philanthropy at the Conseil des arts de Montréal
• host organization: organization where the internship will take place
• internship supervisor: person affiliated with the host organization who will provide guidance to the intern within the organization
• internship director: lecturer or associate professor of the partner university assisting in the selection of the interns and organizations participating in the program, and supervising the student for the academic component of the internship

How is the program funded?

The Conseil des arts de Montréal, Caisse Desjardins de la Culture, HEC Montréal and Université de Montréal are partnering to help cultural and philanthropy management students find professional internships in organizations where a culture of philanthropy helps them thrive.

What types of projects are eligible?

• research
• creation/production
• specialized or multidisciplinary dissemination
• publication of cultural magazines
• production of an event or festival
• a museum
• service organization, association or alliance

Parcours host organizations must have:

• a dedicated philanthropic strategy management team
• a student supervisor who has been with the organization for at least one year
• an existing structure for fundraising activities
• a philanthropic approach that combines a variety of activities

What type of student projects are eligible?

Student projects must be internships in philanthropy that provide practical experience in cultural philanthropy in the arts sector, in keeping with program objectives.

Host organizations must propose a student internship that includes a variety of cultural philanthropy practices and endeavours. The Conseil and its partners reserve the right to request modifications or adaptations to internship task descriptions or schedules to ensure that program objectives are met.

What type of student projects are not eligible?

• projects primarily concerned with consulting or strategic planning
• projects that do not include the student in the organization’s culture and philanthropic activities
• projects confined to a single philanthropic activity within the organization

Can specific populations receive additional financial support to submit their application or complete their project (accessibility costs)?

Yes. Accessibility costs refer to costs that certain individuals, particularly those who are D/deaf and/or living with a disability, must pay to take advantage, in the same way as others do, of the services and programs offered by an institution for research, to create, produce or disseminate their art. Reimbursement of part of these costs by the Conseil des arts de Montréal may offset the financial disadvantage.

The Support Fund for Accessibility Costs is a financial assistance measure that complements the Conseil’s other programs. The deadline to apply for support for accessibility costs is the same as that for the program being applied to.

Artists, collectives or organizations that have obtained financial assistance from the Conseil to carry out a project can also file an application for accessibility cost support up to three months after the decisions related to the successful project have been sent out, provided the project is not completed before the deadline to send out decisions for accessibility cost support applications.

Support is divided into three components:

• Component 1 – Financial support to submit a grant application or to apply for one of the Conseil’s initiatives
• Component 2 – Financial support for accessibility costs for a project funded by the Conseil
• Component 3 – Financial support for presenter organizations for accessibility costs to welcome audiences for a project funded by the Conseil

For more details, please see this additional information on the Support Fund.

The Conseil will contact professional arts organizations that meet the above criteria and establish partnership agreements with the organizations selected. The goal is to create a pool of organizations that can accommodate, on an annual basis, a philanthropy student doing an internship for academic credit.

Management procedure after signing the agreement:

• the host organization determines the student’s supervisor and submits the internship for approval by the Conseil and program partners using the template provided by the Conseil
• the internship will either be approved in full, approved with recommended modifications, or refused
• in the fall semester, the Conseil and its academic partners will issue a call for student applications
• internship directors will assess the applications and make their recommendations to host organizations, who then select candidates for interview
• after the interview period, student placement is confirmed in early December
• the host organization is encouraged to arrange a welcome session for the student
• internships start in January, with the precise schedule determined by the host organization

The Conseil will approach professional arts organizations that meet the above-indicated criteria.

Internship approval is confirmed in collaboration with program partners. The Conseil and its partners reserve the right to request modifications or adaptations to internship task descriptions or schedules to ensure that the above-mentioned program objectives are met.

How will the grant be paid?

The grant is paid as a lump sum through direct deposit once the agreement is signed and the student’s internship and placement have been confirmed following interviews.

Commitments

Accepting payment of the grant constitutes, for the organization, an undertaking to complete the activities covered by the grant and to comply with the accompanying conditions, which will be communicated upon selection of the application.

Organizations agree to:

• carry out the project as planned
• notify the Conseil as soon as possible if unable to carry out the project in the fiscal year for which the grant was awarded. In this situation, the recipient may be asked to reimburse the grant in full or in part.
• if requested, submit activity reports and financial statements at the required times
• if applicable, include in the report photographs, videos or any other relevant, royalty-free visuals that the Conseil may use for promotional purposes
• comply with all obligations included in the agreement