The Association for Opera in Canada is excited to announce the next stage in its exploration of social finance in the sector –

The Opera Bonds Accelerator Program.

The Accelerator is a 6 month investment readiness and capacity-building program for 3-4 opera projects/teams, providing technical knowledge, advice, mentorship and peer support to ensure projects that may be seeking future investment are ready to deliver on intended positive social and financial impacts. The Accelerator has a secondary purpose of providing case studies for the uses of social finance in opera, as well as informing the development of a new Catalyst Loan fund and its associated investment raise.

GOALS

– To prepare projects for investments

– To develop Case Studies to inform the sector on various uses of social finance.

– To develop Cases for Support to share with potential investors

– To understand how social finance can be structured to create financial inclusion equity and support for under-served, under-resourced programs.

– To inform the development of the Catalyst Loan Fund and the Investment Raise

WHO SHOULD APPLY

– Organizations, collectives or individuals seeking investment (loans, repayable finance) for projects projected to have a social (link to civic impact framework) and financial return. Types of projects may include but are not limited to productions, community programs, projects, opera-adjacent business start-ups, space-related projects, human resources, international and domestic touring.

– Applicants who can commit to the 6 month program, and with a minimum of two participants/staff.

– As one of our goals is to ensure inclusion and equity in social finance, we will prioritize applications from equity-deserving communities.

DETAILS

– The program will run from January 2025- August 2025, with once a month sessions.

– Most of the Accelerator program will take place online, through Zoom.

– There may be an opportunity to meet in-person, and for this, one travel subsidy per project will be available.

– An honorarium of $500 per project on completion of the program.

APPLY

Before applying, you are encouraged to attend our webinar “About the Opera Bonds Accelerator”

In order to apply for this program, please fill out the form below, including your organization profile, impact, and administrative information.

DEADLINE:  JANUARY 24, 11:59PM PACIFIC

The Opera Bonds Accelerator is funded by the Canada Council for the Arts through a Sector Innovation Grant.

Note: We encourage applicants to submit their application even if you do not think you are the right fit or if the program as described does not directly apply to you. We are particularly looking to understand needs and activities in development in the sector that might benefit from a social finance opportunity.