Special Events Stabilization Initiative

To apply to SESI, organizations must meet the following criteria:

• Have a head office and operate in the City of Toronto (except for Band Councils, Tribal Councils or other Indigenous governments).
• Be one of the following:
  • An incorporated not-for-profit and charitable organization
  • A local band council, a local tribal council or other local Indigenous government (First Nations, Inuit or Métis) or equivalent authority
  • A Business Improvement Area
  • An incorporated not-for-profit community organization partnering with unincorporated individuals or collectives producing a special event, defined as: a festival, parade, cultural celebration or other type of unique activity, occurring for a limited or fixed duration (i.e. one-time, annual) and presented to a live audience, that impacts the City of Toronto by involving the use of, or having impact on, the public realm (i.e. owned, leased or controlled by the City of Toronto). It usually occurs on the public realm but sometimes can ‘spill over’ from private property.
  • Have successfully organized at least one previous edition of the festival between 2019 and 2024 that meets SESI’s eligibility requirements.
  • Be in good operational and financial standing with the City of Toronto.

Eligible Events & Activities

In order to be eligible, the events or activities must:

• Takes place in the city of Toronto
• Held annually for a minimum of one day to a maximum of 90 days (consecutive days or within a 90-day period)
• Takes place between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025
• Offers programming that is primarily free or at a nominal fee, i.e. less than $5 per person
• Open to the general public without a requirement for membership in a club or group
• Takes place in the public realm, i.e. not private-owned or indoor spaces
• Demonstrates community engagement and drives business to local main streets.

Ineligible Events & Activities

• Take place primarily indoors and in private venues
• Primarily ticketed festivals with a value of more than $5 per person
• Sporting and recreational events
• Artist residencies
• Competitions, contests and/or award shows
• Trade shows, business meetings, conventions and conferences
• Marathons and road races
• Religious and political events, including celebrations of historical events of other countries
• Historical re-enactments
• One-time only festivals
• Online festivals
• Primarily commercial or marketing-driven
• Any festival that would not comply with the City’s anti-harassment and discrimination policies

Eligible Expenses

Eligible expenses include operational expenses (fees and costs) dedicated to festivals and event execution, including but not limited to:

• Private security
• Paid Duty Officers and policing infrastructure
• Temporary Building permits
• Noise Exemption permits and sound monitoring costs
• Parks permits
• Paramedic Services
• Fire Services
• Solid Waste Management and Disposal
• Parking Buy-Outs
• Hostile Vehicle Mitigation
• Road Closures/Diversions – Signage and Barricades
• TTC Diversions
• Insurance

In addition, all eligible expenses must be incurred from January 1 to December 31, 2025.

Recipients of CFFP are eligible to apply to SESI. Please contact staff at sesi@toronto.ca for any questions about eligibility criteria.

Ineligible Expenses

Ineligible expenses include, but are not limited to:

• Activities that do not contribute to the festival for which the application was submitted
• Programming and entertainment
• Technical production (i.e. lighting, sound, staging, video)
• Administration
• Volunteer hours or gifts
• Alcohol

Applications reopen the week of June 16.

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“Accessibility” is defined as the practice of making information, activities, and/or environments sensible, meaningful and usable for as many people as possible. An accessibility policy helps organizations set goals to make themselves more accessible by identifying barriers that prevent people with disabilities from accessing the organization’s goods, services, or facilities and to determine how those barriers can be prevented or removed.

“Black-led organizations” are broadly defined as organizations with a mandate to serve and support Black communities, have executive and senior management who identify as Black, and/or are primarily staffed by Black community members.

“Community partner” is defined as a group or organization that has positive and meaningful ties to the community in which the festival serves. Affiliation with these partners enriches the festival’s cultural mission and provides opportunities for the community to participate in the festival. A community partner can be for- or not-for-profit, a local business, a community, programming and/or cultural organization.

“Cultural programming” includes performing arts, visual arts, literary arts, interdisciplinary arts, craft, design and expressions of cultural identity.

“Emergency plan” refers to the organization’s capacity to plan and respond to emergency situations that may occur during their event. Components to the plan include public safety, identifying hazards, mitigating and managing risks, security personnel, roles and responsibility, training, contingency plans, inclusion of the City’s emergency services into the plan, communications plan, etc.

“Equity deserving groups” include women, racialized groups, people with disabilities, immigrants and refugees, undocumented individuals, 2SLGBTQ+ people, people of low income and other groups the City identifies as historically underrepresented.

“Financial controls” refer to how the organization manages its finances. This can be explained through policies and procedures in the pre-planning stage and the approach to spending and cash-handling (as applicable) during the festival.

“Indigenous-led organizations” are broadly defined as organizations with a mandate to serve Indigenous communities, operate under Indigenous governance models, have executive and senior management who identify as Indigenous, are primarily staffed by Indigenous community members and/or follow an Indigenous service model.

The “public realm” is defined as the publicly owned places and spaces that belong to and are accessible by everyone. These can include municipal streets, lanes, squares, plazas, sidewalks, trails, parks, and open spaces.