the CEO Message from
This past year has been a testament to the resilience of Saskatchewan’s cultural community. There is still a lot of uncertainty out there, but the increased applications to SaskCulture’s funding programs show a province eager to engage in cultural activities. Cultural groups and communities are hosting more and more arts, heritage and cultural programming, providing a sense of optimism in turbulent times. Programs such as Culture Days Saskatchewan, which sponsored 31 hubs last year, saw over 45,000 people participating in person and even more online–a 14 per cent increase from the previous year. Applications to Creative Kids also increased 24 per cent since 2022. Fortunately, the applications we were able to approve also increased by approximately 6.7 per cent. Since its inception in 2010, Creative Kids has been able to fund nearly 14,000 applications in 266 communities across this province to the tune of almost $7 million dollars, thanks to the generosity of donors, sponsors and support from Sask Lotteries. Applications to SaskCulture’s other funding programs also rose last year. The Multicultural Initiatives Fund saw a record number of applications, an increase of 34.2 per cent, (55 applications in 2023/24, compared to 41 applications in 2022/23). In addition, our work this year with Gabriel Dumont Institute and the Northern Sport, Culture and Recreation District also yielded promising results with a 31 per cent increase in applications and confirmed our shared delivery granting model can deliver to the people of Saskatchewan. We also held the Museum Grant Program adjudication in 2023, which saw a record 113 museums receive their funding allocations for the next two years. In February 2024, SaskCulture held its three-year adjudication of Annual Global Funding. I want to thank the peer assessors who waded through hundreds and hundreds of pages of applications to determine funding levels. This fund, which supports 30 provincial cultural organizations, supports the core of cultural programming in the province. I want to commend the Eligible Cultural
Organizations on their efforts in these applications to demonstrate their impact in the province.
Besides increased applications, we were also able to move forward with several key projects this year. The launch of the Building Arts Equity: BPOC funding program in May, in partnership with SK Arts and the Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan, was a huge success. This program, delivered by SK Arts, helped validate our organizations’ continued efforts to move towards a participatory granting model. Our Funding Program Renewal Project continued with some pilot projects on evaluation, as well as finalizing our research objectives that will guide us through our consultation process in 2024/25. Also, work with Sask Sport, the Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association and the Districts for Sport, Culture and Recreation, continues to help renew the framework that will ensure continued support for communities all across Saskatchewan. As always, we are deeply thankful for Sask Lotteries Trust Fund for Sport, Culture and Recreation. Revenues continue to be stable and we all should be thankful to have this one-of-a-kind funding structure in our province. Thanks to Minister Ross and the staff at the Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport for supporting the lottery system and for working with us to build a more culturally vibrant Saskatchewan. Finally, thank you to the SaskCulture board members and to all of our peer assessors and volunteers for all your efforts. To the SaskCulture staff team, I will always sing the praises of your work. You all inspire and energize me throughout the year.
Sincerely,
Dean Kush
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