HOW TO SPEND GRANT MONEY (FULL FUNDING EDITION)
written in 2025
Year 2 of any project is bound to be bigger, better, and more extravagant, and this project was no exception. After receiving $1080 to put on the first rendition of the show in 2023, and garnering a lot of attention in the community, this project grew exponentially both with its participation, and its potential. It’s a privilege to be able to serve the community in this capacity, to be able to give artists their rightful opportunity to be showcased and commended for their talents by the community at large. Before I get into the budget outline for the project versus the budget actualities, I’d like to reflect on the “why” these things were asked for.
So you’ve just received full funding for an art project you’ve poured your heart and soul into creating? Congratulations! Let’s talk about what you need to keep in mind as you’re spending money you’ve received from funding bodies (Municipal, Provincial governments, art-specific grants), donors, successful sales of merch, you get it. We’re going to take a look at what it takes to run a city-wide series of workshops to boost artists experiencing homelessness, that culminate in a silent auction/gallery, in Windsor, ON.
You’ll need some things before you start the workshsops:
Art supplies: canvases, large bottles of acrylic paint, spray paint, paint brushes, larger canvases
Stores we shopped at: Amazon, Wal-Mart, Dollarama, Goodwill (listed respectively)
Total cost of supplies: $369.02
A set amount of 84 canvases were purchased to prepare for the show, and supplementary purchases of larger sized canvases were made and assessed on an as-needed basis, as per client request. To address autonomy with a project like this is to let the heArtists take charge of their needs, and work with their requests. Large bottles of acrylic paint were 69 oz, or 2040 ml, used across all 3 partner shelters. Many members of the artist community in Windsor were kind enough to donate their unused/old art supplies, including (but not limited to): chalk, canvases, watercolours, watercolour paper, paintbrushes, and so much more! A total of $369.02 was spent on art supplies.
Grant fund: $5000
Art supply purchase: $369.02
New running total: $5000-$369.02 = $4630.98
NEW RUNNING TOTAL: ~$4631
Art produced at these workshops needs to go somewhere, obviously, so the next purchase that must be factored into spending grant money is gallery rental. For the second year, Artspeak Gallery made an exception and allowed the project to take over the space for two weeks due to the population of artists the project uplifted, and to accommodate the magnitude of submissions. To rent out the space per week, is a charge of $200 for members, and $250 for non members, where a membership costs $20 per year.
Running total: $4631
2-Week Art gallery rental fee + cost of membership ($80 overall savings): $400 +$20
New running total: $4631 - $420 = $4211
NEW RUNNING TOTAL: $4211
In 2024, as fully-funded grant recipients, opportunities for artists involved with this project were bursting at the seams, some include: installation, artist fees associated with showcased work, and workshop helper honorariums. The idea behind providing these as paid opportunities was in direct line with the experience of the first showcase, Colors of Resilience, where the workload of the project was not reflective of the number of people involved with it, nor the time it took to put on. During the first iteration, 5 workshop volunteers, and 3 installation volunteers donated their time to help produce the work showcased at Artspeak Gallery, and while it was a great success, it was time-consuming, and relied on the volunteers to have enough energy to be effective in their role. This meant the installation took 1 out of the 2 weeks that were rented out to print off all of the placards, finalize any outstanding artist bio details, hang all of the work up, and for the first iteration, we used a physical, paper-copy bidding system, meaning all of the works had to be recorded on individual papers for potential buyers to use while bidding. After many hours of donated labour were all said and done, the realization that labour for this project needs to be paid for struck, and was included in this round of grant funding.
Running total: $4211
Installation fees, heArtist participation fees, workshop volunteer honorariums: $600 + $1000 + $1000
New running total: $4211 - $600 - $1000 - $1000 = $1611
NEW RUNNING TOTAL: $1611
While the topic of labour is brought up, the next allocation of funds were given to the project coordinator and manager. This role was fulfilled by me, the founder, and was a reflection of the work I did during the first iteration, and the work that came with the project expanding to three times its initial size. This role starts at grant writing and works all the way to ensuring payment is given to participating artists and shelters, with various tasks in between. The tasks in between include but are not limited to: meeting potential artists to collect their work, being at workshops across all 3 shelters, dropping off and picking up supplies, managing the social media/promotional aspects, facilitating presentations, creating powerpoints, and contracts for participants, and working with collaborators on surrounding projects simultaneously, like the 1000 Burger Project, and the mural on the side of New Song Church. As part of the agreement made with Andrea, my time was donated to work on the mural, and our participating heArtists were provided transportation by me to and from when needed. During the 1000 Burger Project, my art was donated to be used as colouring pages by the public to eventually reach 1000 of them, as well as coordinate efforts with Art Windsor Essex to install the community display show of the 1000 Burger Project during May 2024. The growth of the project, and its subsequent new tasks needed to be reflected in the pay. During the reception, the tasks that someone in my position was responsible for included: coordinating donations of food and drink, paying performers, installing and uninstalling the show, as well as sit at the gallery outside of opening hours of the gallery to ensure the community had enough time to place their bids and ask questions about the show, as well as provide a safe space for our heArtists to hang out that wasn’t a shelter or day program. As well, I was tasked with the responsibility of writing out artist bios for all of our participants, which was written in our grant request as an honorarium $80.
Running total: $1611
Project coordinator and management fees + writers fee: $620 + $80
New running total: $1611 - $700 = $911
NEW RUNNING TOTAL: $911
With more opportunities for visual artists, came more opportunities for musical acts, as well. As the first official “bridge” between talent amongst our heArtists, and talent that is regularly showcased within the artist community of Windsor, the reception saw 2 musical performances: Robber Macs (aka the Macs Milk Bandit), and Silk Echos. Silk Echos is a mother-daughter singer/songwriter duo who perform covers and originals, and Robber Macs was a participant from the first show, who created a world that viewers can escape into to understand more about his journey as an artist. Both musical acts performed at the reception, and were each given an honorarium of $200.
Running total: $911
Robber Macs Performance Fee + Silk Echos Performance Fee = $200 + $200
New running total: $911 - $400 = $511
NEW RUNNING TOTAL: $511
Part of the offer to collaborate with Jake from MadeinYQG was the offer to produce merchandise about the project, where the 1000 Burger Series was showcased and repped by folks from Windsor, which provided the opportunity to have money go back into fueling the next rendition of the project, and pay our heArtists for their work! Further pushing the notion of providing talented people with the platform to create. With that being said, a total of $90 was provided for the production of the tshirts, which were then sold at $30/shirt, where the artist of the shirt collected 50% of the commission, and the other half went into refueling the project. A total of 5 shirts, which were all successfully sold throughout the duration of the project. These shirts highlighted the art of: Robber Macs, Ann Reno (2), Batoolio, and Designs by Sav original “Jurger” shirt. The cost listed also includes some promotional items that were printed by Jake, as well.
Running total: $511
T-shirt Production/Printing Costs = $90
New running total: $511 - $90 = $421
NEW RUNNING TOTAL: $421
At this point, reallocation of funds should be discussed, as some money was made from the sale of t-shirts, and one of our volunteers donated their honorarium back to the project, as well, a budget of $144 was written into the grant to purchase latex-based paint to produce the mural on New Song Church. However, this money didn’t need to be spent, as Andrea Niven of Bearfoot Studios held a concert and was able to raise enough money to buy the paint, which ended up costing close to $300 anyway. This adds some money to the running total:
Running total: $421
Latex-based paint (unused funds) + 1 Volunteer honorarium = $144 + $100
New running total: $421 + $244 = $665
NEW RUNNING TOTAL: $665
It is important to note here that this report is communicating the results after the fact, and that payments were made chronologically as events came. Meaning workshop supplies were purchased first, then came paying mural heArtists, renting out the gallery, paying performers at the reception, buying any supplementary supplies requested by participants, printing and tshirt costs, and artist/volunteer honorariums, including installation. This is all to say, that the remaining outstanding payments occurred prior to reallocation of funds, and that these payments were made towards 2 heArtists who painted the mural alongside Andrea Niven and Batoolio, each who made $300! These were artists who had shown impressive skills and artistic abilities throughout the first iteration of the project, and were invited back to showcase their skills and add “painting large” to their artistic resume.
Running total: $665
Mural Production Artist Fee + Mural Production Artist Fee = $300 + $300
New running total: $665 - $600 = $65
NEW RUNNING TOTAL: $65
With $65 and the future of the project to consider, this money that was initially set aside for t-shirt production, was now reallocated to commission an artist from Windsor’s “art scene” for a logo design that will ultimately serve a bigger purpose, like merchandising, branding, and allow for that element of recognizability. This meant using the remainder of our funds from Windsor’s Arts, Cultural, and Heritage Fund, and some of the donations that were given to the project after the show was over.
Running total: $65
Logo Commission = $80
New running total: $65 - $80 = -$15
NEW RUNNING TOTAL: $0
There you have it! That is how the 2nd iteration of a project that works to bridge the gap between talent and opportunity used the most of full funding from the City of Windsor, who we graciously thank for believing in the project for a second year in a row! This project continues to grow and expand larger than expected, and the upcoming iteration will address some deficits that were recognized during the second iteration of HeArt from the Streets! Stay tuned for more information on how to get involved with the project, stay updated by following us on Instagram, and until next time, stay hot.
Batoolio
