Description:
- Managed by the Canadian Museum of History, Digital Museums Canada (DMC) supports Canadian museums, heritage, cultural, and Indigenous organizations to build digital capacity through storytelling.
- The Community Stories stream funds projects that develop digital storytelling websites using DMC’s user-friendly WordPress-based website-building platform.
- Projects focus on telling a curated story with a tailored user experience, structured around key messages and themes, not just digital archives or databases.
- Projects must be bilingual (English and French) and accessible worldwide at no cost, with optional inclusion of a third language eligible for additional funding.
- The program invests $25,000 CAD per project, with extra funds for third language translation and a $2,000 stipend.
- Projects typically take 18–24 months to complete, with a maximum launch deadline of 2 years for bilingual and 2.5 years for trilingual projects.
Objectives:
- To enhance digital storytelling capacity in museums and heritage organizations.
- To provide access to diverse Canadian stories and experiences.
- To promote equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA), prioritizing projects from equity-deserving groups.
- To support respectful, inclusive, and accessible online projects that are not commercial, political, or ideological.
Target Beneficiaries:
- Canadian museums, heritage, cultural, and Indigenous organizations (including First Nations, Métis, Inuit).
- Registered charities, not-for-profits, Indigenous organizations, municipal/provincial heritage organizations, and university-affiliated organizations.
- Priority is given to organizations led by or supporting equity-deserving groups such as Indigenous peoples, official language minorities, persons with disabilities, 2SLGBTQI+ communities, Black and racialized communities.
Application Process:
- Annual Call for Proposals opens June 15 and closes December 1.
- Applications submitted online via the DMC platform.
- Applicants must first complete an Eligibility Application to confirm qualification.
- Only one proposal per organization per call is allowed.
- Application includes detailed proposal questions, project schedule, budget, letters of support, and optional EDIA questionnaire.
- Application assistance sessions and mentorship chats are available.
- Proposals are evaluated by an independent Advisory Committee based on criteria including subject relevance, target audience, storyline, project team, schedule, and budget.
- Successful applicants sign a funding agreement and receive phased funding tied to deliverables.
Key Features:
- Investment program with ongoing support and guidance from DMC staff.
- Use of a standardized website-building platform to simplify digital project creation.
- Emphasis on storytelling with curated content, multimedia integration, and accessibility.
- Strong commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.
- Funding covers project management, content development, translation, and media production costs.
- Projects must be respectful, inclusive, and non-commercial.
- Projects must launch within specified timelines and meet technical and accessibility standards.
- Feedback and evaluation available for unsuccessful applicants.
This program enables organizations to create engaging, bilingual digital stories that preserve and share Canadian heritage with broad audiences through accessible online platforms.
