Frequently Asked Questions

Magazine Fund Applicant Company Eligibility

• Does eligible revenue include grants or donations?

  The eligible sales revenue requirement excludes grant revenue and donations; we are referring to commercial revenues generated by the applicant Company such as the sales of advertising and subscriptions and revenue from any brand-related activities such as events, merchandise and multi-platform properties.

• Do we provide financial statements for one or two fiscal years?

  Provide financial statements for the most recently completed fiscal year and the previous fiscal year, for a total of two sets of financial statements.

• At the time of application we will have just reached our Fiscal Year End and our audited financials will not be ready for a couple of months. Are we ineligible?

  Where Audited or Review Engagement financial statements are being prepared at the time of application, please contact the Program Consultant or Coordinator prior to application to discuss the submission of the statements at a later date. Please provide the most recent Audited or Review Engagement financial statements with your application.

• Our company doesn’t have Audited, Review Engagement or Notice to Reader financial statements. What information can we provide instead?

  Please contact Ontario Creates directly to discuss eligibility criteria regarding financial statements.

  Please note that financial statements should be for the publisher, not the individual title.

• In section 3 of the application form is the revenue breakdown requested for the publishing company or for the magazine?

  The revenue breakdown is requested specifically for the publishing company, not the magazine title (although this might be one and the same for the publisher of a single title).

• Is HST payable on funding we receive?

  No. Where there is no direct link between the payment and a supply (e.g. a recipient of Magazine Fund support is not providing services to Ontario Creates), payments are not subject to GST/HST. More information is available here, section 5.2   https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=19018§ion=HTML.

Magazine Fund Magazine Title Eligibility

• Why are digital publications eligible for funding?

  Ontario Creates recognizes digital-only publications that meet the requirements of the fund and which contribute to the agency’s objectives of job creation and retention, revenue generation and capacity-building.

• What is considered Canadian Content?

  Editorial content is defined as text, photographs, graphics, and/or illustrations which are authored or translated by a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada. Editorial adapted or condensed by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident will be considered Canadian editorial content for the eligibility purposes of the program.

• The Guidelines say that the magazine must be in operation for at least 12 months. Our magazine has been running for 2 years but has only been distributed in the last 4 months. Are we still eligible for funding?

  No – a magazine must have completed a full 12 month publishing cycle at the time of application.

• I want to launch a digital-only publication and I am an eligible magazine publishing company. Do I qualify?

  Yes, you qualify if you have been publishing either a print or digital magazine for at least 12 months prior to the application date and which meets the Eligible Magazine Titles requirements listed on pages 3-6 of the Guidelines.

• Should we provide our circulation audit?

  Yes, please provide it if you have it, but it’s not compulsory.

• Is the circulation requirement of 2500 per issue or per year?

  The circulation size requirement of 2500 is per issue and not throughout the year.
  Circulation is defined as a) paid circulation of magazines through subscriptions, single-copies/newsstand sales, and sponsored copies, b) direct request, c) controlled, and d)complimentary.

  For digital magazines the requirements are:

  • Open-access service: maintain a minimum of 15,000 unique monthly visitors
  • Application-based circulation: maintain a minimum of 10,000 installs
  • Paid subscription service: maintain a minimum of 2500 subscribers>

  You may be asked to provide proof of digital circulation.

• The application form requests the “Number of issues published.” Is this the physical number of copies printed?

  No, this refers to the number of issues or editions published to date. For instance if you have issued the magazine four times a year for two years, the number of issues published is eight.

• The application requests a breakdown of our revenue, is this for the most recent fiscal year, or the last 12 months of operation?

  It’s for the last 12 months of operation. This information is vital in assessing your application.

• The application requests a breakdown of our revenue, is this for the most recent fiscal year, or the last 12 months of operation?

  It’s for the last 12 months of operation. This information is vital in assessing your application.

• Why do we have to use the provided budget template, rather than our own?

  Standardized excel budgets help the jury analyze and assess your project.

• The guidelines request three copies of our print magazine. Do we provide three copies of the same issue or three different issues?

  Please provide three copies of the same issue.

Magazine Fund Project Eligibility

• We are a group publisher with a number of titles and a project that will benefit all titles: should we pick one title (the flagship one) to apply with, in respect to the info requested on the application form?

  Yes. On the application form, under General Notes or in the Company History, you can provide information on the other titles.

• We are a group publisher with a number of titles. Can we apply with two different projects for two separate titles?

  Yes, a group publisher can submit a maximum of two applications. The total funding request cannot exceed the maximum level of funding available to the company based on eligible sales revenue (see page 10 of the Guidelines).

• We want to apply to produce a promotional insert for a magazine, copies of which are being handed out at an event related to the magazine – is this eligible?

  Yes, assuming the production costs and event are not prior to the approval date of program funding.

• Are expenses related to attending a trade show to sell subscriptions eligible?

  Yes.

• When completing the Expected Results section of the application form do I provide cumulative totals, e.g., do I add together the revenue for the funding period and the 12 months following the funding period?

  No - we require you to project revenue at three distinct points in the project’s lifetime:
  Phase #1: the end of the funding period; Phase #2 for the first year post-funding; Phase #3 for the second year post-funding.

  

  When the totals of these three phases are combined, the result is the overall expected revenue for the project. This result can only be accurate if you treat the three phases as individual time frames. Results are independent of one another rather than cumulative. For example: $20,000 in revenue at the end of Phase #1, $30,000 at the end of Phase #2, $45,000 at the end of Phase #3; NOT $20,000 at end of Phase #1, $50,000 at the end of Phase #2, $95,000 at the end of Phase #3).