Toronto Small Business Grants (2025): 56 Grants, Loans & More for Entrepreneurs in the GTA

Toronto Arts Council’s Visual Artists Program: Creation provides support to visual artists who have a professional independent art practice for the creation/production of new work or the completion of works in progress. Funds are intended to cover direct costs of creation/production, and materials.

Visual Arts includes drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media, printmaking, performance art, installation and fine crafts and more. The Visual Artists Program does not include film or video makers: they apply to the Media Artists Program

The Dance Projects program provides funding to professional dance artists, organizations and collectives for the creation, production and presentation of dance works, and other projects that support the development of professional dance in Toronto. The program recognizes a diversity of dance practices. The City of Toronto supports this program through a funding allocation approved annually by Toronto City Council.

The program fund high impact climate solutions to create low-carbon, equitable cities in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area

Through a process led by facilitators from across disciplines and sectors, participants in the TAC Leaders Lab will enhance the skills, tools, networks and knowledge that will support personal leadership growth and new collaborative opportunities.

The Indigenous Arts Projects program is an annual multi-disciplinary project grant specifically for Indigenous artists, collectives and organizations. For the purpose of this program, “Indigenous” refers to people who self-define as a First Nations (Status or Non-status), Inuit, or Métis person of Canada. TAC recognizes Indigenous peoples are the original inhabitants of what is now known as Toronto, which has great historical and cultural significance as a place for ceremony, gathering, trade, and exchange. This program is designed to increase participation in and access to Toronto Arts Council funding by Indigenous artists, while increasing the creation and presentation of high-quality Indigenous art in the City. The City of Toronto supports this program through a funding allocation approved annually by Toronto City Council.

The program recognizes a diverse range of art practices. You may apply in one of four categories described below. Grants awarded may be less than the full amount requested. With the exception of the Project Development and Creation categories, TAC will not fund 100% of a project: applicants must indicate other revenue sources, which may include donated goods and services.

The Summer Company program (opens in new window) supports eligible young student entrepreneurs, aged 15 to 29, looking to launch and operate a small business during the summer.

The Streetscape Master Plan Program provides eligible BIAs with one-time funding to acquire consulting services to create comprehensive streetscape plans that guide future improvements.

The StART Partnership Program provides support and up to $70,000 in funding for large-scale projects that support the program’s mission to revitalize and engage communities through mural, street, and graffiti art.

The Starter Company Plus Grant supports eligible entrepreneurs looking to build their small businesses. Select entrepreneurs will receive training, mentoring and advice and will be eligible to apply for a micro-grant of $5,000 to assist with growth and expansion of their business.

The Starter Company Plus Grant supports eligible entrepreneurs looking to build their small businesses. Select entrepreneurs will receive training, mentoring and advice and will be eligible to apply for a micro-grant of $5,000 to assist with growth and expansion of their business.

The City of Toronto offers small business expansion support through the GrowthWheel program, a cloud-based tool that assists in identifying measurable actions that an entrepreneur can focus on to reach their business goals.

GrowthWheel helps entrepreneurs assess their current business activities by taking a “360 degree” look at their business operations. The aim is to identify specific goals and strategies to incorporate into 30-, 60- or 90-day action plans that an entrepreneur can then implement.

Businesses in Toronto may be eligible for a rebate on water that is used on-site for their industrial, commercial or institutional processes. The rebate is based on the percentage of purchased drinking water not returned to the City via the sanitary sewer system and is applied to the sewer portion of the water rate.

The Save on Energy BizEnergySaver program is designed to help industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI), and multi-residential building owners and operators make equipment improvements to reduce their energy consumption. The program helps address local electricity system constraints in Ottawa and in the Richview South area in Toronto by offering upfront incentives and direct installation of LED upgrades, adaptive lighting controls in areas such as exit stairwells and parking garages, high bay lighting upgrades and controls, variable frequency drives (VFDs) for pump systems and fans, and parking garage exhaust fan controls.

Small retail businesses are the heart of Toronto’s main streets, employ thousands of residents, and are a key driver of the city’s prosperity.

This program provides access to retail training, advisory services and mentoring opportunities. In addition, it offers a micro grant valued at $10,000 to help retail businesses develop and expand.

Business associations and community groups with strong business participation can receive one-time funding for outdoor mural projects that help promote a local theme and facilitate commercial or industrial neighbourhood identity. The mural program helps local businesses and communities create an attractive and positive identity for their area.

Newcomer and Refugee Artist Mentorship program provides support for newcomer and refugee artists to develop their artistic practice and to further their integration and inclusion to Toronto. We define a newcomer as: an immigrant or refugee who has lived in Canada for less than 7 years; a refugee is a person who was forced to leave their home country and is now located in Canada.

Toronto Arts Council’s Music Creation & Audio Recording program offers grants to practicing professional artists to assist them in the writing and production of their original music. This program will support new work in any/all genres of music

Toronto Arts Council’s Media Artists Program provides support to media artists who have a professional independent art practice for the creation/production of new work or the completion of works in progress. Funds are intended to cover direct costs of creation/production, and materials. Applicants may apply for production and/or post-production.

Media Arts includes independent film, video, audio, digital, video and electronic games, virtual and augmented reality and new media artworks. New media refers to works that use multi-media, computers or communications or information technologies for creative expression, including installation and performance art works that integrate such technologies.

The Industrial Water Rate Program offers a discounted water rate to manufacturers in Toronto to help support economic growth and encourage water conservation (also called the Block 2 water rate).

The Indigenous Arts and Culture Partnerships Fund supports partnerships and collaborations that create new opportunities and visibility for Indigenous-led arts and culture. The fund aims to spark new relationships between Indigenous artists, arts and culture leaders and professionals, and potential partners at both the grassroots and institutional levels.

The Indigenous Arts and Culture Partnerships Fund supports partnerships and collaborations that create new opportunities and visibility for Indigenous-led arts and culture. The fund aims to spark new relationships between Indigenous artists, arts and culture leaders and professionals, and potential partners at both the grassroots and institutional levels.

The High-Rise Retrofit Improvement Support Program (Hi-RIS) program makes low-cost financing available for owners of residential apartment buildings built before 1990 of three or more storeys to make improvements that reduce energy and water consumption.
Hi-RIS is made possible through an amendment to the provincial regulation regarding local improvement charges, which are municipal financing tools used to help cover the costs of local infrastructure improvements, such as streetlights or sidewalks. The amendment allows municipalities to advance funding to consenting private property owners to cover the cost of building improvements that improve energy efficiency and water conservation.

Since 2007, the City of Toronto has provided the Heritage Property Tax Rebate Program to eligible heritage properties. In 2015 the program was significantly restructured to focus eligibility on commercial and industrial properties designated under Part IV (individually) or Part V (part of a Heritage Conservation District) of the Ontario Heritage Act, and to calculate rebates to provide matching funds for eligible conservation work. The provincial government shares the cost of the rebates with the City according to the education portion of the property taxes.

The Heritage Grant Program assists property owners repair and retain defining heritage attributes, including masonry, windows, doors, wood detailing, and slate roofs.

The program has had a noticeably positive impact in Heritage Conservation Districts such as Draper Street and Cabbagetown, as well as for individual properties across Toronto.

The Green Market Acceleration Program (GMAP) provides local firms and foreign investors with an opportunity to collaborate with the City of Toronto in order to accelerate the development and commercialization of made-in-Toronto green technologies.

Participants accepted into GMAP will gain controlled access to City-owned infrastructure and assets (ie. buildings, streets, vehicles, water) for applied research, proof of concept and demonstration pilots for their new green technologies during the early stages of product development.

Toronto Arts Council (TAC) Writers Program supports the creation of new literary works or works-in-progress in the genres of fiction (including novels, short stories, children’s literature, graphic novels, etc.), literary non-fiction, poetry and oral traditions such as storytelling, dub, rap and spoken-word.

Toronto Arts Council’s Playwrights Program provides support to playwrights for the writing of theatrical plays.

The Entrepreneur Mentoring Program matches new business owners and startup entrepreneurs with experienced peers who can provide guidance and encouragement.

Through the Energy Retrofit Loan (ERL) program, the City offers fixed, long-term, low-interest financing to enable building owners to invest in low-carbon, energy-efficient capital improvements.

The Economic Development and Growth in Employment (EDGE) Incentive Program supports new construction or major renovation of buildings in targeted employment sectors. The program provides tax increment equivalent grants, whereby the City refunds a portion of the increase in property taxes that results from new development or redevelopments.

Incentives are available to support the installation of green roofs and cool roofs on Toronto homes and buildings.

Signature Project applicants should be established organizations with a proven track record to successfully deliver mid to large-sized community-based arts and cultural projects. Youth workforce development opportunities via job placements and/or paid mentorship are a mandatory component of each Signature Project with priority given to youth from equity-deserving communities.

Live Arts Mentor (LAM) funding seeks to build the capacity of IBPOC-led or serving arts organizations that deliver innovative, engaging arts programming and services in neighbourhoods that have been animated by the Cultural Hotspot. Smaller or newer organizations will partner with established arts organizations through a mentorship program to strengthen emerging organizations and to build the infrastructure of Toronto’s community arts sector.

The Creative Co-Location Facilities Property Tax Subclass supports the sustainability and growth of creative enterprises and live music venues in Toronto. By incentivizing creative collaboration, arts accessibility and local live music, the Tax Subclass allows hubs of creative activity to thrive in the city. A qualifying property must have creative enterprises as tenants that are charged a below average market rent, that produce cultural goods and/or provide cultural services. Eligible creative enterprises can be either not-for-profit or for-profit entities, depending on which category they belong to, as listed below.

The Creative Co-Location Facilities Property Tax Subclass supports the sustainability and growth of creative enterprises and live music venues in Toronto. By incentivizing creative collaboration, arts accessibility and local live music, the Tax Subclass allows hubs of creative activity to thrive in the city. A membership based co-working facility is a type of work space where self-employed individuals or small enterprises (the members) use a shared office or other physical work environment on a membership basis as opposed to a lease arrangement. A membership fee is the fee paid by said members to a building operator to access the space and any shared resources/services offered as a benefit of membership.

The Creative Co-Location Facilities Property Tax Subclass supports the sustainability and growth of creative enterprises and live music venues in Toronto. By incentivizing creative collaboration, arts accessibility and local live music, the Tax Subclass allows hubs of creative activity to thrive in the city. A live music venue is a venue in which live music performances occur. A live music performance is a performance by individual musical artists or groups of musical artists of original or non-original (cover) musical works on instruments, vocally or on equipment conventionally used to perform jazz, rock, folk, classical, R&B, hip hop, global, experimental, and other genres of music, and includes performances by electronic musical artists and DJs using digital equipment, software or turntables to create musical performances for an audience, but excludes the simple playback of recorded music without a creative role being played by the DJ.

Toronto Small Business Enterprise Centre staff can provide one-on-one consultations, including a free review of your business plan.

The Commercial Space Rehabilitation Grant Program offers matching funding of 50 per cent to commercial business operators and owners of storefronts that are vacant (or, in certain limited circumstances, at risk of becoming vacant) to undertake interior renovations.

The Commercial Façade Improvement Grant Program provides funding to commercial property owners and tenants of commercial property, to redesign, renovate or restore facades on commercial buildings that are commercial use at street level and may have commercial and or residential uses on upper floors. The building façade must face a public road or a right-of-way that is accessible to the public.

The Circular Food Innovators Fund supports local small businesses (both for-profit and not-for-profit) to implement reuse systems that replace single-use and takeaway items with reusable foodservice ware that is collected and redistributed for further use.

The City of Toronto’s Capacity Buy Back Program encourages and rewards industrial, commercial and institutional organizations that reduce water use by:
– offering industrial customers consuming up to 15,000 m3/yr, commercial, and institutional customers a free water audit to help identify ways to reduce water use;
– rewarding industrial customers consuming up to 5,000 m3/yr, and commercial and institutional customers that implement permanent water savings measures with a one-time cash rebate up to 30 cents per litre of water saved per average day;
– helping participants save money over the long-term with reduced water bills.
This program allows the City to buy back water capacity that has been freed up by participants who have reduced water use in their operations.

The CaféTO Property Improvement Program is available to owners and tenants of commercial and industrial properties in Toronto to improve the appearance and/or function of their curb lane cafés, commercial patios and sidewalk cafés.

Brownfield Remediation Tax Assistance (BRTA) is a component of the Economic Development & Growth in Employment Incentive Program. The BRTA program encourages investment in sites where contamination has rendered the property vacant, under-utilized, unsafe, unproductive or abandoned.

The Black Arts Projects Program provides support to individual artists, artist collectives of 2 or more Black artists working on a non-profit basis and incorporated non-profit Toronto Black arts organizations.
The City of Toronto supports this program through a funding allocation approved annually by Toronto City Council.
TAC recognizes the need to respond to barriers that Black arts communities face due to anti-Black racism. The program seeks to address these barriers by providing pathways to sustainable support to Toronto’s Black-led arts organizations serving Black artists. The program is designed to increase access to, awareness of, and participation in Toronto Arts Council funding by Black artists, while amplifying the work of Black artists in the city and creating avenues for sustainable art practice.
This program is multidisciplinary and recognizes a diversity of art practice, including new and emerging art forms, culturally relevant art practices, and multi/ interdisciplinary arts projects. Applicants can apply for projects that engage one or multiple arts disciplines.

Artists in the Library program provides funding to professional artists, arts organizations and collectives working in any artistic discipline to create and deliver free community-engaged arts programming at one of the listed branches of the Toronto Public Library. This program encourages applications from TAC’s equity priority groups, as well as emerging artists, those reconnecting with their artistic practice, and artists local to the branches.

The Animating Toronto Parks grants program provides funding to professional artists, arts organizations, artist collectives, and non-profit organizations to create and present free arts programming in selected Toronto parks located in Etobicoke, East York, York, North York and Scarborough. For the purposes of this program, “arts programming” may include the presentation of dance, literary arts, music, theatre, visual and media arts, community-engaged arts, Indigenous arts, and other fields of artistic practice. Community consultation and/or engagement is a requirement of the program.

Toronto Arts Council’s Animating Historic Sites program provides funding to arts organizations, collectives or professional artists to re-imagine and animate selected Toronto History Museums and the Village at Black Creek.