---
title: "Catalyst and Transformation Fund: How Toronto supported arts and culture organisations to restructure and recover after the pandemic"
date: 2025-10-13T00:50:05Z
modified: 2025-10-17T05:46:23Z
permalink: "https://worldcitiescultureforum.com/city-project/torontos-catalyst-and-transformation-fund/"
type: city-project
status: publish
excerpt: Launched in response to growing precarity in the cultural sector, Toronto’s Catalyst and Transformation (CAT) Fund helps arts and culture organizations reimagine their futures and business models. Delivered by Work In Culture, the fund supports strategic risk-taking, from shared governance models to thoughtful wind-downs, prioritising equity, sustainability, and collaboration. By offering anonymity and structural support, CAT has empowered organisations across the sector to embrace meaningful, long-deferred change and reshape their role in community life.
wpid: 174982
tags:
  - Catalyst and Transformation Fund Toronto
  - cultural infrastructure Toronto
  - Toronto arts funding
  - Toronto cultural policy
region:
  - Toronto
country:
  - Canada
city-region:
  - North America
topic:
  - Arts and Politics
  - Communities
  - Equity & Inclusion
featured_image: "https://worldcitiescultureforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Street-performers-underneath-the-CN-Tower-Toronto-C-Usnplash-photo-by-Surinder-Pal-Singh-scaled.jpg"
---

## Project: Encouraging risk-taking and structural change to reinvigorate the city’s cultural sector



![](https://worldcitiescultureforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Street-performers-underneath-the-CN-Tower-Toronto-C-Usnplash-photo-by-Surinder-Pal-Singh-1024x483.jpg)

Street performers underneath the CN Tower Toronto **©** Photo by Surinder Pal Singh on UnsplashThe _Catalyst and Transformation (CAT) Fund_ was launched to help Toronto’s arts and culture organisations adapt to the wave of significant change that has swept over the sector since the Covid-19 pandemic. With funding and support needed to reimagine their futures, the programme encourages organisations to take strategic risks, explore new models, and implement meaningful changes that reflect values of sustainability, equity, and community engagement.

## Confronting disruption in Toronto’s cultural sector

The Covid-19 pandemic exposed deep structural vulnerabilities across Toronto’s cultural ecosystem. Arts organisations—ranging from artist-run collectives to established institutions—struggled with outdated business models, inequities in access to resources, and the rapid shift toward digital engagement. Financial pressures mounted, audiences changed and demands for equity and inclusion became louder and more urgent. For many, survival required more than recovery; it demanded profound transformation. This was the context in which the City of Toronto, working with the Canadian federal and provincial governments and private philanthropic foundations, launched the _Catalyst and Transformation (CAT) Fund_. The initiative recognised that Toronto’s cultural infrastructure needed a bold intervention: one that could stabilise organisations in the short term while empowering them to reinvent themselves for a sustainable, inclusive future.

## A funding model built for risk and renewal

Unlike many cultural funding streams, the _CAT Fund_ was designed to encourage risk-taking and structural change. Two types of support were offered: exploration grants, which allowed organisations to assess their current state and design new futures, and implementation grants, which provided resources to execute those plans.

Crucially, transformation was not defined solely by growth. For some, the best pathway was downsizing, restructuring, or even closing responsibly. By placing values of sustainability, equity, and collaboration at the centre, the _CAT Fund_ created the space for cultural organisations to rethink their governance, programming, and role in Toronto’s cultural landscape.

To ensure trust, the programme was administered by _Work In Culture_, a third-party organisation, and applicants were given the option to participate anonymously. This approach addressed a key barrier – organisations’ hesitation to share vulnerabilities with government funders – while fostering openness about the realities of cultural work.

## Empowering cultural organisations to lead change

The impact of the _CAT Fund_ has been felt across Toronto’s creative workspaces and community venues. Some organisations restructured leadership to embrace shared governance, while others implemented equity-focused policies that redistributed resources and decision-making power. Community-based groups used the funding to strengthen partnerships and redesign programming for accessibility, deepening their connections with diverse audiences.

Performance institutions and arts venues piloted collaborative leadership models, creating healthier, more sustainable workplaces for cultural workers. In cases where closure was the most viable option, organisations used _CAT_ support to wind down with care – archiving work, developing legacy plans, and supporting staff transitions.

By stabilising organisations and providing the framework for structural change, Toronto’s CAT Fund has redefined how cultural policy can respond to crisis. More than a recovery programme, it has become a model for municipal cultural intervention, showing how targeted, flexible funding can safeguard cultural infrastructure, promote equity, and encourage innovation.

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