Small and mid-size magazines (including digital) can apply for the
Canadian Periodical Fund’s Business Innovation funding until Sept. 17. The fund is meant to support projects that innovate and create diverse content.

D.B. Scott reports on his Canadian Magazines blog:

“A portion of the funding for this component has been reserved for digital periodicals. And priority will be given to arts and literary periodicals that were awarded a grant by the Canada Council in 2009-10. (In effect,this may soften the blow for small cultural publications who were denied access to the Aid to Publishers component because they had fewer than 5,000 paid copies annually.) The program for print periodicals is restricted to publications with 50% paid or verified requested circulation and no less than 250 and no more than 45,000 average circulation.”

The applicant’s guide is here. Scott conveniently pulled out a few of the important ones:

-Projects are considered innovative if they explore new technologies or business models;

-They must be well-researched and clearly demonstrate realistic objectives and measurable outcomes, supported by a business plan or market research;

-Projects must demonstrate that they will increase circulation, advertising or other revenue and thereby support the growth and sustainability of the publishing firm;

-The maximum government contribution is $25,000 ($10,000 for a business plan, $15,000 for a marketing plan) and represent 75% of the project’s costs; the rest may be made up of in-kind or cash contributions, including pro-rated salary of individual(s) working directly on the project