(Only available in English) This toolkit, developed by IMAA and completed in May 2020, includes a comprehensive analysis of Canadian arts organizations’ challenges in securing and maintaining affordable real estate, as well as a detailed resource toolkit of template documents, official guides, and sample documents from several Canadian arts organizations. This toolkit can be used as a resource for any non-profit arts organization that is looking to rent/purchase/design a new space for its operations to take place.
Real Estate
10 articles
External Expertise (IMAA)
In some cases, arts organizations will choose to hire an expert or a consultant outside of the organization in order to secure a space. This section contains a guide on choosing the right consultant, as well as templates for a non-disclosure agreement and a standard consulting contract.
Facilities Leasing & Purchase (IMAA)
Overall, this section contains helpful documents for arts organizations to acquire rented, or purchased spaces. Included are: sample Offer to Lease documents between arts organizations and potential landlords, commercial lease agreements, license of occupation contracts, purchase and sale agreements, and land use agreements, as well as a description of each document to determine which is the most appropriate to any situation.
Organizational Structure/Partnership Agreements (IMAA)
Once the decision to partner with one or more organizations is set in place, organizations may have difficulty establishing an official, secure agreement. This section contains many templates for confidentiality agreements, inter-agency partnership agreements, and joint venture agreements, as well as an example agreement between PAVED Arts and AKA Gallery in Saskatoon.
Co-location/Shared Space Assessments (IMAA)
In order to secure a location, many artist-run organizations choose to partner with one or more organizations to utilize a joint space. To determine whether this decision is advantageous, some of the resources in this section may be helpful. This section contains many different sample co-location feasibility studies, as well as a Non-Profit Shared Space Toolkit prepared by the City of Edmonton.
Governance/Ownership Agreements (IMAA)
This section provides resources and guides for managing NPO Financial Policies, as well as clear expectations for real estate committees. Overall, these resources will help an organization by increasing financial literacy, and ensuring that their NPO is well-managed financially.
Space Planning (IMAA)
This section contains information related to planning, designing, and assessing the unique needs of an arts organization to run its operations in a physical space. Included are sample interior space plans, images from user design workshops, and space needs assessments.
Property Management/Budgeting (IMAA)
This section includes resources for maintaining and managing a real estate operation, including a summary of expenses within a condominium, a sample renovation quote, and a simple 5-year operating budget template.
Business Planning Tools (IMAA)
This section contains documents that help describe an organization’s business plan, which is often used to illustrate an organization’s goals and strategies to funders and lenders.
Project Planning & Process Guides (IMAA)
This first section of the toolkit contains documents that are helpful for the first steps in planning a real estate project, including long-term project outlines, sample feasibility assessments, and examples from La Meduse Arts Centre, PAVED Arts/AKA, and TMAC.