Concluding Remarks

A recent Hill Strategies report, Artists in Small and Rural Municipalities in Canada, commissioned by the Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council and Department of Canadian Heritage, found that there are significant concentrations of artists in small and rural municipalities across the country, demonstrating that the arts contribute to the quality of life and the social and economic vitality of many small and rural communities in Canada.

Coincident with this are the findings of Cultivating Rural Prosperity: A Case for Investment, Inspiration and Innovation prepared for the Foundation for Rural Living that: “The scarcity of art and cultural opportunities in rural [communities], only compounds the problem [of a] serious decline [in] key social determinants signalling quality of life in rural [communities]- healthcare, education, employment and recreation.” The report lists the gaps in rural communities, including:

• Rural non-profits have less organized infrastructures with fewer staff and resources;
  
• The sector is small in scale, lacks critical mass and is restricted by vast geographic distance;
  
• Networking, processes, and infrastructure are areas in which rural voluntary organizations must improve;
  
• Leadership development, systems and structures to support volunteers are lacking;
  
• Few charitable structures exist;
  
• Most of Canada’s top funders reside in urban centres and geographic criteria often preclude funding vast parts of rural Canada especially in regions removed or remote from urban reach;
  
• Rural non-profits struggle with achieving programming goals and revenue targets; and
  
• Development opportunities such as productive donor bases and endowments are not evolving.