The Canadian philanthropic sector is an “untapped resource” for documentary filmmakers, and an industry-wide strategy should be developed to connect doc filmmakers with like-minded organizations, says a report released by the Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC) on Wednesday at the TIFF Doc Conference.

“Philanthropic Funding for Documentaries in Canada: Towards an Industry-wide Strategy” looks at successful initiatives undertaken in Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. to get the philanthropic sector engaged in the production and distribution of docs intended to support social change. For example, the U.K’s BRITDOC program works directly with the philanthropic sector and filmmakers to support distribution and production of documentary films that have some level of social impact.

In terms of opportunity for similar programs in Canada, the report noted there are approximately 10,500 private and public foundations in the country, a number that has grown significantly over the past 20 years. The number of private foundations in Canada has also grown by 76% between 1994 to 2014 to more than 5,300. And in 2013, the report said, Canadian public and private foundations had combined assets of $55 billion and made $4.6 billion in grants. Within the philanthropic sector itself, there is also a growing  tendency to pool knowledge and resources to support specific social causes and foundations are looking increasingly to direct their resources to initiatives that have a measurable impact on social issues.

To better align documentary filmmakers with the resources potentially available from Canada’s philanthropic sector, the report outlines eight potential “actions” the film industry could take as part of a larger ongoing strategy. One such action is building awareness within the philanthropic community about the benefits of supporting documentary films.

“Industry associations such as DOC and the Canadian Media Production Association can support this work with their own initiatives to raise awareness of how documentaries effect social change,” the report reads. The report also called for more flexibility in how social issue documentaries could be funded, such as allowing philanthropic funding to trigger public financing for documentaries, as is the case with Screen Australia.

In addition, the report noted such funding models would require the development of tools to measure the social impact of documentaries after they are released. The measures would need to be aligned with the interests of the philanthropic sector in order to maintain support for future projects. In the short-term, the DOC suggested it would consider using its charitable status to create a fund to support “impact campaigns,” which are larger educational campaigns focused on a social issue a documentary is highlighting.

“For example, a charity might be able to engage the services of a documentary producer to conduct an impact campaign, provided that the campaign was furthering the charity’s mission. Clear agreements would need to be created outlining each party’s responsibilities and assigning the direction and control of the project to the charity. Assigning direction and control could entail a licensing agreement between the filmmaker and the charity,” the report reads.

However, the DOC does note models incorporating philanthropic contributions is complicated by the Income Tax Act and issues surrounding film production tax credits. For example, in Canada, a charitable organization cannot use its charitable status to direct donations to projects or organizations which do not also have charitable status.

“The challenge for Canadian charities is in finding a means to provide funds to donees that do not have charitable status themselves in a manner that is acceptable under the law,” the report reads. In addition, the way in which tax credits are calculated in Canada means any outside financial assistance filmmakers obtain reduces their eligible tax credit amount.

Despite these challenges, the DOC noted in the report there is a strong role for the organization to play in advocating for its proposed industry-wide strategy to tap into philanthropic sources.

“As a next course of action, DOC could convene a gathering of interested parties to discuss a strategy of how to build the relationship between the documentary and philanthropic sectors that would benefit all,” the report reads.

“Philanthropic Funding for Documentaries in Canada: Towards an Industry-wide Strategy” was funded by the Ontario Media Development Corporation, the Canada Media Fund, Telefilm Canada, the Ontario Arts Council and the National Film Board of Canada.

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