Foundation or company fund Canada, Toronto

Slate Development Program

Run by Bell Fund

A slate rather than a single project: a Canadian producer develops several original series at once and moves the money between them as the market responds. Two expressions of interest are enough to apply, and repayment only starts when something shoots. Funded projects are listed on the fund's site.

Repayable, up to CA$75,000Open to writers in CanadaA production company

Next dates not yet published

The money

Amount
Up to CA$75,000A repayable development advance of up to CAD 75,000 per slate, repaid as projects go to camera: half on the first, a quarter on each of the next two.
What it is
RepayableA loan, an advance on receipts or a conditionally repayable grant: it is paid back only out of what the film earns.
To apply
Free

Who can apply

Applicant
A production company
Where you write
In Canada
Rules
Canadian independent production companies (broadcaster-affiliated companies capped at 15 percent of the budget) with no open Bell Fund slate, holding the rights to original Canadian intellectual property. The slate needs signed market interest forms from at least two broadcasters, distributors or platforms, and development must finish within 18 months.
Stages
Development
Formats
Series, Documentary, Animation
Language of the application
English, French

When to apply

The fund opens once a year. The next cycle's dates are not yet published; we add them when they are. One deadline a year; the portal opens about a month before. The 2027 date is not yet published.

RoundCloses
2026 deadline closedJun 2, 2026 passed

Dates are as the funder states them. Check the time of day and the time zone on the official page.

What it gives besides money

Up to CAD 500 toward a service provider for applicants with disabilities or Indigenous applicants facing barriers.

Also open to writers in Canada

See every fund for Canada

DevelopmentProductionCanadaNational fund

CMF Indigenous Development, Predevelopment and Production Programs (administered by the ISO)

Indigenous Screen Office with the Canada Media Fund

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Next dates not yet publishedA production companyFeature, Series, Documentary, Animation

up toCA$750kGrant or repayablebetween rounds

DevelopmentCanadaNational fund

Development and Predevelopment Funding (Broadcaster Envelope Program, Development)

Canada Media Fund

Television and digital series development in Canada mostly runs through this fund, but a broadcaster has to commit first: the money follows a development deal rather than a pitch.

Next deadline Dec 8, 2026A production companySeries, Documentary, Animation

VariesRepayablecloses in 37 days

DevelopmentCanadaNational fund

Development Program

Telefilm Canada

Canada's federal feature film agency pays for script drafts and packaging through a production company, from a first draft to the attachment of a director and distributor.

Next dates not yet publishedA production companyFeature, Animation

up toCA$100kRepayablebetween rounds

WritingDevelopmentCanadaNational fund

Development Program (ISO Story Fund)

Indigenous Screen Office

An Indigenous writer can apply here alone, without a producer or broadcaster, for research, script drafts, story editing, knowledge keepers and pitch materials.

Next dates not yet publishedA writer alone or a production companyFeature, Series, Short, Documentary, Animation

up toCA$40kGrantbetween rounds

More development funding elsewhere

See all development funding

WritingDevelopmentUnited StatesRegional fund

Grants for Artist Projects (GAP)

Artist Trust

Small, fast and plentiful: 65 Washington artists a year receive USD 2,500 toward a specific project, from research travel to a first draft.

Next dates not yet publishedA writer aloneFeature, Series, Short, Documentary, Animation

range$2.5kGrantbetween rounds

DevelopmentUnited StatesBroadcaster

Incubator Fund

ITVS, Independent Television Service

ITVS's development door, replacing its earlier diversity development fund: a small first payment to shape a nonfiction feature or web series for PBS streaming, with a few months of…

Not taking applications this cycleA writer with a producerDocumentary, Series

up to$10kGrantpaused

DevelopmentProductionCompletionUnited StatesBroadcaster

Public Media Content Fund

Latino Public Broadcasting

Documentaries and limited series about Latino life for national public television, funded from first research through the final mix.

Next dates not yet publishedA writer with a producer or a production companyDocumentary, Series

range$100kInvestmentbetween rounds

DevelopmentUnited StatesFoundation or company fund

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Grants at Film Independent

Film Independent, with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Science on screen pays here: three cash grants a year for fiction projects about scientists or technology, awarded inside Film Independent's Episodic Lab, Producing Lab and Fast Track…

Next dates not yet publishedA writer alone or a writer with a producerFeature, Series

range$30kGrantbetween rounds

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