Back
Deadline: December 1, 2025;
The Digital Museums Canada (DMC) investment program helps build digital capacity in Canadian museums and heritage, cultural and Indigenous organizations, and gives people living in Canada unique access to diverse stories and experiences. DMC is managed by the Canadian Museum of History, with the financial support of the Government of Canada.
Program Summary – Digital Projects Stream:
Funding is provided for Canadian museums, and heritage, cultural or Indigenous organizations who are seeking to develop an accessible online project from the ground up, with the support of a web development agency.
DMC is centered on digital storytelling. Proposed projects should be developed around telling a story to a specific target audience with a tailored user experience. The story should be structured according to key messages, audience take-aways or themes. Content and collections should be selected to reinforce the chosen narrative.
As such, proposed projects cannot simply be a searchable collections database or archive without a curated focus or story to tell. Institutional or corporate websites and digitization projects are not eligible.
Eligible projects must be presented in both English and French but may also incorporate other languages. Projects must meet digital accessibility standards, allowing users to access the content anywhere in the world, at no cost, and without purchased equipment (such as AR headsets).
What It Funds:
Eligible projects include virtual exhibitions, virtual tours of heritage sites, online games, web apps, educational resources, and more.
Projects must be accessible through a web browser, at no cost, as a complete online experience that can be viewed in any location without specialized equipment.
Some examples of eligible projects include online exhibits, virtual tours of heritage sites, immersive experiences, online games, progressive web apps (PWA), educational resources and more.
While the project can use existing content or research as a starting point, it must be conceived as a brand-new online product, with a distinct user experience, built from the ground up with a web development agency.
Grant Amount: Organizations propose a budget requesting a DMC investment of up to $250,000
Program Summary – Community Stories Stream:
Funding is provided for Canadian museums, and heritage, cultural or Indigenous organizations who are seeking to develop a Community Stories website using DMC’s website-building platform.
DMC is centered on digital storytelling. Proposed projects should be developed around telling a story to a specific target audience with a tailored user experience. The story should be structured according to key messages, audience take-aways or themes. Content and collections should be selected to reinforce the chosen narrative.
As such, proposed projects cannot simply be a searchable collections database or archive without a curated focus or story to tell. Institutional or corporate websites and digitization projects are not eligible.
Eligible projects must be presented in both English and French but may also incorporate other languages. Projects must meet digital accessibility standards, allowing users to access the content anywhere in the world, at no cost, and without purchased equipment (such as AR headsets).
What It Funds:
Eligible projects:
Projects must be created using DMC’s website building platform.
While the project can use existing content or research as a starting point, it must be conceived as a brand-new online product, with a distinct user experience.
Website-Building Platform:
The online projects in the Community Stories investment stream are created with a user-friendly WordPress website-building platform, which functions like a template.
Funded organizations are given access to the website-building platform and user guide when they sign an agreement.
Grant Amount: DMC invests $25,000 CAD in each Community Story that is produced in both English and French.
Who It Funds:
Eligible organizations MUST be a:
1. Museum, heritage, cultural or Indigenous* organization that is:
- established and operating in Canada; and
- managing a physical establishment or site open to the public, OR providing programming to the public in various locations or via a website.
*Indigenous organizations must be mandated to support and/or preserve Indigenous culture.
AND:
2. The primary purpose of the organization, as articulated in its mandate, MUST be to engage the public in at least four of the following areas:**
- exhibitions
- programming
- research
- collections
- preservation
- documentation
- dissemination
** This includes artistic, scientific, cultural, traditional and historical material. Collections may consist of physical objects and/or intangible cultural heritage.
At the time of submitting a proposal, the applicant organization must have been in existence for at least 1 year, and be one or more of the following:
- A registered charity; OR
- A federally or provincially incorporated not-for-profit (NPO); OR
- An Indigenous nation, group or organization that operates similarly to a not-for-profit and supports Indigenous heritage and culture; OR
- A municipal, provincial or band heritage organization, or university-affiliated organization.
