$249,700 grant enabled the Tirgan Centre for Art and Culture to Continue Moving Forward  

THORNHILL – On Friday, MPP Laura Smith and MPP Michael Parsa stopped in at the Tirgan Centre for Art and Culture to hear how a $249,700 Community Building Fund grant that was awarded in late 2021 helped the Centre with needed operational costs over the last year. The grant which has now concluded, was awarded by the Government of Ontario and the Ontario Trillium Foundation. 

“Artists and arts organizations like Tirgan enrich the lives of the people of Ontario, while playing an important role in building a strong and prosperous economy,” said Laura Smith, MPP for Thornhill. “I extend my sincerest congratulations to the dedicated staff, artists and creators at Tirgan on receiving the OTF Community Building Fund Grant. I can’t wait to see the next remarkable chapter in your organization’s story.” 

After receiving the funds, the Tirgan Centre immediately put it to work by helping with key staffing costs to help keep its work going during challenging times, specifically, it was used to help keep its Office Manager, Fund Development Coordinator, Programming Manager, and Public Relations Specialist. The grant also helped with other key operational costs.  

“Since 2004, Tirgan Centre’s cultural program and festivals have showcased the rich and vibrant heritage of Iran,” said Michael Parsa, MPP for Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill. “Ontario Trillium Foundation’s Community Building Fund has helped Tirgan continue this longstanding tradition, further enriching communities by bringing people together through shared experiences and fostering connections along the way.” 

Thanks to the grant, the Centre was able to sustain its operations during the pandemic and host the Tammuz Festival, which took place from July 15 to 17, 2022.   

“The OTF grant played a significant role in sustaining our operations and creating new events and attractions such as our 3-day Tammuz Festival held in Jul 2022,” said Mehrdad Ariannejad, CEO and Chair of the Board of Directors at Tirgan. He added, “Since the grant helped us sustain our operations, we were able to bring our community back together at the Tammuz Festival after two long years of lockdown.” 

Tirgan is a nonpartisan, non-religious, nonprofit Canadian registered charitable organization committed to promoting cross-cultural dialogue between Iranian-Canadians and the global community at large, through year-round production of cultural programs including festivals. For more information about our upcoming festivals including Nowruz Festival 2023 and Tirgan Festival 2023, please visit the website at: www.tirgan.ca  

The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations celebrates 40 years of grantmaking in Ontario and making a lasting impact in communities. Last year, OTF invested nearly $209M into 2,042 community projects and partnerships, which included funding for the Government of Ontario’s Community Building Fund. Visit otf.ca to learn more.