Founded 1991 Website ipf.ca | Area served Canada | |
Industry Original online series, Digital Media, television Headquarters Toronto, Ontario
Montreal, Quebec Key people Andra Sheffer, CEO
Claire Dion, Associate Director | ||
The Independent Production Fund (IPF) is a Canadian private independent foundation that supports the production of Canadian dramatic digital media entertainment content and provides professional development services and training to digital media producers and creators, in English and in French.
Contents
History
In 1990 Maclean Hunter Limited , a former Canadian communications company, created the Maclean Hunter Television Fund with a capital endowment of $29.2 M restricted in perpetuity, as a result of a Decision by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The Fund was incorporated federally as a corporation without share capital and was granted charitable status. Its mandate was to fund television drama series and undertake industry training with the interest generated by the endowment and return on investments.
The Fund mandate was extended to undertake the administration of other independent private funds supporting the Canadian film, television and digital media industry: the Cogeco Program Development Fund launched in 1993, the Bell Fund (1997) and a series of other short-term industry Funds.
In 1994 Maclean Hunter was acquired by Rogers Communications, and the Fund was renamed the Independent Production Fund. A five-member board of directors representing different sectors of the production industry governed the Fund’s activities.
In 1999 the CRTC approved the IPF as a "Canadian Independent Production Fund" eligible to receive contributions from Broadcast Distribution Undertakings (BDU's).
From 1991 to 2010 the IPF invested over $47M in 249 Canadian television drama series. In 2010, the IPF’s mandate was revised to focus funding on drama series created for new digital platforms. It allocates nearly $2M per year from the interest generated by the endowment and recoupment of its funding investments, to original digital drama series.
Executives
Fund Recipients
As of 2014, the IPF has supported 251 television projects, 368 professional development activities and 70 original online series which represents over 59 million dollars in funding.