Access
TCAF
Access TCAF is a fund allocated from the festival's budget, used to waive table fees for exhibitors belonging to equity-deserving demographics, including but not limited to: BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour), persons with disabilities, and those who identify as women and/or 2SLGBTQ+
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For the 2025 festival, we asked exhibitors to self-identify in their application in order to be entered into consideration for the Access TCAF fund. Those exhibitors will all be informed directly, via e-mail, as to whether they received this funding.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Access TCAF Fund
I was approved, but I already paid - will I get my money back? Yes. If you already paid for 2025, we will process a refund as soon as we can. Please hang tight.
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Will I be able to apply for Access TCAF again next year? Of course. Please remember that approval (or even consideration) for Access TCAF is not automatic. So, if you are applying for next year please remember to select consideration for Access TCAF on next year’s application.
I was approved for Access TCAF! What should I do next? Prepare for the festival - no other action is needed except this. We have effectively marked your application as “paid”. Stay tuned to our exhibitor newsletters and the online Exhibitor Portal for further information as we edge closer to the festival date.
I was declined, but I was relying on Access TCAF for a waiver for this year. What do I do now? Thank you for applying to exhibit at TCAF. We know financials are very tight for many right now. If you need extra time to pay for your table or a payment plan please contact us and we can figure something out. If you are not able to table any longer, we also understand. Please email contact@torontocomics.com and let us know if you need more time and/or if you need to decline your acceptance.
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I was declined, but would like to keep my spot. Can I still pay for my table? Of course. Explore your payment options here, or otherwise email us to arrange payment. Thank you for endeavoring to forge onward with us!
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My friend also applied to Access TCAF, and I got a table waiver but they didn’t get - why is that?
As indicated on our Exhibitor Application, we have a set budget amount for Access TCAF each festival year and if the requests we receive exceed that budget, we will select creators for Access TCAF through a lottery system. The budget for Access TCAF is based on the average number of applications from years past. In 2024, applications to Access TCAF were around 5% of our total exhibitor applications; in 2025, applications to Access TCAF were 45% of our total exhibitor applications.
In response to this record number of applications, we shifted budget funds to double the number of table waivers offered to artists in 2025 reflecting the overall need. Even with this doubling of funds for 2025, the number of applications for Access TCAF well exceeded the available budget, and we were able to approve ~30% of all applications to Access TCAF. We want that number to be higher for future festivals. Please know that we are actively looking at ways as an organization that we can increase our budget for Access TCAF for festivals to come - whether it is full table waivers or partial table waivers.