GENERAL INFORMATION
WHAT IF MY QUESTION ISN'T ANSWERED?
If you have any questions about your membership or programming that aren't covered on this page, please send a note to membership@wift.com or ljanuska@wift.com for programming.
DOES WIFT TORONTO SHARE MEMBER NEWS?
YES! We love to celebrate our members’ accomplishments by featuring them in our bimonthly e-newsletter and via our social media channels! If you have industry-related news (awards, grants, upcoming screenings, etc.) you want to share with us, please send it to communications@wift.com who will then send you a form that asks for images, copy, and tags.
GENERAL INFORMATION
If you have questions about your membership that aren't covered on this page, please contact membership@wift.com.
We have added the “+” sign to reflect that our membership is open to all folks working within the film industry, as we recognize that many people, beyond just women, are marginalized based on their gender. Additionally, the “+” sign recognizes that the Canadian screen-based industry extends beyond just film and television.
YES! We love to celebrate our members’ accomplishments by featuring them in our bimonthly e-newsletter and via our social media channels!
If you have industry-related news (awards, grants, upcoming screenings, etc.) you want to share with us, If you have industry-related news (awards, grants, upcoming screenings, etc.) you want to share with us, please contact communications@wift.com. You will then be asked to fill in a form with the information needed.
Please note: We are not able to post for members who are fundraising for projects. As we have a number of members who are all trying to raise funds for their art, we simply do not have the capacity to share all of these.
Please note: We will need ample time to prepare any posts and last minute posting is not available. We ask for information to be sent a minimum of 2 weeks before any scheduled post.
Yes! We are often in need of volunteers for various events and programming. This can range from helping us with registration at an event, to helping us create trailers. Fill in the Volunteer Application HERE and thank you for your interest!
You can access exclusive Membership discounts and offers by visiting the Member Discount & Offers page (sign in required).
Yes, currently there are approximately 45 WIFT organizations world-wide. In Canada, there are 5 chapters: WIFT+ Toronto, GEMS Vancouver (formerly WIFT Vancouver), WIFT Alberta, Allia (Montreal), and WIFT Atlantic. Toronto is the largest WIFT chapter in Canada with a full-time paid staff.
No, WIFT+ Toronto does not fund members’ productions but you can check our Useful Links & Resources page for those that do!
REGISTERING FOR PROGRAMS & EVENTS
Yes. Once logged in to the Members section of our website, you will see ticket options only available to WIFT+ Toronto members—whether that’s a 25% to 35% discount on professional development programming, or free registration to an event. Please do NOT register for an event or program through public pages on our website without signing in, as you will be charged as a non-member.
We will set payment options for programs and events on a case-by-case basis. We know that for some of our courses, the ability to pay by company or personal cheque is important.
If you do not see the option to pay offline for a program or course, contact ljanuska@wift.com.
If you do not see the option to pay offline on an event, contact membership@wift.com.
Yes, all members receive one (1) free ticket to our Reception@TIFF. Members may purchase an additional discounted ticket to bring a guest (based on availability). Please note that members are only eligible for one (1) free ticket per membership cycle.
Non-members can register for all programming (with the exception of Mentorships) at a higher registration fee than WIFT+ Toronto Members.
Non-members can pay to attend the our Reception@TIFF, Crystal Awards, and Showcase by purchasing tickets. Members have access to tickets first.
MEMBERSHIP & PAYMENT
WIFT+ Toronto is dedicated to creating a community that is equitable, inclusive and accessible. Membership is available to everyone, regardless of gender expression.
WIFT+ Toronto and the Foundation for WIFT+ Toronto accepts Visa, Mastercard, Debit, Cheques, Cash, and eTransfers. We do not accept American Express.
OFFLINE BILLING - Paying by Cheque
If you selected offline billing at check out, please mail your cheque within 7 business days to:
WIFT+ Toronto (ATTN: Karen Bruce)
110 Eglinton Ave. East, Suite 601
Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y1
Once your cheque is received, you will become an active member and will be sent a confirmation and sales receipt. If your cheque is not received within this time, your account will be disabled.
Members of ACTRA Toronto, CAFTCAD, CMPA, DGC Ontario, IATSE locals, LIFT (Liaison for Independent Filmmakers of Toronto), Raindance Toronto, and the Writers’ Guild of Canada (WGC), along with employees of the following companies are eligible for a special corporate discount on membership fees:
Armstrong Acting Studios, Bell Media, Blue Ant Media, CBC, Corus Entertainment, Entertainment One, Hollywood Suite, Meridian, NABET, National Bank, Reel One Entertainment, Rogers, Sinking Ship Entertainment, Spin Master, TIFF, Wildbrain, and more!
If you would like your organization or company to become a part of our corporate discount program, then we are here for that too!
Depending on the number of members joining you could be eligible for a 15-25% discount on membership.
If you have any questions or comments, please get in touch via email at membership@wift.com.
Although your membership has expired, you will have the ability to sign into your account profile and chose to renew your membership within 1 year of your expiry. For the first month after expiry, you will have access to discounted renewal rates.
To renew:
- Log in to your profile.
- Under "About", please select "Renew or Update Membership"
- Select the "Renewing Members" level you would like to purchase.
- Enter any relevant promotional code. This could be the renewal code sent to you in your renewal email, or a corporate discount code.*
PLEASE NOTE: if you choose a "New Membership", the renewal discount will not be applied
After one full calendar year of being an expired member, your account with WIFT+ Toronto will be deleted. If you wish to join WIFT+ Toronto after one year of being expired, you must register as a new member and pay the regular amount, though you are still able to use any Corporate Discount codes that may apply to you.
*Corporate discounts are set up with a number of organizations and companies. If you would like to know if you qualify for a corporate discount please contact membership@wift.com.
When you renew and pay online, your next renewal date is automatically calculated based on when you would have expired – you won’t lose any time on your membership.
Yes! We do!
Automatic Renewals became possible in May of 2024. When joining or renewing you will see Automatic Renewals as an option. This includes a $20 discount.
Please note that discounts cannot be combined with corporate discounts.
Please note that there is no discount for a 2 year membership as these are already heavily discounted.
Only if you want it to be! We do offer automatic renewals. When signing up, or renewing, you can select this payment option. Corporate discounts cannot be combined with automatic renewal. Automatic renewals offer $20 off the cost of 1 year memberships. if you DO NOT select automatic renewals, your card will not be automatically charged at renewal time.
We use PayPal as our payment gateway for online billing, and have secured our site with SSL. Your payment information is not stored on our servers. Please read our Terms of Use, Cookie Policy, and Privacy Policy when you check out.
WIFT+ Toronto’s membership fees are non-refundable. WIFT+ Toronto memberships automatically expire at the end of your term if you do not renew. If you wish to cancel your membership with WIFT+ Toronto, please contact us. Please see our Terms of Use page for more information.
To be eligible for a subsidy, you must identify as a woman, female, trans, genderqueer or nonbinary media professional. Preference will be given to members of the BIPOC and LGBTAIQ2S+ communities, as well as individuals living with a disability, financial barriers, or those from any other equity-seeking community.
All membership expiry dates will now be on the last day of your renewal month. As an example, if you joined on January 1 of 2023, your expiry date will be January 31 of 2024.
No, each WIFT chapter is an independent organization; under the umbrella of the internationally recognized WIFT or WIF name. Membership at one WIFT chapter does not entitle reciprocal benefits at other WIFT chapters. Similarly, we will not honour memberships from other WIFT chapters; Members must join WIFT+ Toronto. WIFT+ Toronto offers a discounted Dual membership to Members of other WIFT chapters interested in joining us. For more information please contact membership@wift.com.
MEMBER BENEFITS
You can find available benefits HERE or contact membership@wift.com.
You can access exclusive Membership discounts and offers by visiting the Member Discount & Offers page (sign in required).
WIFT+ Toronto Benefits are available to current WIFT+ Members and are non transferable. This includes perks like the $245 discount on TIFF Industry passes offers to Members and your free ticket to the Reception@TIFF.
Yes, please! Contact us at membership@wift.com with any suggestions or requests. We can't promise we will get what you need, but we can promise we will try!
MEMBER PROFILE & PRIVACY SETTINGS
You can update your payment, membership, contact information and password by editing your online Member Profile. You will have access to your profile information and renewal options up to one year after your expiry.
The directory is not available to the public, just to fellow members who have signed in.
By default, your Member Profile is set to appear in our Member Directory and allows others to message you through your WIFT+ Toronto account email. Your address, email, and phone number are currently hidden. You can adjust these settings under Privacy Settings. You can also add a “public directory email,” if you wish, replacing your account email for messaging.
Your account information is not visible in the Member Directory. If you would like information such as company, position, website or social links to be visible on your profile, please enter the information under “Member Directory Profile,” “Profile Gallery,” ‘Profile Description,” and “Social Links”. For example, if you would like to make your company name and position visible on the main Member Directory Page, please enter it under “Enter a short description here”. Once added, it will appear in the directory.
When you click “Search by Label,” you will see a list of labels you can use to search the directory. Members can view labels under individual profile cards and can also search the directory using labels (for ex. “Seeking Mentorship”). You can also search by position or area or general search.
Once logged in, click the “Profile” button between “About” and “Sign Out” buttons. If your profile is set to be visible in the directory, scroll down to find the “Directory Profile Labels” section. Here you can choose which labels will display in your member directory profile.
To send a direct message to another member, under the “Contact” tab of their profile, click “Send a Message,” and a message box will appear . The member’s personal email address will not appear, however, the message you send will go directly to them. Any replies from this member will go directly to your personal email.
PLEASE NOTE: Messages between members are not sent through WIFT+ Toronto’s domain. Instead, it is sent through relay @mail.sourcefound.com. If you do not see this in your email’s main inbox, please check your email’s junk folder. If found there, please label this address as a “safe sender,” and future messages from the Directory will go straight to your inbox. We especially recommend members with a work email attached to their account do this step.
For users on Microsoft Outlook, once you have located the address you want to make a safe sender (whether in your junk folder or inbox), right click the email message. Near the bottom of the drop down menu, you will see “Junk”. After clicking “Junk”, click “Never block sender”. If you are using gmail.com, you would click “not spam” at this stage. By doing this, all future messages from this email will be sent directly to your inbox.
No, this is not an appropriate use of the messaging feature. Please only reach out for networking and career based purposes aside from financial.
FOUNDATION FOR WIFT+ TORONTO
The Foundation for WIFT+ Toronto is the charitable arm of WIFT+ Toronto. The Foundation raises funds to enable the organization to carry out its mission of building and advancing the careers of WIFT+ Toronto members by providing memberships, professional development, peer support, mentorship, and networking opportunities. The Foundation provides training to the industry in the greater Toronto area to enhance the skills of members of the Canadian screen-based media industry, and is proud to be a leader in building an equitable, inclusive, and accessible space where individuals can safely learn and grow their careers.
One-time and monthly donations to the Foundation can be made on CanadaHelps.
Please contact us if you’d like to make a donation via e-Transfer or cheque.
Donations can also be made during our annual fundraising campaigns, including our Monthly Giving “Coffee” Campaign (March), Great Canadian Giving Challenge (June), WIFT+ Stars (September), Online Auction (September), and Matching Campaign (December).
Other ways to donate include employee contributions, memorial and honorary gifts, bursaries, crystal awards foundation seats & tables, and legacy gifts. More details can be found on the Foundation page.
Thank you for your support!
Please contact us if you’re interested in making an in-kind donation to our annual Online Auction or otherwise.
When you make a donation to the Foundation for WIFT+ Toronto on CanadaHelps, you will have the option to choose how your donation will be used—either providing bursaries for professional development, supporting mentorship opportunities, or providing memberships for those facing financial barriers—or you can chose to put your donation towards where it’s most needed at that time.
Yes, the Foundation for WIFT+ Toronto offers tax receipts for donations!
The minimum amount to receive a tax receipt for donations made via CanadaHelps is $3. Your tax receipt(s) can be found by logging into your CanadaHelps account. If you experience trouble accessing your tax receipt(s), please contact CanadaHelps directly by email (info@canadahelps.org) or by phone (416.628.6948).
If you’ve made a donation outside of CanadaHelps (cash or in-kind), we will send your tax receipt via email. Please contact us if you haven’t received a tax receipt for your offline donation.