North Carolina: Military and Healing Arts Grants

The Cape Fear Regional Theatre presents Downrange: Voices from the Homefront, by North Carolina playwright Mike Wiley. Image courtesy of Raul Rubiera Photography

The North Carolina Arts Council (NCAC) recognizes that the intrinsic benefits of the arts—including empowerment through self-expression and interpersonal connections through creativity—can be especially important to military service members, veterans and their families, who face unique challenges stemming from frequent relocations, long deployments abroad and the loss of loved ones. With this in mind, NCAC developed its Military and Veterans Healing Arts Grants program. The program is designed to support North Carolina’s military community, which includes more than 130,000 active-duty service members stationed at five military bases, a military port and a Coast Guard station, and more than 775,000 veterans supported by four federal VA medical centers and 14 state veteran service centers. Through the program, NCAC awards grants of $5,000-$15,000 to arts projects that serve military personnel, veterans and their families. To broaden the reach of the effort, NCAC prioritizes funding of collaborations between nonprofit arts organizations and military bases, VA medical centers, or providers of veterans’ services. Ultimately, NCAC aims to foster individual health and wellness as well as community connections by increasing opportunities for people on the military continuum to engage with the arts. For more information, contact NCAC Director of Operations & Arts Learning Vicki Vitiello.