The Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) has adopted a new funding model for its Grants for Organizations program that will prioritize funding for smaller arts and culture organizations. The new model was developed after MSAC held public listening sessions, gathered input through a public editor process and researched best practices currently employed by other agencies.…
In June 2021, the state of Colorado enacted S.B. 21-252, creating the Colorado Community Revitalization program to fund creative projects that would spur economic development in mixed-use commercial centers. Colorado Creative Industries (CCI), in collaboration with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs Division of Local Government, is in charge of administering the grant program and…
State and federal arts funding often is restricted to organizations holding 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service. Many arts groups worthy of public support, however, exist outside of the formal 501(c)(3) business model. The Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission (KCAIC) has developed an innovative way to assist such organizations by creating purposeful partnerships between…
Many state arts agencies across the nation are assessing their grant programs and practices to identify ways to improve access to arts resources. The work undertaken by the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs (DCA) in this area is a recent example. In January 2020, DCA appointed a Grant-making Task Force to help review and improve…
The Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission (KCAIC) is encouraging creative community development through its innovative Reimagined Spaces grant program. The program combines the arts with the repurposing of underused spaces to make arts spaces and events accessible to a wider audience. Beyond public arts access, the grant promotes creative strategies for economic growth with an…
The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) recently announced a new grant-making strategy designed to increase funding equity for organizations serving Black, Indigenous and/or people of color (BIPOC) and rural communities. Such groups—which tend to be smaller-capacity organizations rooted in communities with fewer resources—face numerous historical inequities and obstacles to securing funding for the arts.…
Through the course of 2020, state arts agencies (SAAs) across the nation distributed relief funds and retooled their ongoing grant programs to support cultural organizations and artists during COVID-19. The National Endowment for the Arts Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act allocation made relief funding possible for all states and jurisdictions, and SAAs…
At the beginning of this year, Mass Cultural Council began a unique joint venture with Massachusetts Health Connector—the Massachusetts state health insurance marketplace—to promote healthier living through cultural engagement. Aimed at the hundreds of thousands of residents who are enrolled through Massachusetts Health Connector, this program provides free or reduced-price admission to more than 100…
The New Jersey State Council on the Arts (NJSCA) has partnered with the New Jersey Coastal Management Program and the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve to develop a new program, Risk Communication: A Campaign for Coastal New Jersey. Acknowledging the difficulty of effectively communicating about coastal flooding across distinct populations, this program will empower…
The Tennessee Arts Commission launched a new funding opportunity for nonprofit organizations and local governments to help mitigate the devastating impact of the pandemic on Tennessee’s civic life and creative economy. The COVID-19 Arts Resilience Grant provides nonmatching funds ranging up to $5,000 for projects occurring from December 5, 2020, to June 15, 2021. The…
5 / 17