National Endowment for the Arts: Seeking Applications for “Our Town” Grant Program

Deadline: 9 August 2018

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is seeking applications for its grant program “Our Town” to support projects that integrate arts, culture, and design activities into efforts that strengthen communities by advancing local economic, physical, and/or social outcomes.

Types of Program & Funding Information

Place-Based Projects: Through arts engagement, cultural planning, design, and/or artist/creative industry support, these projects contribute to improved quality of life in local communities. These projects require a partnership between a nonprofit organization and a local government entity, with one of the partners being a cultural organization. Matching grants range from $25,000 to $200,000, with a minimum cost share/match equal to the grant amount.
Knowledge Building Projects: These projects build and disseminate knowledge about how to leverage arts, culture, and design as mechanisms for strengthening communities. These grants are available to arts service or design service organizations, and/or other national or regional membership, policy, or university-based organizations. These projects require a partnership that will facilitate the knowledge sharing and/or exchange. Matching grants range from $25,000 to $100,000, with a minimum cost share/match equal to the grant amount.

Eligibility Criteria

All applications require partnerships that involve at least two primary partners as defined by these guidelines: a nonprofit organization and a local governmental entity. One of the two primary partners must be a cultural (arts or design) organization. Additional partners are encouraged.
One of the two primary partners must act as the official applicant (lead applicant). This lead applicant must meet the eligibility requirements, submit the application, and assume full responsibility for the grant.
Eligible lead applicants are:
- Nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c)(3) U.S. organizations with a documented three-year history of programming.
- Local governments. For the purposes of these guidelines, local governments are defined as counties, parishes, cities, towns, villages, or federally recognized tribal governments. Local arts agencies or other departments, agencies, or entities within an eligible local government may submit the application on behalf of that local government. The following do not qualify as local governments: state level government agencies, other state-designated entities, state higher education institutions, regional governments and entities, quasi-government organizations, regional planning organizations, and business improvement districts.
For U.S. territories, if no local government exists, the territory government can serve as the local government.
To be eligible, the lead applicant organization must:
- Meet the National Endowment for the Arts “Legal Requirements,” including nonprofit, tax-exempt status, at the time of application.
- Have submitted acceptable Final Report packages by the due date(s) for all National Endowment for the Arts award(s) previously received.
- Have a commitment to the project from the local government, as demonstrated by the required formal statement of support for the project from the highest ranking official of the local government participating in the project.