Deadline: 16-Jun-22
The California Arts Council (CAC) has announced the Artists in Schools (AIS) Program to support projects that integrate community arts partners into culturally and linguistically responsive, sequential, standards-based arts learning for students in preschool through Grade 12 as part of the regular school day, and that address the unique circumstances of the school environment.
The intent of the program is to augment and enhance the work of classroom teachers and school-based arts programs by bringing arts resources within the local community into the school culture, not to supplant credentialed arts teachers. AIS projects focus on hands-on participant learning that takes place over a sustained period (typically a minimum of 10 class sessions) with an identified group(s) of students.
Program Goals
- Projects should address the following Artists in Schools program goals:
- Increase student access to and participation in school-based arts education as part of coordinated efforts with school site leaders, district staff, and County Offices of Education.
- Develop the artistic abilities of students through sequential, hands-on arts learning.
- Promote life skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and positive self-expression through the arts.
- Promote students’ positive social and emotional development through reflection and creative practice.
- Promote culturally and linguistically responsive learning through the arts, using cultural knowledge to support the cultural assets of the local community and students’ positive self-identification and respect for diverse cultures.
- Develop long-term, mutually beneficial relationships between arts and educational organizations, teaching artists, and the youth and families in the communities they serve.
Funding Information
- Applicant organizations can request up to $40,000 for the two-year grant period.
- Grant Request Amount: Up to $60,000 for two years
- Estimated Total Number of Grant Awards: 187
- Grant Activity Period: January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2024
- Matching Funds: Not Required
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must comply with the requirements below. All applications must include the listed items at the time of submission in order to be considered for funding.
- Racial equity statement – Description of the organization’s commitment to equitable policies and culture.
- California-based – Documentation of having a principal place of business in California.
- Arts programming – Applicants must have a minimum two-year history of consistent engagement in arts programming and/or services prior to the application deadline.
- 501(c)(3) organization as applicant or fiscal sponsor – Non-governmental (municipal, county, or tribal) applicant organizations must demonstrate proof of nonprofit status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or section 23701d of California Revenue and Taxation Code.
- Fiscal sponsors – An applicant organization without nonprofit status must use a California-based fiscal sponsor with a federal 501(c)(3) designation to apply for funding.
- The fiscal sponsor will provide the fiscal oversight and administrative services needed to complete the grant.
- A Letter of Agreement between the fiscal sponsor and the applicant organization must be signed by a representative from both parties and submitted with the application. A blank signature field will not be accepted. If a grant is awarded, the fiscal sponsor becomes the legal contract holder with the California Arts Council.
- A fiscal sponsor change is not permissible during the Grant Activity Period, with rare exceptions.
- Fiscal sponsors must have a minimum two-year history of consistent engagement in arts programming and/or services prior to the application deadline. (Acting as a fiscal sponsor to arts and cultural organizations is considered an arts service.)
- Certificate of good standing – Nonprofit organizations and fiscal sponsors (if applicable) must have “active status” with the California Secretary of State (SOS) showing evidence of “good standing” at the time of application. You can verify your organization’s status by conducting a search using the SOS online Business Search tool. An indication of “active” (versus “suspended,” “dissolved,” “canceled,” etc.) confirms that you’re nonprofit a corporation exists, is authorized to conduct business in the State of California, has met all licensing and corporation requirements, and has not received a suspension from the Franchise Tax Board.
For more information, visit https://arts.ca.gov/grant_program/artists-in-schools/