Deadline: 31-Aug-20
The Equity Response grant program provides resources for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC)-led, People with Disabilities (PWD)-led, and/or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual/Agender, Two-Spirit (LGBTQIA2+)-led MRAC eligible groups.
Equity Response grants provide funding (up to $2500) for targeted small-scale projects as a starting or transition point for groups to support their ability to provide access to the arts in a changing environment (COVID-19 and current social change realities).
Funding Information
- Amount: up to $2500
Some examples of eligible projects could be, but are not restricted to:
- Meet a group’s needs critical to its continued ability to provide arts activities to its community:
- Covering the costs of an organization’s responsibilities to staff and contractors for projects not already funded by MRAC, including wages and benefits, to adapt or sustain the organization.
- Hosting a staff/board retreat and working with a consultant to create or revise a strategic or business plan.
- Developing a plan, or even beginning work, that sets a group up for other grant opportunities.
- Advance the group’s journey through (re-)envisioning, planning, securing necessary materials, and/or piloting new ways of working:
- Acquiring, replacing, or repairing key infrastructure or equipment, such as those for virtual programming.
- Paying costs to move out of a building, buy supplies for home offices, or make alternative accommodations for employees unable to return because of the pandemic.
- Explore, initiate, or expand collaborations/strategic partnerships/resource sharing that supports a resilient arts ecosystem in the region:
- Hosting collaborative virtual conversations aimed at coalition-building and resource-sharing across multiple organizations (such as a monthly meet-up for BIPOC artists or managing directors).
- Producing a pop-up community artistic activity, with appropriate social distancing, responding to a social issue.
Eligibility Criteria
- This program funds IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and/or cultural organizations, non-arts nonprofits, and community education units with a history of arts programming, and informal/unincorporated arts groups applying with a nonprofit as a fiscal sponsor.
- The applicant group and project must be located in the 7-county metropolitan region
- The applicant group’s annualized operating/arts programming expenses must be less than $400,000.
- Fiscally Sponsored groups must have their own board of directors or advisory committee that provides input on the project and oversight of the grant funds.
- And the leadership of the group must also be 50% or more BIPOC-led, LGBTQIA2+-led, and/or PWD-led.
For more information, visit https://mrac.org/grants/equity-response/