Lake Charles Partnership Grant for Arts and Cultural Projects (US)

Deadline: 12-Feb-21

The City of Lake Charles administered by Arts Council of SWLA, invites applications for its Lake Charles Partnership Grant to provide a system of funding for arts and cultural projects and organizations within the city limits of Lake Charles.

The Lake Charles Partnership Grant Program aims to make the arts more readily available by providing local artists, nonprofit organizations, and community groups the opportunity to develop arts programs that meet local community needs.

Goals

The goals of the Lake Charles Partnership Grant Program are to:

Strengthen arts organizations;
Encourage professional artists to undertake projects that have meaningful community involvement and build audiences for the arts;
Encourage a variety of nonprofit organizations to sponsor arts and cultural activities including classical, contemporary, and traditional arts in eight disciplines;
Leverage additional local support for the arts;
Provide arts activities to groups that have had limited arts experiences;
Provide funding for the arts and cultural activities that are open to the public;
Introduce the grants process and develop grant writing skills.

Grant Categories

There are two (2) grant categories for the Lake Charles Partnership Grant Program:

Project Assistance
- Grant request is $500 minimum and $3,000 maximumper application.
- Provides funding for a specific project on one or more single or recurring dates. Up to 100% of eligible expenses.
Organizational Support
- Can request up to 25% of the previous year’s operating expenses with maximum $2,000.
- Provides funding for operative expenses, such as salaries, supplies, utilities, and marketing, of arts organizations with 501(c)(3) status from the IRS.
Applicants may submit up to two grant applications, if desired:
- Two Project Assistance grants;
- One Project Assistance grant and one Organizational Support grant.

Eligibility Criteria

The following types of organizations may apply for funds:
- Louisiana nonprofit tax-exempt organizations. Organizations without nonprofit tax-exempt status from the IRS must be registered as a nonprofit corporation with the Louisiana Secretary of State.
- Local, parish, or state governmental agencies, such as libraries.
- Public or private schools and school boards. Each school within a school system is considered a separate entity.
- Colleges or universities sponsoring activities (each university department is considered a separate entity) intended for community participation (not academic, credit-producing, or curriculum-oriented projects). Such activities must provide significant access and the probability of significant attendance by the public.
- Organizations lacking the legal status to be an applicant may apply using an eligible nonprofit organization as a fiscal agent. The fiscal agent assumes legal and financial responsibility.
- Individuals may apply by using an eligible nonprofit organization as a fiscal agent for projects developed by an individual but directly benefits the community and includes community participation. This is not a fellowship or award of merit. The fiscal agent assumes legal and financial responsibility for the project.
Fiscal Agent Requirements:
- Organizations may serve as a fiscal agent for only ONE other applicant – termed sub-applicant – in addition to their own application.
- Fiscal agents must be domiciled in the Lake Charles city limits.
- Fiscal agents may not serve as a provider of service within the same project.
Who is ineligible to apply?
- Any applicant applying for project assistance whose project is taking place outside of Lake Charles, and any applicant applying for organizational support who is not domiciled in Lake Charles.
- The Arts Council of SWLA is not eligible to be an applicant or a paid provider of services on a grant application. Those members of the board of directors of the Arts Council should not submit a grant application on behalf of other agencies, groups, or individuals.
- Organizations using the Arts Council as their current fiscal agent.
- Past grant recipients who are not in compliance with the Lake Charles Partnership Grant Program or any other grant program administered by the Arts Council. Any organization that has failed to submit the proper paperwork to the Arts Council for a previous grant is considered non-compliant.