Deadline: 17-Jul-20
The Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) is releasing an expanded version of the Minigrant program to “rapidly respond” to the needs of the arts field in Mississippi.
Rapid Response Minigrants for Organizations will function similarly to MAC’s Minigrant program but will differ in their expansion of eligible uses and the 100% payout available to successful organizations upon grant contract receipt.
Rapid Response Minigrants for Organizations are designed to support small-scale arts activities in Mississippi communities and, in light of COVID-19, to adapt their artistic focused work in an online setting.
Funding Information
Rapid Response Minigrants range from $200 to $1,000 and require a dollar-for-dollar cash match. An organization may apply for funding to pay half of a Roster Artist, consultant’s fee or other eligible expense, up to $1,000. For example, if you are presenting a Roster Artist and their total fee is $800, you may apply for $400. If you are hiring a consultant for board development and their total fee is $2,000, you may apply for $1,000.
Eligible Activities
There are types of activities that may be supported through Rapid Response Minigrants:
- Presenting/Hiring Roster Artists: Rapid Response Minigrants can pay for up to half of the total fee of a member (or members) of MAC’s Artist Roster or another adjudicated roster program, such as the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi, the Poet Laureate of Mississippi, or a program managed by another state or regional arts agency. Organizations may hire Roster artists or teaching artists to:
- Present a performance, workshop, or other presentation
- Create public art on/in your building or for your organization
- To create arts curriculum
- Adapting their artistic work to online / distance / virtual: Rapid Response Minigrants can support up to half of the total fee related to eligible work needed to adapt their artistic work online, to create digital programming, such as:
- To host an online arts related workshop or class
- To host a children’s arts activity or arts education workshop
- To create a podcast, web series or stream a concert/performance
- To create a virtual museum/gallery/exhibit/community art tour
- To interview and broadcast interviews of musicians and other artists
- Organizational or Curriculum Development: Rapid Response Minigrants can support up to half of the total fee of a consultant providing assistance with organizational or curriculum development.
- Organizations may hire professional consultants to provide a short-term consultancy that is focused on overall organizational development such as:
- Organizational long range Strategic Planning
- Organizational Fundraising Planning
- I.D.E.A. Audit (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access)
- Diversity Training or other professional work to diversify and organzation’s Board of Directors
- ADA Compliance and Accessibility Trainings
- Board Member Training
- Arts Related Emergency Preparation
- Convening focus groups of different types of artists, stakeholders or members of the community touched by your organization
- Curriculum development in a K-12 school
- Conference Support: Rapid Response Minigrants can support up to half of the total cost for an arts organization to send staff or board members to an in-person or online professional conference or workshop that directly relates to the organization’s work in and through the arts. If you are a non-arts organization, please contact MAC staff to discuss eligibility. Other eligible Rapid Response eligible uses include:
- To convene/gather artists or stakeholders virtually to accomplish a shared goal
- To seek training regarding online adaptation, distance learning or emergency preparation
- Organizations may hire professional consultants to provide a short-term consultancy that is focused on overall organizational development such as:
Eligibility Criteria
Organizations that can apply for a Minigrant must:
- Be based in Mississippi
- Be incorporated in Mississippi as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization OR
- Be a unit of local government, such as a school, library, or another county or municipal agency. Units of local government may be required to provide documentation of their status as a governmental agency.
For more information, visit https://arts.ms.gov/grants-for-organizations/minigrants-for-organizations/