Deadline: 13 April 2017
The National Endowment for the Arts is seeking applications for its Challenge America Grant Program to support primarily to small and mid-sized organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations — those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. Age alone (e.g., youth, seniors) does not qualify a group as underserved; at least one of the underserved characteristics noted above also must be present.
Grants are available for professional arts programming and for projects that emphasize the potential of the arts in community development.
Objectives
Engagement: Engaging the public with diverse and excellent art.
Challenge America grants:
- Extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations.
- Are limited to the specific types of projects outlined below.
- Are for a fixed amount of $10,000 and require a minimum $10,000 match.
Project types
- Guest Artist project type, which refers to an arts event or events that will feature one or more guest artists. Guest Artist is currently the most common Challenge America project type.
- Cultural Tourism, specifically the unified promotion of community-wide arts activities and/or the development of cultural tourism products to enhance public engagement with arts and culture in communities and in cultural districts (including the marketing and promotion of arts and culture to populations that have been historically underserved).
- The development of professionally directed public art projects. Although many kinds of arts projects take place in the public realm, for the Challenge America category, the Public Art project type is intended to support primarily visual arts projects, which may be temporary or permanent, such as murals, sculptures, multi-media, or environmental art, developed through a meaningful community engagement process.
Eligibility Criteria
- Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c) (3), U.S. organizations; units of state or local government; or federally recognized tribal communities or tribes may apply.
- Applicants may be arts organizations, local arts agencies, arts service organizations, local education agencies (school districts), and other organizations that can help advance the goals of the National Endowment for the Arts.
To be eligible, the applicant organization must:
- Meet the National Endowment for the Arts’ “Legal Requirements” including nonprofit, tax-exempt status at the time of application. (All organizations must apply directly on their own behalf. Applications through a fiscal agent are not allowed).
- Have a three-year history of programming prior to the application deadline.
- Have submitted acceptable Final Report packages by the due date(s) for all National Endowment for the Arts grant(s) previously received.
How to Apply
Applicants can apply via given website.
Eligible Country: United States
For more information, please visit Challenge America Grant Program.