Deadline: 15-Dec-20
The Tri-County Arts Council is accepting applications for the Community Arts Grant Program to provide funding support for community-based arts and culture programs by eligible non-profit organizations or sponsored artists/organizations. The program exists to support professional fees for artists, marketing costs, and technical production services.
CA support enables emerging artists and organizations to grow professionally and to enhance the cultural vibrancy in communities and neighbourhoods where they live and operate. Community Arts grants may include but are not limited to: exhibitions, workshop series, performances, festivals, screenings or readings. Arts programming, that is community based and open to the general public, must be the driving force of project requests.
Funding Information
- Grants are awarded from $500-$5,000.
- Organizations may submit up to three (3) separate grant applications for three separate and distinctly different programs but funds requested may not exceed a total of $5,000.
What Does Community Arts Grants Fund?
- The priority of CA is to fund the arts-related aspects for the proposed project (e.g., artist fees, supplies and materials needed for the execution of the program, production costs, etc.).
- Funding may also be requested for marketing/publicity and other outreach costs and administrative expenses. Due to the recent needs of organizations, transitioning to online platforms in light of COVID-19, equipment including software, subscriptions, and training related to the creation and promotion of the project–especially in the case of virtual programming–will be considered allowable expenses by this grant.
What is not funded?
Funds will not be granted for:
- NYS agencies and departments (including SUNY Schools).
- Public Universities, colleges; and public, private or parochial secondary and elementary schools.
- DEC site staff or board members.
- Student projects.
- Unincorporated applicants without an eligible sponsor or partner organization.
- NYSCA applicants, including fiscally-sponsored applicants that have applied to NYSCA is the most recent cycle.
- Projects involving partners that apply directly to NYSCA.
- Non-incorporated chapters of organizations whose “parent” is incorporated outside of the DEC site service area.
- Start-up or seed funding for the establishment of a new organization;
- General operating expenses;
- Requests that are greater than an organization’s total operating expenses minus total operating income.
- Past re-grantees that have failed to submit final reports.
- Operational expenses of privately-owned facilities (home and studios).
- Activities not opened to the general public such as camps, clubs, or college associations;
- Events that take place in private homes.
- non-arts related activities including galas, benefits or fundraising events and entertainment such as balloons, clowns, magicians, juggling, bubble demonstrations, nature or animal presentations.
- Programs that are essentially recreational, therapeutic, rehabilitative or social.
- Acquisitions of works of art.
- Contingency funds.
- Permanent equipment or capital improvements (HOWEVER, equipment including software, subscriptions, and training related to the creation and promotion of the project–especially in the case of virtual programming–is allowable).
- Creating of textbook or classroom materials.
- Lobbying expenses.
- Programs which children are used as professional artists (paid a fee).
- Regrants by applicants to fund other activities.
- Cash prizes, juried shows, fellowships, scholarships and other awards to students.
Who Can Apply?
To be eligible for this grant, applicants must:
- Be an established nonprofit organization, a local government municipality, or sponsored artist/non-incorporated organization legally located in Allegany, Cattaraugus or Chautauqua County. Any one of the documents below may serve as proof of nonprofit status:
- Letter of Determination from the IRS indicating tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3)
- Documentation of charter by the NY State Board of Regents under section 216 of NYS Education Law;
- Documentation of incorporation under Section 402 of the NYS Not-for-Profit Corporation Law;
- Current NYS Bureau of Charities (Office of the Attorney General) filing receipt;
- Official authorization as an arm of local government (i.e., a formal letter on official stationery signed by the appropriate county, city, town, or village executive).
- Applicant organizations must have an active Board of Directors/Trustees or volunteer group that meets on a regular basis.
- Applicants must not exclude persons with disabilities, according to the 1991 Americans with Disabilities Act.
- Chapters of national organizations must have their own non-profit status in the county of their organization area and may not use the non-profit status of group-ruling parent organizations.
- Individual artists and non-incorporated arts organizations residing or legally located in the tri-county service area may apply for CA funding through the fiscal sponsorship or partnership of a qualified non-profit that meets the above criteria. Organizations who wish to apply with a sponsor or partner MUST confer with Tri-County Arts Council’s Grants Administrator, John Bartimole.
- Propose a project that takes place entirely and solely within the county you/your fiscal sponsor/qualified non-profit partner resides.
- Applicants under 18 years of age at the time of application and any students enrolled in a degree program are not eligible for funding.
NOTE: Organizations that apply directly to NYSCA (including REDC applications) for 2021 funding may NOT apply for funding administered by Tri-County Arts Council, regardless of the status of their NYSCA application. An organization can apply for Community Arts (CA), Arts Education (AE), and/or Individual Art (IA) within the same year for different projects. The total number of project requests can be three and the funding request cannot exceed $5,000.
For more information, visit https://www.myartscouncil.net/dec-grants.html