New Deadlines. Revised Criteria. New Artist Grant.

ARAC has been listening to you – our region’s artists and arts organizations – and made a series of improvements to our programs for our new fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2018. We’ve tried to shorten the time between when you apply and you hear back from us, clarified our rules, and added a program for artists who’ve never received money from us.

New Program for Artists
Our new Artist Access Grants are for artists who’ve never received a grant from ARAC before. If you have a well-planned project that will allow you to grow as an artist or to take advantage of an impending opportunity, this grant is for you. The grants are up to $1,000. The first deadline for this program is August 17, 2018 at 4:30 p.m.

New Deadlines
Our deadlines have changed; see our website for all of the details. First up in our new fiscal year is the deadline for our Art Project, Rural and Community Art Project, and our Arts Learning programs. Completed applications are due July 27, 2018 by 4:30 p.m.

Major Changes in Our Operating Support Program
Arts organizations have told us their primary need is unrestricted operating support. We’ve put 33% more funding into this program and made changes with the intent to support more organizations. Some of the key changes include:

• An earlier deadline (August 15, 2018 to request a site visit; Sept. 28, 2018 for the completed application) and an earlier date for support to start (January 1, 2019)

• A site visit is required before the application deadline. You may start the process by requesting a site visit beginning June 15, 2018. All site visits must be scheduled by August 15, 2018 and take place by Sept. 21, 2018.

• Program is for general operating support (previously, applicants could propose using the funding for specific capacity-building projects. That is still a permitted use of the funding but will not be part of the review).

• Grants are for one year but can be extended for an additional year for grantees in good standing.

• There is no longer a waiting period of one year between grants.

• Additional funding has been put into this program. Award sizes are dependent on the number of qualified applicants and may be smaller than awards from previous administrative support programs.

Revised Criteria
We’ve also worked to clarify criteria in several of our programs, including the Art Project, Rural and Community Art Project, and Arts Learning grant programs. If you are planning to apply, please read through the updated guidelines carefully.

As always, if you have questions, please email us or call us at info@aracouncil.org or (218) 722-0952.