The Grassroots Arts Program (GAP) provides per capita-based funding for arts programming to all 100 counties across North Carolina ensuring opportunities for citizens to experience the arts in their own communities.
Donor Name: North Carolina Arts Council (NCAC)
State: North Carolina
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/01/2024
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
Grassroots funds are distributed in every county in North Carolina through the following types of partnerships:
- Designated County Partners
- In most counties, local arts councils have been nominated by their county governments and approved by the N.C. Arts Council as Designated County Partners (DCPs) to manage and program Grassroots Funds.
- Provisional County Partners
- In counties without DCPs, the N.C. Arts Council has selected an organization to serve as the Provisional County Partner (PCP) to oversee the distribution and management of Grassroots funds on a temporary (year-to-year) basis.
Priorities for Funding
- The first priority in awarding subgrants is to provide program or operating support to qualified arts organizations. Examples are theaters, symphonies, galleries, art guilds, choral societies, dance companies, folk arts societies, writers’ groups, and arts festivals. To receive operating support from a subgrant, an arts organization may not also receive operating support directly from the N.C. Arts Council.
- The second priority in subgranting Grassroots funds is to support arts learning and arts-in-education programs conducted by qualified artists. These can be artist residencies in schools, after-school summer camps, or adult arts learning classes. Grassroots funds may not be used for activities associated with a school’s internal arts programs, such as in-school student performances, the purchase of classroom supplies, or student art competitions and publications.
- The third priority in awarding GAP subgrants is to support community, civic, and municipal organizations that provide high-quality experiences for the greater community. Qualified artists must conduct these programs.
Funding Information
The minimum grant awarded by the Arts Council is $5,000.
Project Period
July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025.
Scope and Allowable Expenses
DCPs may use up to 50 percent of their grant funds for general operating support. They must use the remaining 50 percent in the following ways:
- DCPs with county populations above 50,000 must subgrant at least 50 percent of their allocations to other organizations.
- DCPs with county populations below 50,000 must use 50 percent of their funds for self-conducted arts programs or for subgrants to other organizations.
Eligibility Requirements
Designated County Partners (DCPs) must meet the following standards to maintain their designated status:
- Provide support for high-quality programming in the performing, visual, literary, and traditional arts. Programming choices are responsive to community needs and demonstrate improvement and innovation. Programming choices also engage constituents across geographic, cultural, social, and economic strata.
- Foster collaborative relationships with and provide services and support to county arts organizations and other arts resources.
- Support individual artists in the county through services and opportunities, and compensate artists appropriately for their work. Promote and participate in the Artist Support Grant program.
- Conduct or support arts-in-education programs led by qualified artists for pre-K–12 students. A DCP must show commitment to comprehensive arts education opportunities for the county’s youth.
- Demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEAI) in programming, board representation, governance, and administrative practices.
- Demonstrate stability and fiscal responsibility through effective board and staff leadership, sound administrative practices, and strategic planning. If staffed, arts councils must provide appropriate salaries and benefits.
- Demonstrate leadership in the arts by actively participating in tourism, economic development, and community development efforts in the county that the DCP represents.
- Maintain a history of managing the Grassroots grant responsibly and according to requirements, including meeting the deadlines for applications, fulfilling the subgranting and multicultural requirements, and completing final reports.
For more information, visit NCAC.
