The GIG (Grow, Invest, Gather) Fund provides grants to Midwestern non-profit organizations for performing and visual arts activities.
Donor Name: Arts Midwest
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/23/2024
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: Less than 1 Year
Details:
The goal is to invest in efforts that use creativity to connect people, ideas, and solutions to build more thriving and welcoming communities.
Funding Information
- Organizations may request a grant between $2,000 and $4,000.
- This round of GIG Fund grants is for activities taking place between September 1, 2024, and May 31, 2025.
Eligible Expenses
Eligible expenses include: Artist fees (required), allocated time of staff salaries, software licenses to host virtual activities, facility rental, equipment purchases for supporting artistic engagements ($4,000 or less), accessibility accommodations for individuals with disabilities or auto-immune conditions, promotion, and artist travel.
Project Requirements
Organizations can use these funds to support a project that engages performing, visual, multimedia, or literary artists. Artistic excellence and merit will be part of the application review.
- Contract with a professional artist/ensemble of high artistic, educational, or cultural value as understood by the target community.
- A portion of the grant award must be used to pay the artist(s).
- The artist/ensemble may be from anywhere in the world, including the applicant’s own community.
- The artist(s) must be a least 18 years of age and not be a full-time student.
- Offer at least two activities featuring the artist(s) in an accessible facility/space.
- Activities should feature an educational component that allows direct interaction between an audience and the artist(s) or art form. Examples of activities include masterclasses and workshops; lectures, demonstrations, and panel discussions; meet-and-greets; discussions/talkbacks; etc.
- Activities must include at least one performance or exhibition that is open to the general public.
- Activities may be in-person and/or virtual.
- The activities must take place in an accessible facility or on an accessible online streaming platform.
- At least one activity must reach an underserved audience.
- Underserved refers to groups whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited relative to geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. Audiences could include, but are not limited to, communities of color, people with disabilities, older adults, rural areas, reservations, lower income communities, LGBTQ+ communities, veterans, and justice-impacted citizens.
Project Examples
Sample activities include:
- A rural community hosting a short artist residency at a local school.
- An artist hosting a creative writing program with justice-impacted citizens.
- An artist talkback or meet & greet in an exhibition featuring the work of LGBTQ+ photographers.
- Presenting a concert series focused on the music of BIPOC composers.
- Initiating a new partnership to provide art classes with people with disabilities.
Who should apply?
- 501c3 non-profit organizations and tribal organizations with a budget of $1 million or less.
- Organizations located in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, or Wisconsin, and the Native Nations that share this geography.
- Arts and cultural organizations in any arts discipline (literature, performing arts, visual arts, traditional arts, multidisciplinary arts, etc.) or nonprofit organizations that provide arts programming (social service agencies, etc.)
- Priority will be given to applicants who have not received a GIG Fund grant in the past two years.
- Organizations will need to have a UEI number from SAM.gov in order to receive grant funds.
- Organizations applying for GIG Fund grants should not have any overdue reports or funding moratoria with Arts Midwest.
For more information, visit Arts Midwest.
