PLRAC Flexible Support Grant- Minnesota

The Flexible Support grant provides funding to help organizations/groups create and sustain Minnesotans’ access to the arts.

Donor Name: Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council

State: Minnesota

County: Blue Earth County (MN), Brown County (MN), Faribault County (MN), LeSueur County (MN), Martin County (MN), Nicollet County (MN), Sibley County (MN), Waseca County (MN), Watonwan County (MN)

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 08/01/2025

Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000

Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned

Details:

The goal of the Flexible Support grant program is that Minnesotans of all ages, abilities, economic backgrounds, cultural heritages, and geographic areas can participate in the arts. Proposed projects must address at least one of the five main goals listed below and in the Minnesota Legacy Goals section in the application, as identified by the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Minnesota State Legislature through the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Five Main Goals of Minnesota Arts Legacy funding:

Supporting artists and arts organizations in creating, producing and presenting high quality arts activities.
Overcoming barriers to accessing high-quality arts activities.
Instilling the arts into the community and public life in the region.
Supporting high-quality, age-appropriate arts education for residents of all ages to develop knowledge, skills, and understanding of the arts.
Supporting events and activities that represent the diverse ethnic and cultural arts traditions including folk and traditional artists and art organizations, represented in this region.

Funding Information

Tier 1: Up to $5,000 grants for universities, government entities, and public libraries or arts organizations or projects with an operating budget of $0-74,999 annually or by project.
Tier 2: Up to $10,000 grants for arts organizations or projects with an operating budget of $75,000-199,999 annually or by project.
Tier 3: Up to $15,000 grants for arts organizations or projects with an operating budget of $200,000+ annually or by project.

Eligible Projects

Eligible projects include operations, and/or organizational capacity, and/or arts programming:

Activities that support the operations of an organization/group (such as paying staff salaries or rent on a space) to provide arts access to Minnesotans in the 9-county area of Blue Earth, Brown, Faribault, LeSueur, Martin, Nicollet, Sibley, Waseca, Watonwan.
Organizational capacity activities, meaning a coordinated management effort that bolsters an organization/group’s ability to do its work (like rebranding, building a website, or overhauling financial tracking systems) to enhance Minnesotans’ access to the arts. This could also be the purchase of equipment and/or making facilities improvements to provide arts access.
Arts Programming activities in the 9-county region of Blue Earth, Brown, Faribault, LeSueur, Martin, Nicollet, Sibley, Waseca, or Watonwan, whether a single event (such as a theater production) or a series (such as a series of music workshops).

Eligibility Criteria

All organizations/groups must have a primary address in Blue Earth, Brown, Faribault, LeSueur, Martin, Nicollet, Sibley, Waseca, or Watonwan County. Fiscally sponsored groups will use their own address, not the address of the fiscal sponsor.
In addition to the geographic eligibility, organizations/groups must be one of the following:
- Arts 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization: Federally recognized tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organizations with a total annual operating budget to correspond with the appropriate tier during its most recently completed fiscal year (not the fiscal year you are currently in). The organization will be required to submit their most recent 990 form to verify tier eligibility.
- Cultural 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization: Federally recognized tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit cultural organizations with a total annual operating budget to correspond with the appropriate tier during its most recently completed fiscal year (not the fiscal year you are currently in). The organization will be required to submit their most recent 990 form to verify tier eligibility.
- Non-arts & Non-cultural 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization: Federally recognized tax exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations with a total annual operating budget to correspond with the appropriate tier during its most recently completed fiscal year (not the fiscal year you are currently in). The organization will be required to submit their most recent 990 form to verify tier eligibility.
  - Non-arts & non-cultural nonprofit organizations must isolate their arts programming expenses from non-arts & non-cultural financial activity.
  - Non-arts & non-cultural nonprofit organizations are not eligible to apply for operating support. These organizations need to apply for a specific arts focused project.
Universities, Government Entities, and Public Libraries: Universities, colleges, cities, counties, and public libraries may apply for up to $5,000 in tier 1. These group’s eligibility are not based on an operating budget size and are restricted to the pre-set $5,000 maximum. Colleges and universities have a three grant maximum per fiscal year; with each grant needing to be from a different department.
Community Education Units: Community education units of a school district with annual cash arts programming expenses of any size during its most recently completed fiscal year (not the fiscal year you are currently in) are eligible for one grant per fiscal year. Community education units must isolate their arts programming expenses from non-arts financial activity
K-12 public or private schools are not eligible for this program. They need to apply to the K-12 School Arts Project Program, and can apply for up to $3,000.
Fiscally sponsored group with arts projects: Groups with arts projects and not registered as a federally recognized tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization must apply with an eligible fiscal sponsor. Fiscally sponsored groups must consist of at least 3 people who are on a committee or leadership team. Fiscally sponsored groups must isolate their arts programming expenses from non-arts & non-cultural financial activity. They are not eligible to apply for operating support. These groups need to apply for a specific arts focused project.
A fiscal sponsor is a federally tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that receives the grant monies and manages the financial aspects of the project on behalf of a group that does not have tax-exempt status.