The Region 2 Arts Council is pleased to announce the Community Arts Support Grant.
Donor Name: Region 2 Arts Council
State: Minnesota
County: Beltrami County (MN), Clearwater County (MN), Hubbard County (MN), Lake of the Woods County (MN), Mahnomen County (MN)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 02/15/2026
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
Region 2 Arts Council (R2AC) Community Arts Support (CAS) Grants are made possible by the voters of Minnesota thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund (ACHF). The CAS grant program is also funded, in part, by an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the State’s General Fund.
Funding Information
- Average Annual Expenses under
- $5,000 receive $2,000/year funding support
- Average Annual Expenses between
- $5,000-$10,999 receive $3,000/year funding support
- $11,000-$20,999 receive $4,000/year funding support
- $21,000-$34,999 receive $5,000/year funding support
- $35,000-$90,999 receive $6,000/year funding support
- $91,000-$173,999 receive $7,000/year funding support.
Grant Period
This is a two-year operating support grant.
Uses of Funds
- Administrative and operating expenses such as rent, utilities, wages/salaries, facility maintenance that support an organization’s growth, expansion, and improvement
- Capital improvement projects, which support arts access, education, and arts and cultural heritage activity, made to property owned by the applicant arts organization.
- Training for staff and board to expand and/or improve an organization’s accessibility and equity in its programming and practices.
- Development/improvement of diversity, equity, inclusion, and/or accessibility plans.
- Development/improvement of marketing and publicity plans including website development, engagement of consultants, etc. that will support an organization’s new or updated initiatives
- Free standing equipment for an arts organization’s office or facility, or non-expendable items, such as instruments, easels, computers, updated technology.
- Capacity building, audience and board development, feasibility studies, strategic planning, facilitation of networking, collaborative projects, outreach.
- Expenses associated with obtaining 501(c)3 tax exempt status for arts organizations or groups with a mission and purpose focused solely on the arts, to prepare organizations for increased arts programming.
Eligible Proposals
- R2Arts CAS operating support funds may not be used to cover an organization’s arts programming and project costs. This funding is designated for an organization’s operational costs; those costs that support an organization’s ability to provide arts programming.
- An organization’s proposal must show both a commitment to the organization’s mission and the communities it serves by using this operational support grant funding for operations that support an organization’s capacity to offer expanded and/or new arts programming that is accessible and open to the public. Arts and Cultural Heritage Funds shall not cover costs for activity or operations that have formerly been funded in another way, nor may funds be used to supplant/replace an organization’s traditional funding sources. Arts and Cultural Heritage Funds may, however, be used to supplement those funding sources if programming and expected outcomes are new and or expanded.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible Organizations
- All eligible arts organizations, arts affiliates, and arts groups seeking 501(c)3 status must have arts programming at the center of their mission, and have been providing arts programming to the Region 2 Arts Council communities during the past two years.
- Arts Organizations
- Eligible arts organizations are physically located with a legal address in one of the five counties of the Region 2 Arts Council service area (Beltrami, Clearwater, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Hubbard).
- Arts Affiliates
- Eligible arts affiliates are physically located with a legal address in one of the five counties of the Region 2 Arts Council service area (Beltrami, Clearwater, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Hubbard). An Arts Affiliate by definition is a distinct arts program or established arts division with an arts-focused mission that is hosted within a Minnesota nonprofit 501(c)(3) non arts institution or public entity (such as city government or a university) or within a Minnesota nonprofit 501(c)(3), tax‐exempt, community service organization; and for whom arts programming or services represent at least 90 percent of the affiliate’s annual operating expenses.
- The arts affiliate must
- provide or plan to provide a consistent menu of arts programming or services for the general public in Minnesota, not just for the host institution or its constituents, as would be the case with an academic degree program and its students;
- have a citizen advisory or governing board either independent from or acting as a subset of the host organization’s board, providing community oversight of the affiliate’s activities as distinct from the host organization’s activities;
- have a distinct budget indicating all revenue and expenses, that can be documented through financial statements;
- meet any additional Community Arts Support grant eligibility criteria.
- Groups Seeking 501c3 nonprofit status
- Groups without 501(c)3 nonprofit tax status must be formed for non-profit purposes, must have the equivalent of a governing body similar to a board of directors or advisory council, and must use a Minnesota-based non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)3 organization as a fiscal sponsor for this application.
- Groups Seeking 501c3 nonprofit status
- Groups without 501(c)3 nonprofit tax status must be formed for non-profit purposes, must have the equivalent of a governing body similar to a board of directors or advisory council, and must use a Minnesota-based non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)3 organization as a fiscal sponsor for this application.
For more information, visit Region 2 Arts Council.
