The Laura Jane Musser Fund is pleased to announce the Rural Arts Initiative.
Donor Name: Laura Jane Musser Fund
State: Colorado, Hawaii, North Carolina, Wyoming
County: Selected Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/05/2026
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
In recognition of Laura Jane Musser’s life-long commitment to excellence in the arts, and with awareness that pivotal and life-changing experience can occur for individuals through introduction to and participation in the arts, the Laura Jane Musser Fund hopes to encourage and excite a wider population to appreciate, learn, and participate in the arts. The Musser Fund hopes to assist nonprofit arts organizations in rural communities to develop, implement or sustain exceptional artistic opportunities for adults and children in the areas of literary, visual, music, and performing arts.
Priority is placed on organizations that:
- Increase access to the arts through scholarships, hands-on activities, community venues, workshops, discounts and other innovations
- Demonstrate capacity to engage their community in the creation of art
- Demonstrate support from their community (through volunteerism, membership, in-kind, or other types of support).
Funding Information
Grants up to $12,000 per year.
Geographical Areas
ARTS organizations must be physically located in rural communities (population 15,000 or less) in the following geographic areas:
- Colorado (All counties)
- Hawaii (All counties)
- Wyoming (All counties)
- North Carolina Mountains Region Mountains Region (Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Clay, Cherokee, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey counties)
Eligibility Criteria
- ARTS organizations that are physically located in rural communities with populations of less than 15,000. (Arts organizations that support programs in rural areas but are not physically located in those rural areas are not eligible. Organizations that are not primarily arts organizations but provide some arts programming are also not eligible.)
- ARTS organizations with organizational budgets less than $350,000
- NONPROFIT 501(c)(3) organizations. (Organizations with fiscal sponsors are not eligible).
- ORGANIZATIONS that have been in existence for at least one year at the time of application.
For more information, visit Laura Jane Musser Fund.
