Ruth Foundation for the Arts invites applications for its inaugural Special Project Grants program, awarding project funding to small and mid-size nonprofit visual arts, performing arts, and arts education organizations situated on land presently known as Wisconsin.
Donor Name: Ruth Foundation for the Arts
State: Wisconsin
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 01/23/2024
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
The program aims to build a robust and equitable arts ecosystem by investing in projects that have long-term cultural and structural impact for their communities. Of particular interest are initiatives that rethink and reimagine past practices, bring an expansive range of voices into public and artistic discourse, and contribute to a more complex and abundant understanding of the histories, lived experiences, and futures of this region.
Funding Information
- The new grantmaking initiative will award up to $750,000 this year in support of arts and culture organizations in this state.
- Special Project Grants provide support at $100,000 or $200,000 over two years for successful applicants and are eligible to arts and culture organizations with operating budgets under $2 million.
The foundation recognizes that cultural production can take many forms, and they support arts and culture organizations that embrace the unconventional and experimental and whose activities are rooted in the communities in which they operate. They welcome proposals for new artistic commissions in the public realm, archival projects (including the creation of databases and the digitization and diversification of collections), publications, cultural revitalization projects, and capacity building and planning initiatives that improve the structural conditions of your organization. Organizations, initiatives, or collections that represent the contributions of underrepresented communities are highly encouraged to apply.
The Program prioritizes the projects that:
- Are ambitious, timely, and relevant to the communities they seek to serve
- Promote unique collaborations and equitable partnerships and include an artist-initiated process
- Are invested in the cultural sustainability of this region and that contribute to public knowledge about a diversity of practices
- Uplift historically underrepresented artists, practices, and art histories, with respect for cultural self-determination
- Compensate all artists, performers, collaborators, and contractors for the creation of the project at respectable levels
- Increase public access and education of archives, collections, creative practices, and cultural knowledge
- Advance artistic production in this region by encouraging creative change, revitalization, and innovation
The foundation cannot be funded
- Capital campaigns
- Organizations whose core mission is not directly tied to art and culture programs or arts education
- Pre-K-12 and K-12 schools, private K-12 institutions, and university campus projects
- Fundraising events or galas
- Playgrounds or parks
- Museum acquisitions not tied to archive initiatives and/or community programming
For more information, visit Ruth Foundation for the Arts.