The Festivals Program Grant supports community-based festivals in S.C. that increase public engagement and participation in arts and culture.
Donor Name: South Carolina Arts Commission
State: South Carolina
County: Selected Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/30/2025
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: Less than 1 Year
Details:
The purpose is to provide support for a broad range of arts activities at festivals that take place in—and have an impact on—S.C. communities, increasing opportunities for public engagement and participation in arts and culture.
A festival is a day or period of celebration or gathering of people that:
- Happens in a condensed period of time (i.e. an annual celebration or anniversary or an organized series of concerts, plays, movies, or performances held in the same place)
- Has an easily identifiable or unifying theme or specified focus.
Priorities
- Special consideration will be given to festivals in underserved communities; those communities in which people lack arts programs, services, or resources due to geography, economic conditions, cultural background, socio-political circumstances, disability, age or other demonstrable factors. The term “community” can refer to a group of people with a common heritage or characteristics, whether they live in the same location or not.
- Priority will be given to applicants that have projects in SCAC’s Opportunity Initiative Counties:
- Allendale, Bamberg, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clarendon, Dillon, Edgefield, Hampton, Jasper, Laurens, Lee, Marion, Marlboro, Saluda, Williamsburg.
Funding Information
Up to $7,500.
Grant Period
August 1, 2025 – May 31, 2026.
Uses of Fund
Allowable activities are limited to:
- Arts programming, temporary art installations/exhibitions, commissions, or licensing fees for original works
- Artistic, administrative, technical, marketing salary support and/or contractual fees paid to artists, musicians, curators, programmers, and/or arts presenters/performers including travel and lodging
- Event production costs for equipment/venue rentals and operation; sound, lighting, stage rigging, visual/digital components, and insurance for the arts programming only
- Marketing including but not limited to graphic design services, advertising space, digital/print promotional materials, website, social media, printing, or publications
- Items or services ensuring program accessibility as mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which includes captioning, translation, visual enhancements, interpreters, and listening guides
- Festival activities can include juried processes (e.g. visual or performing arts competitions, exhibitions or juried shows).
Eligibility Criteria
- The applicant must be
- a unit of state or local government
- a nonprofit organization currently registered as a charity with the S.C. Secretary of State’s Office Note:
- Applicants who are exempt from this registration must upload their registration exemption approval
- reflecting S.C. as the primary address on all current official organizational documents
- with federal tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service applying through a tax-exempt fiscal agent/receiver organization. Note: Applicants who are applying through a fiscal agent/receiver must submit a letter outlining the working relationship and responsibilities of both parties
- AND NOT receiving General Operating Support or Operating Support for Small Organizations grants from the S.C. Arts Commission within the same fiscal year
- In accordance with federal government policy, all organizations – including (but not limited to) private schools, public school districts, government entities, and nonprofit organizations – must provide a valid UEI number to receive an SCAC grant award
- Note: If an applicant organization is using a fiscal agent/receiver, separate UEI numbers must be provided for both the applicant organization and the fiscal agent/receiver. Exceptions to separate UEI numbers are organizations run by a local government or a school district
- Individual artists and colleges and universities are ineligible to apply
- Commissioners and staff of the S.C. Arts Commission and members of their immediate families are not eligible to apply for any individual SCAC programs, grants, fellowships, or services that provide financial support or career recognition.
For more information, visit SCAC.
