Applications open for Artistic Innovations Grant Program

The Artistic Innovations Grant Program encourages the spirit of experimentation and exploration, exclusively engaging in-region artists and organizations in the creation of new, original works for audiences in the M-AAA six-state region of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Donor Name: Mid-America Arts Alliance

State: Selected States

County: All Counties

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 02/23/2024

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

Grant Duration: 1 Year

Details:

Funding Information

Through the generous support of the NEA, this grant program offers up to $15,000 in support of expenses incurred in the art-making process and public presentation to the applicant’s audience. This grant requires a dollar-for-dollar (1:1) match. M-AAA’s matching requirements encourage applicants to request an amount of up to $15,000 that is reflective of their project and capacity to manage their grants. Federal funding sources from the NEA, or another Federal agency (e.g., grants, subsidies) cannot be used to meet the 1:1 match requirement for the same project in a single application cycle or an overlapping grant period of activity.

The works of art should advance and incorporate principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in the representation, participation, and creation of the artwork to the applicant’s audience. All projects must include at least two (2) public-facing engagements that occur in M-AAA’s six-state region:

a premiere or feature presentation; and
an educational or outreach activity.

Project Period

All project must occur between July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025.

Who Artistic Innovations is for?

2024 Artistic Innovations Grantee Recovery Mural Project. Photo courtesy of Kathryn Wilson.

Artistic Innovations is for individual artists or nonprofit arts organizations in M-AAA’s six-state region that:

have new, original, or experimental ideas, projects, or products to share with audiences.
share experiences of art, art making, or artists at the heart of the initiative.
engage the public through feature presentation and outreach, which could include (but is not limited to) performance, publication, lecture/demonstration, exhibition, master class and/or workshop.
are from rural or urban communities.

In addition:

Applicants should have an anticipated project budget that reflects a dollar-for-dollar match for the grant amount requested.
They encourage applications from artists and organizations that embody and/or serve populations that are underserved, such as those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by external forces such as geography, race/ethnicity, economics, and/or disability.
Artists and organizations who are applying to M-AAA for a grant for the first time are encouraged to apply.

Eligibility Criteria

Individual Artists Eligibility

Individual Artist Applicants must:

Not be an Artistic Innovations grant recipient or the featured artist/ensemble in another Artistic Innovations project in fiscal year 2024 (projects occurred between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024).
Note: Individual artists cannot be the recipient of two or more grants of more than $1,000 each through any of M-AAA’s individual artist grants in any single fiscal year.
Not submit more than one application in a single application cycle.
Be at least 21 years of age on or before the application deadline.
Be a citizen, permanent resident, or have non-resident status.
Note: Social Security Number information is not required at the time of application.
Have an artist statement and/or résumé that demonstrates at least a 3-year history of arts engagement in a creative practice prior to the application deadline. Examples of your creative practice do not have to be from consecutive years or seasons. They know that most applicants were disrupted by the pandemic. As a result, it is acceptable to list activities from a recent year other than 2023 or 2022. Virtual programming, planning, and COVID-19 recovery activities are all considered to be arts programming.
For the purposes of defining eligibility, a 3-year history of arts engagement refers to when the applicant began their creative practice independent of activities required in pursuit of an academic degree or other certification.
Apply directly on their own behalf. Applications through a fiscal sponsor/agent are not allowed.
Be a full-time resident in M-AAA’s six-state region prior to the application deadline and during the entire grant period of activity, if awarded.
Compensate all professional artists or supporting professional personnel at no less than the prevailing minimum compensation in accordance with the CFR Part 505 of Title 29 Labor Standards on projects or productions assisted by grants from the NEA.
Be in good standing with M-AAA and all federal agencies with no delinquent grant documents and/or reports, if awarded.

Organizations Applicant Eligibility

Organizational Applicants must:

Not be an Artistic Innovations grant recipient or the featured artist/ensemble in another Artistic Innovations project in fiscal year 2024 (projects occurred between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024).
Note: organizations are limited to an aggregate award amount of $15,000 through M-AAA’s recurring grant programs in any single fiscal year.
Not submit more than one application in a single application cycle.
Be an arts-based nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)3, U.S. organization, a local state agency (a unit of a local government), a federally or non-federally recognized tribal community or tribe that are also a nonprofit, tax exempt 501(c)(3) located within M-AAA’s six-state region.
Be an arts-based nonprofit organization that has its own Board of Directors with its own established bylaws, and manages its budget independent of a parent organization.
Be incorporated in and currently conducting business in one or more states in M-AAA’s six-state region prior to the application deadline and during the entire grant period of activity, if awarded.
Have completed at least a 3-year history of arts engagement prior to the application deadline. Examples of your organization’s arts programming do not have to be from consecutive years or seasons. They know that most applicants were disrupted by the pandemic. As a result, it is acceptable to list activities from a recent year other than 2023 or 2022. Virtual programming, planning, and COVID-19 recovery activities are all considered to be arts programming.
For the purpose of defining eligibility, a 3-year history of arts engagement refers to when an organization began its arts programming and not when it incorporated or received nonprofit, tax-exempt status.
Have arts and culture explicitly stated as central to the organization’s mission. An arts-based organization that includes arts and culture as a primary and major focus of a larger mission may apply if their larger mission is centered in serving a specific cultural group.
Compensate all professional artists or supporting professional personnel at no less than the prevailing minimum compensation in accordance with the CFR Part 505 of Title 29 Labor Standards on projects or productions assisted by grants from the NEA.
Apply directly on their own behalf. Applications through a fiscal sponsor/agent are not allowed.
Have and provide a valid 9-digit Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) as a Tax-Exempt Organization registered with the IRS
Note: Organizations that have had their IRS status revoked are not eligible to apply for a grant. Tax-exempt status must be current at the time of application.
Have and provide a valid 12-character alphanumeric Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) as assigned (or proof of registration) in the System for Award Management (SAM). Organizations are required to have a valid UEI ID but not an entity registration to do business with M-AAA.
Note: The physical address must match the UEI registered in SAM.gov.
Be in good standing with M-AAA and all federal agencies with no delinquent grant documents and/or reports, if awarded.