Creative Placemaking: Rural Arts Facilities Fund (RAFF) grants are designed to help rural communities carry out initiatives that build, renovate, or expand arts and cultural facilities.
Donor Name: Tennessee Arts Commission
State: Tennessee
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 01/13/2025
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
Project applications must demonstrate a history and/or commitment to arts and cultural programming in the community, cross-sector community support, feasible plans for revenue generation and facility management, and sustainable long-term operational goals. Public investment in rural arts and cultural facilities can help rural communities in a number of ways, including, but not limited to, expansion of arts and cultural opportunities for underserved audiences, job creation, tourism development, enhanced creative learning opportunities, as well as strengthening a community’s distinctive identity and quality of life.
Funding Information
Applicants may request up to $200,000 for projects that build, renovate, restore, preserve, or enhance rural arts facilities, including performing arts centers, art museums and galleries, multi-purpose arts centers, amphitheaters, and mobile stages.
Grant Period
July 1, 2025-June 15, 2026.
Eligible Projects or Activities
Examples of eligible projects or activities may include but are not limited to:
- Architectural or design plans for new buildings, expansions, or adaptive re-use of existing facilities
- Cultural facilities improvements, including essential technology updates, equipment purchases, and infrastructure upgrades for presenting, producing, exhibiting, and/or preserving arts and cultural assets
- Stage renovation or enhancement (improvements to sound, lighting, seating, stage curtains, green rooms)
- Capital improvements that increase accessibility to arts programming for persons with disabilities and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Eligibility Criteria
An applicant is eligible to apply if the organization is located one of Tennessee’s Rural Counties and meets one of the following qualifications:
- The organization is an entity of local government
- The applicant is a nonprofit arts organization legally chartered in Tennessee and in possession of a determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service declaring the organization exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.
For more information, visit Tennessee Arts Commission.
