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Program Description
The Capital grant program provides funds of up to $6,000 to purchase
equipment and related supplies and services, or to make capital
improvements. Such activities must 1) advance the mission of your
group and 2) have the potential for significant or long-term impact.
Capital grants may be used for projects such as those listed below.
This list is not a complete list of eligible projects.
- Purchase of equipment such as musical instruments, lighting
board or sound equipment
- Purchase of computer hardware and software
- Purchase and installation of telephone system
- Facility improvements to increase accessibility
- Facility improvements to performance or office space
Capital grant applications must show evidence that thorough planning
has taken place. For example, in the narrative portion of the application,
you will be asked to 1) clearly define your project and its goals,
2) identify specific equipment to be purchased or capital improvements
to be made, and 3) provide the names of at least three vendors from
whom you have obtained competitive estimates or bids.
Program Requirements
Requirements listed here are intended to give a sense of the program.
For a full description of requirements and eligibility rules, see
program guidelines.
Project Budget
For every four MRAC dollars requested, you must match or raise
one dollar from a source other than MRAC. Other sources may include
general operating funds, past surpluses, earned income or funds
you plan to raise specifically for this project. Donated and in-kind
goods and services may
not be included as part of the match.
If you request funds for more than one item, all items must be
clearly related.
Project budget must be $50,000 or less. Under special circumstances,
a project with a budget exceeding $50,000 may be considered; however,
groups must call MRAC staff at 651-523-6391 and receive written
approval before applying.
Nonprofit status
Your group must be incorporated as a nonprofit in the state of Minnesota to be eligible for this program. If you are incorporated
but do not have IRS tax-exempt status, you must apply using a nonprofit,
tax-exempt organization as a fiscal agent (see guidelines for
definition, page 6).
You must be able to furnish proof of your organization's IRS
tax-exempt status -or- furnish a letter of agreement with your
fiscal agent and proof of your fiscal agent's IRS tax-exempt status.
Eligibility
To ensure eligibility, all applicants are strongly encouraged to
discuss proposal ideas with MRAC staff before beginning an MRAC
application. All eligibility requirements are fully outlined in
the program guidelines. For general eligibility, see the eligibility
page.
Who is eligible for a Capital grant?
- Incorporated nonprofit arts groups with annualized operating expenses less than
$300,000 and at least a two-year history of programs/services.
- Nonprofit non-arts organizations with annualized arts programming
expenses less than $300,000 may be eligible if they 1) have independent and sustained arts programs and 2) can demonstrate clearly that the sustained arts program
is specifically and primarily intended to serve an under-served
community (see definition of “under-served” in program guidelines, page 6).
To determine eligibility, all non-arts organizations
must call MRAC staff for written
approval before applying.
For a description of what the Capital grant does not fund, see
the program guidelines and the eligibility
page.
Deadlines
Capital grants have one deadline per MRAC fiscal year, July
1 - June 30. See "Important Dates" at the top of this page.
Before You Apply – Technical Assistance
Grant Application Workshops
Free grant application workshops are held about a month prior to the Capital grant deadline. These workshops will be posted on this page as they are scheduled. For further information, see the grant application workshops page.
New Applicants are encouraged to attend an MRAC application workshop and to visit the MRAC office to review previous years’ successful grant applications. Applicants who do so have been shown to improve the quality of their applications.
Past Applicants, whether or not your previous project was funded, are urged to attend an MRAC application workshop and review the panel discussion of your previous application. This will help you address concerns raised by earlier review panels and improve your chances of getting a grant.
MRAC staff is available to answer your questions. Contact us at 651-645-0402 or by email at mrac@mrac.org.
Application Materials
Click the links above to download the grant guidelines and form(s) in PDF format.
You must have the free Adobe Acrobat Reader or the commercial Adobe Acrobat
installed on your computer to view these files. Click
here to download Acrobat Reader. If you have trouble downloading or reading
these forms, call the MRAC office at 651-645-0402 and ask us
to send you the
application materials by U.S. mail.
Read the instructions carefully before filling out the grant application.
You may fill out the grant application electronically by filling in the
fields and printing.
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