Page Contents
- Grant Program Focus
- Who Is Eligible to Apply?
- Important Dates
- Guidelines & Webinar
- Application Resources
- Virtual Question & Answer Sessions
- Assistance from MRAC Staff
- Submittable Grant Platform Technical Assistance
Grant Program Focus
The Arts Impact for Individuals grant program provides up to $5,000 for artistic projects in Minnesota led by individuals. Projects must be focused on creating access to the arts for Minnesotans, and/or engaging with Minnesota communities through artistic endeavors. Proposed projects could include:
- Connecting Minnesotans with participation in arts and cultural experiences; and/or
- Integrating artists and/or artistic engagement to accomplish a community’s non-arts goals; and/or
- Providing Minnesotans with opportunities for arts learning and passing along expressive cultural traditions.
Community members, rather than the applicant, must be the primary beneficiary of project activities. At least three (3) Minnesotans other than the artist must participate in the project. Projects primarily focused on developing the applicant’s own needs and creative interests are not a good fit with this program. The previous fiscal year’s Arts Impact for Individuals awards announcement demonstrates the types of projects awarded in the program historically.
Who Is Eligible to Apply?
This grant program is open to individuals who identify as any of the following:
- Black, Indigenous, and/or a Person of Color (BIPOC); and/or
- Disabled/a person with a disability; and/or
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual/Agender, Two-Spirit (LGBTQIA2+)
Individuals must have a primary residential address in Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott or Washington county, and be a United States citizen or an individual who has attained permanent resident status in the United States. Awardees must also continue to reside in this region for the entirety of the project period.
Grant awards in this program are made only to the individual applicant, who must have primary responsibility for managing the proposed project. Entities such as nonprofits, for-profits, schools, and fiscally sponsored organizations may not apply in this program. Individuals do not need prior artistic experience or to identify as an artist to apply.
Important dates:
- Applicant assistance begins: September 6, 2023
- Application deadline: October 23, 2023 at 11:59 PM
- Panel review: January 18 to February 16, 2024
- Award notifications: March 27, 2024
- Eligible funding period: April 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025
Please note: Staff assistance ends at 5:00 PM on the day of the deadline. Inquiries received after this time will not be answered before the deadline. MRAC does not accept late applications.
Guidelines & Webinar
Guidelines are your most important tool for submitting an eligible application. Please do your best to read and understand the guidelines. Guidelines are provided for download in several formats. PDFs may open in a new window.
- English
- Español
Recorded Grant Information Webinar
The recorded Grant Information Webinar is designed to introduce the key ideas of the guidelines and assist you as you read the full guidelines document. The webinar is available on Youtube and embedded below. Video includes ASL interpretation and is captioned in English, with options for automated translation of captions into other languages.
- Text transcript of the webinar presentation
- Slide deck:
Application Resources
Application template
A template that you may use to create your application before inputting it into the grant interface.
Panelist Scoring Guide
This document describes how the information you provide will be used to review your application.
- PDF – Arts Impact for Individuals Panelist Scoring Guide
- DOCX – Arts Impact for Individuals Panelist Scoring Guide
- RTF – Arts Impact for Individuals Panelist Scoring Guide
Virtual Question & Answer Sessions
Do you still have more questions after reviewing the Arts Impact for Individuals guidelines and/or viewing the webinar? MRAC program director Scott Artley will host two informal drop-in Zoom sessions to answer brief questions in a large group setting. Please note, this is not a grant information webinar. We recommend viewing the webinar and/or reading the guidelines in advance of attending a Virtual Q & A Session, as many frequently asked questions can be found there.
Pre-registration for the Virtual Q & A Session is required. The session will not be recorded. Automated captioning will be available.
Virtual Q&A Session #1
Thursday, September 14, 2023
10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Register for the September 14 Q&A Session
Virtual Q&A Session #2
Tuesday, October 17, 2023
5:30 to 6:30 PM
Register for the October 17 Q&A Session
Assistance from MRAC Staff
MRAC staff enjoy working with applicants and encourage you to connect with us for help navigating the process. You may request one-on-one support to:
- Meet with a staff member via phone or video to discuss project ideas and eligibility; and/or
- Have an MRAC staff member review your complete application draft ahead of the deadline for eligibility.
Please use the application assistance request form (also embedded in the webpage below) to request these services.
Language & Disability Accessibility
Applicants are encouraged to apply in their preferred language. MRAC can contract an interpreter and/or translator to assist during the application process. Please connect as soon as possible to ensure we have time to secure these services.
MRAC requests that all applicants apply online using the Submittable grant application platform. Applicants with disabilities wishing to use other means to apply can work with MRAC staff to adapt our typical processes to ensure you have equal opportunity to submit an application.
To begin a conversation about how we can help, please contact Scott Artley (scott@mrac.org or 651-523-6384) at least one week prior to the deadline for assistance.
Submittable Grant Platform Technical Assistance
For help related to technical aspects of using Submittable, visit the Applicant Help Center to find how-to instructions and connect with Submittable’s technical support staff.