Arts Impact for Individuals
The Arts Impact for Individuals grant provides support for artistic projects in Minnesota led by individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color (BIPOC); and/or a disabled person/person with disabilities; and/or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual/Agender, Two-Spirit (LGBTQIA2+), with grants up to $5,000.
Individuals must have primary addresses 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.
This grant is designed to support individuals leading efforts to create access to the arts for Minnesotans. Projects must center enhancing Minnesotans’ access to the arts through projects that: connect Minnesotans with arts and arts experiences; and/or integrating arts into community efforts and projects; and/or connecting Minnesotans with arts learning opportunities, any of which may be presented virtually and must fully occur within the Eligible Funding Period.
Individuals do not need prior artistic experience to apply. This opportunity is open to artists/creatives and people who do not identify as artists/creatives.
The deadline for Arts Impact for Individuals applications is December 12, 2022 at 11:59 PM.
Application Resources
Guidelines & Appendices
Documents are provided in several formats. PDFs may open in a new window.
- Arts Impact for Individuals FY23 Guidelines – all applicants must read the guidelines
- English
- Español
- Appendix – Have an awarded or pending MRAC Grant: groups who have an awarded or pending grant must review this document, as awarded or pending grants may affect your eligibility.
- English
- Español
- Appendix – Sample Budgets: includes sample budgets and budget checklists
Templates
Application template: A template that you may use to create your application prior to uploading it to the grant interface.
- PDF – Arts Impact for Individuals Application Template FY23
- DOCX – Arts Impact for Individuals Application Template FY23
Panel Rating Guide
This document describes how the information you provide will be used to review your application.
- PDF – Arts Impact Individuals Panel Rating Guide
- DOCX – Arts Impact Individuals Panel Rating Guide
- RTF – Arts Impact Individuals Panel Rating Guide
- PDF – Arts Impact Individuals Panel Rating Guide without image captions
Sample Applications
These proposals have been successfully funded in Arts Impact for Groups (all files are downloadable PDFs):
- Sample Grant Application: Suchitra Sairam
- Sample Grant Application: Ryan Bynum
- Sample Grant Application: Artemis Brown
Application Assistance
Recorded Grant Information Webinar
MRAC offers a recorded Grant Information Webinar to learn about the grant program, available on the program page and on the MRAC YouTube account with captions. Automated translated captions into other languages are also available, and you may playback the webinar at a faster or slower speed.
Grant Information Webinar slides
- Arts Impact for Individuals FY2023 Grant Information Webinar – accessible.pdf
- Arts Impact for Individuals FY2023 Grant Information Webinar.rtf
Virtual Question & Answer Sessions
Do you have questions after reviewing the guidelines and/or viewing the webinar? MRAC program directors 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. Specific dates/times and registration will be available on the Arts Impact for Individuals program page.
Q&A Session #1
- Thursday, November 17: 5:30-6:30 PM
- Register for the November 17 Q&A Session
Q&A Session #2
- Monday, December 5: 5:30-6:30 PM
- Register for the December 5 Q&A Session
Program Directors
Program directors are available to help with your application. To schedule a video or phone meeting with a program director, fill out the application assistance meeting request form.
You may also call or email the program director listed under Contacts below. There are three types of meetings you may request:
- Individual Eligibility/Project Ideas Check-in (early in the process)
- Application Eligibility Review (for when you have a draft ready for us to review for eligibility)
- Project Check-In (once you received a grant and want to discuss any project changes)
Please note: We will do some initial brainstorming/refining with you about ideas, and will review application materials for eligibility and completeness. We are not able to help with reviewing content beyond eligibility. This is intended to provide general guidance ahead of submission; final eligibility determinations depend on a variety of factors and are made only after an application is submitted.
Additional Online Resources
Visit the Welcome to MRAC page (https://mrac.org/grants) to learn about the MRAC grant application process, an overview of all our grant programs, and more resources related to seeking and receiving MRAC funding.
Language Translation
These guidelines and other materials are translated in Spanish and available on the Arts Impact for Individuals program page. MRAC’s website can also be translated into Spanish by clicking the language button or “ES” in the top left corner.
The online grant portal (https://www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=mrac) has the Google Translate feature to enable application translations in over 100 languages.
Individuals are encouraged to apply in their preferred language. With advance notice, MRAC can contract an interpreter and/or translator to assist during the application process.
Accessibility
MRAC requests that all applicants apply online unless a disability prevents them from doing so.
MRAC works to ensure that grant guidelines, workshop presentations, and any other written materials are created with accessibility principles in mind. Additionally, we are happy to provide materials in Braille, Large Print, or other formats with advanced notice that varies according to format, from one week to on-demand, but even if the notice timeline has elapsed, we may still be able to accommodate the request.
On each grant webpage there is a link to the guidelines in a text format that is friendly to screen readers and text resizing. The company that makes the online application software MRAC uses, Foundant Technologies, suggests using NVDA, a screen reader software compatible with Windows available for free download.
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. Solutions we have previously implemented include filling out an adapted form in Microsoft Word, and providing verbal responses that MRAC will share via audio recording or transcription.
Contact us as early as possible to begin a conversation about how to make sure you have an equal opportunity to apply.
Contacts
Questions about the grantmaking process in general and technical assistance with the grant interface (such as trouble logging in), please contact us at mrac@mrac.org or 651-645-0402.
Questions and assistance related to eligibility and/or preparing an application:
Please contact Masami Kawazato (masami@mrac.org or 651-523-6386).
Or, visit the Arts Impact for Individuals grant program page and fill out the application request meeting request form to schedule a time to meet with a staff member who can assist you. The assistance form will open in November 2022.
Please do your best to read these guidelines thoroughly before reaching out with questions.