Next Step Fund

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

1. Identify as an artist, working in any discipline, at any stage in their career, and have evidence of artistic output indicative of their career stage.
2. Be able to submit work samples of their own artwork. Artists should have had decision-making authority over the artwork depicted in the work samples.
3. Maintain a primary residential street address in Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, or Washington county (P.O. boxes are not accepted). Eligible applicants must reside in the seven-county metro region for at least six (6) months prior to the application deadline and continue to do so for the entirety of their proposed grant period. If a grantee moves away during that time, MRAC may recall the grant funds.
4. Be at least 18 years of age on the grant deadline date.

Requests must outline strategies that will help the applicant sustain the trajectory of their artistic career, overcome a barrier to success, and/or leverage a beneficial career opportunity.
Requests should be appropriate to the career stage of the applicant and in alignment with their stated goals.
Examples of what applicants may seek support for include:

• Learning new skills to adapt, transition, or expand their creative process or artistic practice
• Professionalizing or increasing artistic output and quality
• Researching, producing, or presenting new creative work
• Developing a business plan, promotional materials, and/or documentation of a creative portfolio

There are no restrictions on where applicants can execute their proposals.

However, they must maintain their primary residence in Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, or Washington county (P.O. boxes are not accepted) for at least six (6) months prior to the application deadline and continue to reside in this region for the entirety of their proposal period.