PORTLAND, ORE – The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) invites nonprofit organizations and individual artists in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas Counties to submit proposals for artistic projects and cultural events planned for calendar year 2015. “Intent to Apply” forms and applications must be submitted online on RACC’s new GrantsOnline system – racc.culturegrants.org
RACC Project Grants support a wide range of artistic activities throughout the Portland tri-county region. A wide variety of projects will be considered, as long as they involve the creation or presentation of a performance, exhibit, or other work of art that is available to the general public. Other eligibility requirements apply, and successful proposals will address one of the following objectives:
- Artistic Focus: These projects will demonstrate high artistic quality, innovation, creativity in programming and excellence in artist selection.
- Community Participation: These projects support cultural and artistic programs with high levels of community participation. Projects in this category should impact participants by providing them with a greater sense of self, family, community and place through learning and participating in their own art making experience.
- Arts-in-Schools: These projects encourage and enable members of the professional arts community to work in schools and create arts-rich learning environments.
The “Intent to Apply” deadline for Artistic Focus and Community Participation projects is Wednesday, August 6, 2014 by 5:00pm. The deadline to submit an “Intent to Apply” for Arts-in-Schools projects is Wednesday, October 8, 2014 by 5:00pm.
Approximately $750,000 is available for projects in 2015, with awards ranging from $1,000 to $6,000 each. RACC encourages submissions from new, emerging, and established artists alike. All eligible proposals will be grouped by discipline and adjudicated by a panel of community volunteers with interest and experience in arts and culture programming. For more information on how panelists are selected, visit http://racc.org/grants/being-a-grant-panelist.
A program overview and a list of projects that were funded in 2014 are available online at www.racc.org/grants. All applications are processed through RACC’s new online grants system at racc.culturegrants.org, and RACC provides computer access and technical support for people who require assistance. Please note that all grant applicants will need to create an account in the new GrantsOnline system, regardless of past grant activity with RACC.
RACC staff is available to guide applicants through the process of submitting a competitive application. Returning applicants should contact Helen Daltoso at 503-823-5402 or hdaltoso@racc.org for assistance. First-time applicants should contact Ingrid Carlson at 503-823-5417 or icarlson@racc.org. RACC also provides over-the-phone interpretation services for people with limited English proficiency; call 503-823-5071.
In addition to providing one-on-one support, RACC has produced several online video tutorials (available at http://bit.ly/1l6zBfd), and provides free orientation sessions to help applicants better understand RACC Project Grant guidelines and application procedures.
- Orientations for individual artists will be held on Tuesday, July 8th and Thursday, July 17th from 2:00 to 4:00pm.
- Orientations for not-for-profit organizations will be held on Tuesday, July 15th and Wednesday, July 23rdfrom 2:00 to 4:00pm.
- Orientations for Arts-in-Schools projects will be held on Tuesday, August 26th and Tuesday, September 23rd from 2:00 to 4:00pm.
All orientations will be held at the RACC offices, 411 NW Park Avenue, Suite 101. RACC staff are seeking host organizations to provide additional orientations at alternate locations. Please contact Alfredo Lettenmaier at 503-823-2928 or email alettenmaier@racc.org for more information and to RSVP.
RACC staff will notify applicants via email as to whether their “Intent to Apply” proposal meets the intention of the Project Grant. Final proposals and supplementary materials will be submitted electronically through the online system by August 20, 2014 at 5:00pm for Artistic Focus and Community Participation, and by October 15, 2014 at 5:00pm for Arts-in-Schools. Applicants will no longer be required to drop-off paper applications at the RACC offices.
Awards will be announced in mid-December.