The Regional Arts & Culture Council received $90,000 in 2011 from Washington County and leveraged that support with more than $320,000 from other sources to serve artists and arts organizations in Washington County in a variety of ways.

• GRANTS. In 2010, RACC awarded 89,481 through 23 grants to artists, arts organizations, and schools in Washington County.

GENERAL SUPPORT GRANTS help fund the overall mission of established arts organizations with minimum budgets of $80,000 and at least one paid professional staff.
PROJECT GRANTS support both individual artists and nonprofit organizations in three areas: Artistic Focus, Community Participation and Arts-In-Schools. A “project” is a specific art presentation, exhibit or creation that is accessible to the public.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GRANTS are awarded twice a year to help artists and arts administrators improve their business management development skills. These grants also help bring artists and arts organization to a higher level artistically.
FAST TRACK GRANTS are awarded once a year to help pay for up to one-half of the cost for schools to bring professional artists in the classroom.
From time to time, RACC has special grant funds available to support strategic initiatives, such as the marketing collaboration between 12 Washington County arts organizations and Community Newspapers this year.
• WORKPLACE GIVING. RACC’s Work for Art program raises money and awareness for arts and culture through employee giving campaigns at more than 70 companies throughout the Portland metropolitan region. 100% of all Work for Art proceeds are passed on to qualified arts organizations through RACC’s aforementioned grant programs.

• TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. RACC provides various forms of direct assistance to artists and arts organizations in Washington County, including:

Consultation services to arts organizations through The Cultural Leadership Program.
Coordinating with the Westside Cultural Alliance to fund and present workshops for individual artists covering a variety of subjects, including grantwriting, marketing, and legal issues.
RACC’s newsletter and website are chock-full of job opportunities, commissions, RFPs, workshops, residencies, local and national grants, and other vital resources for artists.
• COUNTY SERVICES. RACC funds one part-time staff position at the Westside Cultural Alliance, and sponsors the Washington County Libraries’ annual Storytelling Festival.

• ARTS EDUCATION. Our children aren’t getting enough arts education, which is why RACC is working to integrate arts education into the standard curriculum of every K-8 student in the region through The Right Brain Initiative. Four schools in the Hillsboro School District are currently participating in the program, which pairs artists with teachers to give educators new artistic tools for teaching standard subjects including reading, writing, math, science and social studies.