artproposal

Writing Grants

Socially Engaged Art Practice Rhoda Rosen

Types of Grants

•  Federal (National Endowment for the Arts), state (Illinois Arts Council), city grants (Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events or DCASE)

•  Foundation •  Individuals •  Corporate sponsorships •  Crowdfunding •  See Americans for the Arts for more information

Who do they give to?

•  501 (c)(3) entities. Donors will receive an acknowledgement of their giving and can take the tax deduction.

•  Individual artist grants. These will go into the individual artist’s bank account and, therefore, will have tax implications for the artist.

•  You can be a collaborative without 501 (c)(3) status and receive money through a fiscal sponsor (using another organization’s 501 (c)(3) status, example, Fractured Atlas). Such organizations will keep some of the money before passing it through to the organization, usually around 7-10%.

What will they ask

for?

•  Complete an application directly OR •  Submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) first •  By invitation or nomination only, for

example, Surdna

Where to start your research

Foundation Directory Online: fconline.foundationcenter.org

Guidestar: guidestar.org

Forefront (Chicago-based): myforefront.org

Professional organizations, like CAA or AAM advertise grants. Individual artists should know about Chicago Artists Coalition (CAC)

See https://libraryguides.saic.edu/grants for more information