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Advice For Artists From A Grant Writer

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This past year, I applied for an Ohio Arts Council Excellence Award in the visual arts category. I am a writer. “Why,” you say, “would you apply in an artists category that is not your discipline?” 

Because I wanted to go through the process.

As an advocate for artists and the arts, I encourage application to grants and residencies. One of my visual artist friends said she doesn’t apply because the process is demoralizing. I wondered if the process is different for writing and the visual arts, so I applied in the painting category. You will not be surprised to hear I was not awarded excellence recognition in the painting category. It may surprise you, as it surprised me, that my score was not the lowest, and that the comments did not treat my works as abominations.

This fact answered my question about my artist friend’s reluctance to apply. It is not the judges’ opinion of the works that feels demoralizing, it is her own. The Ohio Arts Council, like many other grantors, asks artists to describe their works. As a writer, describing what the canvas was supposed to achieve was easier than making the canvas say that itself. For my friend, having to put into words that which is on the canvas is excruciating. There is a reason she chose to be a creative in a visual medium.

Still, I encourage her, and all artists in all disciplines to apply for grants and residencies. In my experience, the application process offers an opportunity to consider your creative practice from an intellectual distance.  Even when in applying in a discipline that is not my primary creative field, the questions on the application forced me to consider my process. How had I created the paintings submitted with the application? How are they representative of my creative work, as a portion of a larger body of a creative work. What do the works represent? What was my inspiration? Why did I choose the medium I used to express that feeling or idea? This part of the application process is tough, and may be a struggle the first time, but like performance of any task, improves with practice. 

In 1437 Cennino Cennini  wrote in his Treatise on Painting, “what will happen if you practice drawing in pen? You will become expert, skilled, and able to draw from your imagination.” As artists, we’re all painfully aware of our first works, and many of us cringe over the technical errors and unoriginal  ideas of those first efforts. The difference between those works and our current work is experience. The same is true of grant applications. So, practice. Approach grant applications as a practice prompt. Give yourself plenty of time to consider and answer the questions. Answer the questions for yourself, and don’t think about the panel. Then go back and read the application as if you were reviewing that of another artist.  You are thinking “I am too busy to do that.” But, I promise, the process of applying will elevate your understanding of your art. 

The work I did on the application for the Ohio Arts Council visual arts award has impacted my other creative work. The process has made me contemplate my creative drive: why I create and how I create. Answering the questions on the application made manifest for me that I must create. I am writing with a voice and a message. I am an artist. And the Ohio Arts Council awards?  I intend to keep the application process as part of my creative practice, and I hope to see you at a panel review session in the future. 

African-American Community Fund Accepting Applications

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The African-American Community Fund (AACF) of The Dayton Foundation is accepting grant requests for its 2019 grant application cycle. All potential applicants must submit an application. The application deadline for this grant cycle is September 30, 2019.  AACF 2019 Grant Cycle applications are available at http://aacfdayton.org/apply-for-grants/.

 

In 2018, AACF awarded over $23,000 to local nonprofits. A few examples of funded grants include diversity projects, youth initiatives, homeless outreach, cultural events and marketing. Typically amounts awarded are between $500 – $1,000. In the 2018 grants cycle, AACF awarded over $23,000 to local non-profits. The size and number of grants is determined by the amount of money available each year. A historical listing of past grant recipients can be found at http://aacfdayton.org/historical-grants/.

Organizations planning to apply for funding must be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Applications will be accepted from organizations that benefit communities in the Dayton/Greater Miami Valley region.

Additional information is available on the African-American Community Fund’s website at www.aacfdayton.org, by e-mail at aacf@daytonfoundation.org or by calling The Dayton Foundation at 937.222.0410.

Montgomery County Grants For Artists

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Culture Works and the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District (MCACD) are pleased to announce the return of the Artist Opportunity Grant program for 2017.

The program, which is funded by MCACD and administered by Culture Works, provides grants to help artists take advantage of specific, imminent opportunities for professional development and the creation or completion of new work. Individual artists of all disciplines–writers, painters, photographers, actors, musicians, dancers, sculptors, film makers and more–are invited to apply. Applicants must reside in Montgomery County, and grant funded-activities must be completed during calendar year 2018.

$30,000 in funding is available for the 2017 grant cycle. Awards are expected to range from $250-$2,500 and cannot exceed $3,000. Artists can apply through the Culture Works website from August 1 through September 30, 2017. Applications will be reviewed by an independent panel later in the fall.

In 2016, the first year of the grant program, six artists received funding to complete local and international exhibitions, artist residencies, and professional training in music and theatre.

“MCACD is happy to support individual artists through this partnership with Culture Works,” said Matt Dunn, Executive Director. “The District and the County Commissioners recognize the richness individual artists and arts organizations add to our quality of life. Artists can choose to live anywhere and we want them to live here and to thrive,” said Dunn.

“For the arts to flourish and enhance community life, there must be ideas, energy, and drive of individual artists. Artists cannot make these contributions without unhampered creative time,” said Culture Works Executive Director Lisa Hanson. “This is a remarkable opportunity for individual artists in Montgomery County. I look forward to seeing the life-inspiring work that these grants will help support.”

More details about the competitive grant process are available on cultureworks.org/artistgrants.

 

The Dayton Foundation Launches New Quick Grants Program

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 The Dayton Foundation is beginning the New Year with the launch of Greenlight Grants, a program for Greater Dayton not-for-profit organizations seeking quick funding opportunities for special projects, program expansions, capital improvements or capacity building.
Greenlight Grants will have four competitive grant cycles per year and fund projects, based on available funding, from $500 to $7,500. The grants will have a quick award process and be announced within two weeks after the deadline date.
“Last year, The Dayton Foundation surveyed Dayton-area nonprofits to find out how we could better serve our nonprofit partners. As a result, we found that there was a need for more funding opportunities for small, grassroots organizations, as well as a shorter time period between application deadline and the announcements of the award,” said Michelle Brown, program officer of the Foundation.  This is our way of showing the community tha

t we are listening, and we want to help our region’s nonprofits make a greater impact.”
To be eligible, an organization must be a registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization and located primarily in Darke, Greene, Miami, Montgomery, Preble and Warren (north) counties.
Greater Dayton nonprofits are encouraged to apply for the Foundation’s first Greenlight Grant Cycle beginning now through March 1, 2016. Full eligibility requirements, guidelines and application are available at http://www.daytonfoundation.org/greenlightgrnts.html.
The Dayton Foundation’s Greenlight Grants program is made possible thanks to donors who have provided unrestricted or largely unrestricted funds to the Foundation to be able to act on opportunities for the community and address pressing needs throughout the region. Grants are approved to promote efforts in the areas of arts and culture, health, education, human services, philanthropy and other community-building endeavors.

For more information about Dayton Foundation grant opportunities, visit www.daytonfoundation.org, or contact Michelle Brown, program officer, at (937) 225-9965 or mbrown@daytonfoundation.org.