creative county
grants
Funding for the arts is more critical now than ever before
Public art brings people together. Sharing diverse cultures paves the way for understanding, civic discourse and collective problem solving. Music, film, theatre, poetry and painting – they all spark something within us. The Creative County suite of grantmaking programs helps ensure that local artists, nonprofits and creative collaborations have equitable access to funding so together we can:
- Deepen engagement and investment in the creative sector.
- Enhance the visibility, reputation and new funding avenues for the arts.
- Inspire collaborative placemaking and public art projects by providing tools, templates and best practices.
- Increase capacity for cross-sector work and leadership development.
Partnership Grants
Funding for new, collaborative placemaking and public art projects.
Creative County’s Partnership Grants encourage collaboration between the arts, municipal, business, and philanthropic sectors. By strengthening these cross-sector connections, the system of support for arts and culture grows.
Special Project Grants
Funding for a uniquely innovative aspect of an overall program.
Creative County’s Special Project Grants, ranging from $2,000-$5,000, provide funding for a uniquely innovative aspect of an overall program within the following categories:
- Advancement of cultural planning
- Diversity, equity, inclusion and access
- Public art or creative placemaking
- Arts leadership
- Creative space development
- Organizational capacity building
ALAANA Artist Grants
Funding works by artists who identify as ALAANA (African, Latine, Asian, Arab, Native American).
The Creative County Initiative ALAANA Artist Grants support the development of creative works or works in process by ALAANA artists, recognizing their historic and systemic exclusion from accessing resources to make creative work.
The ALAANA Artist grant program will provide up to $5,000 for up to five (5) individual artists each year to develop a work or series of works in any creative genre. Examples include:
- A series of poems
- A spoken word piece
- A piece of music
- A painting or sculpture
- A short play
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Last Mile Fund
A grant opportunity intended to provide artists with greater access to economic and professional development opportunities.
The Last Mile Fund is a needs-based program that provides grants of $100, $300 or $500 to artists and creative makers working in any medium whose access to resources is otherwise limited. Requests for funding might include:
- $100 for a poet to pay entry fees for open calls for poetry.
- $300 for an artist to attend a business development workshop.
- $500 for a musician to offset the cost of a performance in a new venue.
ECCF’s Creative County work is powered by the contributions of our generous community.
get in touch
Karen Ristuben
Program Director
Creative County Initiative
k.ristuben@eccf.org