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The Thriving Cultures Program supports efforts that provide artists with business training and financial resources that enable them to be, and create, valuable economic assets for their communities. We seek to fund projects that: - Operate business and entrepreneurship training programs for artists and cultural organizations; - Provide financing to artists and artist-centered enterprises (such as financial institutions and resource providers); - Support arts and culture-based programs and services that directly engage and support the people who live and work in the area as a strategy for equitable economic development. These activities may include: 1) Cultural programming; 2) Business incentives that help build the local creative economy; 3) Cross-sector collaborations that yield opportunities for all residents to reap the cultural and economic benefits from neighborhood growth. - Document (both qualitatively and quantitatively) the growth of arts-based, creative industries in neighborhoods; - Identify and share best practices in order to strengthen the field of arts and economic development.

The award recipient must come from an economically disadvantaged household, have attended a public school, participated in extracurricular programs including (an/or in addition to) programs supported by the Americans for the Arts (i.e., demonstrate a long term participation in the study of, creation in and/or performance in one or more art forms, including dance, music theatre, literary, visual/media arts), excelled academically, and  formally declared the intent to study and apply economics in their pursuit of higher education and professional career.  This includes the direct study of economics for policy purposes, to applications in the private and public sectors.  The scholarship is open to both recent high school graduates and current college undergraduates who are majoring in economics and/or the arts.

Our Town is the National Endowment for the Arts' creative placemaking grants program. Through project-based funding, we support projects that integrate arts, culture, and design activities into efforts that strengthen communities by advancing local economic, physical, and/or social outcomes. Successful Our Town projects ultimately lay the groundwork for systemic changes that sustain the integration of arts, culture, and design into local strategies for strengthening communities. These projects require a partnership between a local government entity and nonprofit organization, one of which must be a cultural organization; and should engage in partnership with other sectors (such as agriculture and food, economic development, education and youth, environment and energy, health, housing, public safety, transportation, and workforce development). Cost share/matching grants range from $25,000 to $150,000, with a minimum cost share/match equal to the grant amount.

The Thriving Cultures program is based on a belief that communities with robust arts and culture are more cohesive and prosperous, and benefit from the diversity of their residents. We know that artists and cultural organizations can help us explore shared values and spark innovation, imagination and advancement for our communities. Too often, however, arts and culture is undervalued as a catalyst for creating just and sustainable communities, which is a key priority for the Surdna Foundation. The Thriving Cultures Program seeks to create just and sustainable communities in four ways: Teens' Artistic and Cultural Advancement We support artistic training programs that help teens explore their cultural identity and equip them with the life-enhancing skills they need to achieve their educational and career goals. Community Engaged Design We support efforts to involve artists, architects and designers in community-engaged problem solving and development efforts. Artists and Economic Development We support efforts that provide artists with business training and financial resources that enable them to be, and create, valuable economic assets for their communities. Artists Engaging in Social Change We support the potential of artists to be catalysts for social change and to promote the cultural traditions of their communities. We seek organizations that: -Embrace artistic and design excellence; -Find innovative ways to use arts and culture to make communities more just and sustainable; -Prioritize the needs of low-income communities and people of color in their work; -Maintain sound financial practices and management; and -Demonstrate a capacity and willingness to share best practices and knowledge with their colleagues and others in the field.

An organization may submit only one proposal under this program solicitation. This Cooperative Agreement will begin no earlier than January 1, 2020, and extend for up to 24 months. Program Description The National Endowment for the Arts ("Arts Endowment") assists organizations in effectivity incorporating the arts into community development efforts by funding creative placemaking projects across the country. These projects advance local economic, physical, and/or social outcomes by placing the arts at the table with other sectors, such as agriculture and food, economic development, education and youth, environment and energy, health, housing, public safety, transportation, and workforce development. For the last decade, these activities have primarily been supported through the agency's Our Town grant program. In the course of this work, it became clear that many Our Town grantees would benefit from direct, hands-on technical assistance while executing their projects at the local level. In 2016, the Arts Endowment began the Our Town Technical Assistance Pilot Program to provide select Our Town grantees with targeted technical assistance. To build upon the pilot program's success and to further strengthen the field of creative placemaking, the Arts Endowment now plans to develop a more expansive technical assistance program. The Creative Placemaking Technical Assistance Program will serve a wider audience of both prospective applicants to and grantees of the Our Town program, as well other communities interested in undertaking creative placemaking activities. Short-term technical assistance institutes will be convened to gather experts with teams of local leaders

The Arts Endowment's support of a project may start on July 1, 2020, or any time thereafter. A grant period of up to two years is allowed. An organization may submit as a lead applicant two applications to Our Town. A partnering organization may serve as a partner on as many applications as they like. You may apply to other National Endowment for the Arts funding opportunities, including Art Works and Challenge America, in addition to Our Town. In each case, the request must be for a distinctly different project, or a distinctly different phase of a project. If you have applied to the NEA in the past and were not recommended for funding, you may apply again to any funding opportunity, including Our Town. Program Description Our Town is the National Endowment for the Arts' creative placemaking grants program. Through project-based funding, we support projects that integrate arts, culture, and design activities into efforts that strengthen communities by advancing local economic, physical, and/or social outcomes. Successful Our Town projects ultimately lay the groundwork for systemic changes that sustain the integration of arts, culture, and design into local strategies for strengthening communities. These projects require a partnership between a local government entity and nonprofit organization, one of which must be a cultural organization; and should engage in partnership with other sectors (such as agriculture and food, economic development, education and youth, environment and energy, health, housing, public safety, transportation, and workforce development). Matching grants range from $25,000 to $200,000, with a minimum cost share/match equal to the grant amount.

Our Town is the National Endowment for the Arts' creative placemaking grants program. Through project-based funding, we support projects that integrate arts, culture, and design activities into efforts that strengthen communities by advancing local economic, physical, and/or social outcomes. Successful Our Town projects ultimately lay the groundwork for systemic changes that sustain the integration of arts, culture, and design into local strategies for strengthening communities. These projects require a partnership between a local government entity and nonprofit organization, one of which must be a cultural organization; and should engage in partnership with other sectors (such as agriculture and food, economic development, education and youth, environment and energy, health, housing, public safety, transportation, and workforce development). Cost share/matching grants range from $25,000 to $150,000, with a minimum cost share/match equal to the grant amount.

Indiana University's African Studies Program invites applications for a short-term residency to conduct research in IU's Libraries/African Studies Collections. Indiana University's African Studies Collection ranks among the top tier of such collections in the U.S. It comprises more than 150,000 volumes of monographs and over 700 serial subscriptions as well as materials in other formats (e.g. posters, slides, film/video, audio tapes, etc). The focus of the collection is on the humanities and social sciences, supporting a wide range of students and faculty in such departments as history, anthropology, fine arts, theatre & drama, literature, folklore, ethnomusicology, communication and culture, linguistics, religious studies, education, political science, business, economics, journalism, and applied health science. This residency is intended for faculty members at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or at other U.S. colleges / universities with limited Africa collections, to conduct research in Indiana University's libraries and special collections in support of curriculum development or publications. The successful applicant will receive an award that covers domestic travel, accommodations in Bloomington, and a modest per diem for up to two weeks of research. The award will cover expenses up to a maximum of $2,000 and must be used before August 01, 2014. The recipient is expected to reside in Bloomington during the period of her/his award.

The Cultural Programs Division within the Office of Citizen Exchanges, in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) announces an open competition, pending the availability of funds, for four projects under the FY13 Creative Arts Exchange (CAE). CAE initiatives are arts-based international people-to-people exchanges that support and further U.S. Department of State foreign policy objectives. Programs are implemented in close coordination with U.S. Embassies and Consulates abroad. Eligible themes and/or artistic genres for CAE initiatives are determined annually based on ECA strategic priorities. Under the FY2013 CAE Open Competition, ECA will accept project proposals under the following themes: Economic Statecraft and the Arts, Arts in Collaboration, Community Engagement through the Arts, and Professional Development in the Arts. The goals of the Creative Arts Exchange are to promote mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries; provide unique opportunities for artistic collaboration, engagement and/or performance between American artists and international participants; convey the diversity and high artistic merit of the arts in America as well as increasing awareness and understanding of American art, culture, values and society for international participants and audiences; foster opportunities for educational outreach and community engagement with diverse and underserved communities, especially youth, women, and persons with disabilities; engage participants in instructive and informative experiences in their art form; and create opportunities for sustaining relationships and collaboration between U.S. and international artists and institutions that endure beyond program duration.

The Challenge America Fast-Track category offers support primarily to small and mid-sized organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations -- those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. Age alone (e.g., youth, seniors) does not qualify a group as underserved; at least one of the underserved characteristics noted above also must be present. Grants are available for professional arts programming and for projects that emphasize the potential of the arts in community development. This category encourages and supports the following two outcomes: *Engagement: Engaging the public with diverse and excellent art. *Livability: The strengthening of communities through the arts. You will be asked to select the outcome that is most relevant to your project (you also will be able to select a secondary outcome). When making selections, you should identify the outcome(s) that reflect the results expected to be achieved by your project. If you receive a grant, you also will be asked to provide evidence of those results. Challenge America Fast-Track grants: *Extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations. *Are limited to the specific types of projects outlined below. *Are for a fixed amount of $10,000 and require a minimum $10,000 match. *Receive an expedited application review. Organizations are notified whether they have been recommended for a grant approximately six months after they apply; projects may start shortly thereafter.

The Arts Endowment's support of a project may start on October 1, 2015, or any time thereafter, and extend for up to two years.OUR TOWN: Grant Program DescriptionArt works to support creative, economically-competitive, healthy, resilient, and opportunity-rich communities. Excellent art is an essential part of building a strong community, as important as land-use, transportation, education, housing, infrastructure, and public safety. Artists and community development practitioners across our nation --sometimes one and the same, sometimes working together -- are striving to make places more livable with enhanced quality of life, increased creative activity, a distinct sense of place, and vibrant local economies that together capitalize on their existing assets. The NEA defines these efforts as Creative Placemaking.Through Our Town, subject to the availability of funding, the National Endowment for the Arts will provide a limited number of grants for creative placemaking projects that contribute towards the livability of communities and help transform them into lively, beautiful, and resilient places with the arts at their core. Our Town prioritizes partnerships between arts organizations and government, private, and nonprofit organizations to achieve livability goals for communities.Our Town offers support for projects in two areas:* Arts Engagement, Cultural Planning, and Design Projects that represent the distinct character and quality of their communities* Projects that Build Knowledge About Creative Placemaking

Art works to support creative, economically-competitive, healthy, resilient, and opportunity-rich communities. Excellent art is an essential part of building a strong community, as important as land-use, transportation, education, housing, infrastructure, and public safety.  Artists and community development practitioners across our nation --sometimes one and the same, sometimes working together -- are striving to make places more livable with enhanced quality of life, increased creative activity, a distinct sense of place, and vibrant local economies that together capitalize on their existing assets. The NEA defines these efforts as Creative Placemaking.

The Arts Envoy Program annually enables approximately 200 American artists and cultural experts (known as Arts Envoys) to travel abroad for individual programs or as part of an ensemble or group to engage and consult with key foreign audiences through performances, workshops, meetings, seminars, and appearances in foreign media. By addressing topics identified and developed by U.S. Missions (generally U.S. Embassies and Consulates) worldwide in cooperation with ECA, the program promotes an understanding of U.S. policies and institutions, and the political, economic, social, and cultural context from which they arise. Arts Envoy individuals and groups are programmed in one or more countries with a variety of audiences from a wide range of disciplines in the cultural arena, including in the performing and visual arts, and in arts management, as well as with museum professionals and other cultural experts. Arts Envoy programs range from five days to six weeks in length. For more information, please see the full announcement.

ArtPlace America invites Letters of Inquiry for our Innovation Grants program from initiatives involving arts organizations, artists and designers working in partnership with local and national partners on place-based strategies that can transform communities. The Innovation Grants program is designed to invest in creative placemaking projects that reach for new possibilities and involve a variety of partners who together are committed to increasing the vibrancy and diversity of their communities. ArtPlace America sees its role as providing venture funding in the form of grants-seeding entrepreneurial projects that lead through the arts, already enjoy strong local buy-in, integrate with a community's economic development and community revitalization strategies, and have the potential to attract additional private and public support to the community. We want to learn alongside those doing this groundbreaking work and spread the lessons they are learning to other communities across the U.S.

CIRD supports rural communities with a population of 50,000 or less located in a non-metropolitan county or a metropolitan county on the urban fringe. CIRD defines "community" broadly: not just the town center or area within the town boundary, but also the surrounding areas that depend on its goods and services and contribute an economic base, agricultural land or open space, and recreational opportunities. Ability to carry out the logistical and practical preparations for a two-and-a-half workshop (secure a facility for the workshop, provide breakfast and luncheon for participants, provide audio visual equipment, arrange for field trips), including a public engagement event Matching funds (suggested $7,000 in cash or in-kind donations) Support of a local governing body, municipal agency, or other appointed or elected officials, including an expressed willingness of these individuals to serve as official partners and to actively participate in the workshop Support of additional local and/or regional partner organizations and leaders Ability to identify and engage a diverse group of community members as participants in the workshop and follow-up activities Intention and readiness to implement actions emerging from the workshops, participate in the evaluation of the workshop, and report on results

Through Our Town, subject to the availability of funding, the National Endowment for the Arts will provide a limited number of grants, ranging from $25,000 to $200,000, for creative placemaking projects that contribute toward the livability of communities and help transform them into lively, beautiful, and sustainable places with the arts at their core. Our Town will invest in creative and innovative projects in which communities, together with their arts and design organizations and artists, seek to: Improve their quality of life. Encourage greater creative activity. Foster stronger community identity and a sense of place. Revitalize economic development.

An organization that applies to the Challenge America category, may not submit another application to the Art Works category. - You may apply to other National Endowment for the Arts funding opportunities, including Our Town, in addition to Challenge America. In each case, the request must be for a distinctly different project or a distinctly different phase of the same project, with a different period of performance and costs. - The Arts Endowment's support of a project may start on or after January 1, 2020. Grants awarded under these guidelines generally may cover a period of performance of up to two years. An organization that has received Challenge America grants in FY 2017, 2018, and 2019 may not apply for a Challenge America grant under these FY 2020 guidelines. That organization may apply for FY 2020 support under other National Endowment for the Arts funding opportunities including Art Works. Program Description The Challenge America category offers support primarily to small and mid-sized organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations -- those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability.

itled How Art Works, the report offers a framework for studying research topics critical to a broader public understanding of the arts' value and/or impact for individuals and communities. In December 2016, the NEA's research office updated its five-year agenda for 2017-2021, which reflects a tighter focus on Arts Participation and Arts/Cultural Assets as essential research topics. Arts Participation, in the new agenda, remains inclusive of various modes of participation and specific arts activities. These modes are: attending arts events; reading literature; creating or performing art; consuming art via electronic media; and learning in the arts. Arts/Cultural Assets denotes artists and arts workers, arts venues and platforms, and arts organizations and industries. The NEA is interested in research seeking to identify and to examine: * Factors that enhance or inhibit Arts Participation or Arts/Cultural Assets; * Detailed characteristics of Arts Participation or Arts Cultural/Assets, and their interrelationships; * Individual-level outcomes of Arts Participation, including those corresponding with the following domains: o social and emotional well-being o creativity, cognition, and learning o physiological processes of health and healing; and * Societal or community-level outcomes, including those corresponding with the following domains: o civic and corporate innovation o attraction for neighborhoods and businesses o national and/or state-level economic growth

The Challenge America program support projects that extend the reach of the arts to populations whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. The grants.gov application deadline is April 12, 2018.

Lighthouse Works is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization devoted to encouraging the development of artists and the enrichment of the year-round cultural and economic vitality of Fishers Island, New York. To that end, the organization has issued an open call for applications for its spring 2020 fellowship program sessions. Fellowships are six weeks in length and provide fellows with housing, food, studio space, a $250 travel allowance, and a $1,500 stipend. The fellows live together in a farmhouse dating from the late 1800s with a small vegetable garden in the front. Each fellow has a private bedroom and access to a shared bathroom, kitchen, and living space. In addition, Lighthouse Works maintains a wood and metal shop, a Paragon kiln, a black-and-white darkroom, and a letterpress print shop, all of which are available to fellows. While in residence, fellows' primary obligation is the solitary pursuit of their work, though every fellow is asked to participate in an artist talk on the first weekend of the fellowship and to open their studio for an afternoon at the session's conclusion.