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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.

We propose the development of a skills building workshop series to promote empowerment and engagement, using civil society and community. This should focus on under-served communities, especially in second-tier Indian cities, using theater and performance techniques. No large scale performance is required at any venue, but small performances should be generated, recorded, and prepared for broadcast through a variety of media platforms as part of the workshop. The workshops will provide underserved local communities with techniques to build confidence, skills, increase a sense of community, and build linkages across communities and between peoples and institutions that normally do not interact. These linkages should include organizations in both India and the United States. Target audiences will be identified by U.S. Mission India, and may include underserved youth in second tier cities, e.g. Lucknow. Youth might come from the full range of economic backgrounds, from street kids to students in better local academic institutions. It is not required that the workshops take place in all five consular districts; instead, the U.S. Mission will work with the program partner, local theater partners, and with other appropriate institutions to identify the priority locations for this project. The project should use traditional media, Facebook and Twitter as amplifiers, and will use such means as DVC, Livestream, Google, etc., to broadcast events. We hope to foster a recognition among Indians that as their economic stature rises, the social and political inclusion of once marginalized groups will advance the interests that the U.S. and India have in common. 

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.

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.

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.

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

Lighthouse Works, a nonprofit arts organization, is devoted to encouraging the development of artists through a fellowship program and to the enrichment of the year-round cultural and economic vitality of Fishers Island, New York. To that end, the organization is accepting applications for its fellowship program. Fellowships are six weeks in length and occur year-round. Fellows are provided with housing, food, studio space, a $250 travel allowance and a stipend of $1,500 to help defray the cost of shipping materials, the purchase of art supplies, and other expenses incurred in making artwork in a remote location. The organization's belief is that no artist should have to spend money to accept the opportunity of a fellowship. In addition, fellows have the chance (though they are not required) to teach workshops, mentor students, or invite them for studio visits.

An organization that applies to the Challenge America category, may not submit another application to the Grants for Arts Projects 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, 2021. 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 2018, 2019, and 2020 may not apply for a Challenge America grant under these FY 2021 guidelines. That organization may apply for FY 2021 support under other National Endowment for the Arts funding opportunities including Grants for Arts Projects. Grant 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. 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. Provide details about the underserved audience you select in your application using relevant statistics and anecdotal information. Proposals should detail the efforts made to reach the identified underserved population. Grants are available for professional arts programming and for projects that emphasize the potential of the arts in community development

The Foundation awards travel grants to individual scholars to support historical research on Venice and the former Venetian empire, and for the study of contemporary Venetian society and culture. Disciplines of the humanities and social sciences are eligible areas of study, including (but not limited to) archaeology, architecture, art, bibliography, economics, history, history of science, law, literature, music, political science, religion, and theater.One of the Venetian Research Program grants awarded will be designated as the Henry A. Millon Award in Art and Architectural History. Applicants and grantees are advised to plan for the added difficulties surrounding travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are restrictions on both international and domestic travel. Additionally, access to archives and other research institutions can be difficult to ascertain and continue to change. Grantees should consult the recommendations of the Center for Disease Control, World Health Organization and the Italian health authorities when planning their travel and research. To support scholars, the Foundation has lengthened the grant period to a two-year timeframe. Grantees will be able to adjust their travel plans and submit an updated itinerary. Each will be asked to confirm the accessibility of their research sites. Grant payments will be provided close to each scholar's research period. We hope that this added flexibility will allow scholars to stay safe while moving forward with their important work.

This program supports digitally based research projects in all disciplines of the humanities and related social sciences. It is hoped that projects of successful applicants will help advance digital humanistic scholarship by broadening understanding of its nature and exemplifying the robust infrastructure necessary for creating such works. ACLS Digital Innovation Fellowships are intended to support an academic year dedicated to work on a major scholarly project that takes a digital form. Projects may: Address a consequential scholarly question through new research methods, new ways of representing the knowledge produced by research, or both; Create new digital research resources; Increase the scholarly utility of existing digital resources by developing new means of aggregating, navigating, searching, or analyzing those resources; Propose to analyze and reflect upon the new forms of knowledge creation and representation made possible by the digital transformation of scholarship. ACLS will award up to six Digital Innovation Fellowships in this competition year. Each fellowship carries a stipend of up to $60,000 towards an academic year's leave and provides for project costs of up to $25,000. ACLS does not support creative works (e.g., novels or films), textbooks, straightforward translations, or purely pedagogical projects.

The University of Chicago is offering talented individuals from traditionally underrepresented populations an expenses-paid opportunity to explore graduate education at the University of Chicago. Join us for a weekend of graduate admissions workshops, presentations by world-renowned faculty and their graduate students, and informal socials. Receive advice on submitting a competitive application to graduate programs and learn how to develop your own career as a scientist, academic, or professional.