Arts & Culture Grant

Arts & Culture Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Charlevoix County Community Foundation
Last Updated: January 19, 2026

Summary

The Arts & Culture Grant, offered by the Charlevoix County Community Foundation, aims to enhance the quality of life through support for arts, music, history, and cultural projects. Open to eligible nonprofit organizations, the grant encourages innovative approaches and community collaboration. Proposals are evaluated based on their impact, organizational capacity, and the comprehensiveness of the plan. This initiative fosters a vibrant cultural landscape, ensuring lasting benefits for Charlevoix County residents.

Overview

NOTE: Step 1: Contact us to discuss your eligibility. If your organization’s need is a good fit for the Arts & Culture Cycle, you will receive an access code for the online grant application. Mission To enhance the quality of life for all citizens of Charlevoix County, now and for generations to come. Vision To be the trustworthy resource for philanthropy by building permanent endowment, addressing needs through grantmaking, and providing leadership resources to serve our community. For good. For ever. Core Values Integrity: We will act ethically in every relationship.Stewardship: We will support and preserve donor intent across generations.Excellence: We will meet or exceed expectations in all we do.Respect: We will honor the dignity and worth of all.Leadership: We will act as a catalyst and collaborate with others to build a better tomorrow. Arts & Culture Grant The purpose of the Arts & Culture Cycle is to offer all eligible nonprofit partners the opportunity to apply for projects and programs that support arts, music, history, and cultural needs in Charlevoix County. Individuals, couples, families, and businesses who advise funds at the Community Foundation (donor advisors) may choose to make grants through the cycle as well. The Arts & Culture Cycle aims to support arts, music, history, and cultural projects and programs in Charlevoix County. Successful requests may include any of the following characteristics: demonstrate collaboration, address new needs or try new approaches for existing needs, encourage people to help themselves, focus on prevention of problems, and/or avoid duplication of services. Arts & Culture grant proposals will additionally be evaluated on the following specific criteria: Degree to which funds enhance arts, history, music, and cultural offerings available to Charlevoix County residentsOrganization’s impact and relevance in the community they serveOrganizational capacity (leadership, staffing, planning, etc.), and solvencyDegree to which funds will help strengthen the organization and/or the community the organization servesComprehensiveness of proposal, including degree to which proposed activities are well- planned and address the need identifiedDuration of impact in the community served Organizations should ask for what they need. Restrictions will not be placed on requests by the Community Foundation to limit size or scope of request. Rather, applicants will determine those factors for themselves. Grant review committees will prioritize grant requests that score best on the criteria listed above.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Eligible applicants include:501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organizationsAll units of governmentAll educational institutions (preschool through college)Organizations described above that serve Charlevoix County residentsOrganizations that do not discriminate in hiring of staff or the provision of servicesEligible organizations must be current with follow up reports for all previous grant awards from C3F and be in good standing with the IRS.All grant applications require a cash contribution. Amount depends on the topic and scope of the project, but the expectation is that nonprofit partners will contribute to the budget of the project or program.The grant period is one year.The governing board of the organization is responsible for appropriate use of funds and project implementation.Applicants must be current with follow up reports for all previous grants in order to apply.Proposals from faith-based organizations must address community needs andHave a clearly demonstrated public benefitBe fully accessible to all people regardless of religious beliefs and lifestyle choicesMay NOT proselytize, (i.e. require anything in return for services provided. Examples: attending services or prayer groups and/or volunteering, etc.)We recommend no more than one application per organization, per cycle.

Ineligibility

The Community Foundation’s grant cycles generally do not fund annual fundraising campaigns, political campaigns, deficit spending, sectarian projects, or services normally supported by tax dollars.