NCAC: Grassroots Arts Program Grants - Provisional County Partners

The NCAC Grassroots Arts Program Grants provide essential funding for arts initiatives in all 100 counties of North Carolina. These grants aim to enhance community access to the arts through partnerships with local arts councils and provisional county partners. Eligible organizations must be nonprofit and demonstrate a commitment to quality arts programming. The program encourages diverse cultural representation and supports various arts-related projects, ensuring that all communities can experience the richness of local arts.

Grassroots Arts Program (GAP) Grants
The Grassroots Arts Program (GAP) provides per capita-based funding for arts programming to all 100 counties across North Carolina ensuring opportunities for citizens to experience the arts in their own communities. Grassroots funds are typically awarded to local arts councils.
Grassroots funds are distributed in every county in North Carolina through the following types of partnerships:

• Provisional County Partners

In counties without DCPs, the N.C. Arts Council has selected an organization to serve as the Provisional County Partner (PCP) to oversee the distribution and management of Grassroots funds on a temporary (year-to-year) basis.
N.C. Arts Council staff consults with each provisional partner to create a distribution plan that meets the requirements of the Grassroots Arts Program. Some PCPs subgrant Grassroots funds and others conduct arts programs with their county’s allocation.
Grassroots arts program subgrant system overview
PCPs with county populations above 50,000 are required to subgrant at least 50 percent of their allocations to other organizations in their county to conduct arts programs. If the PCP is not required to subgrant, but chooses to, these same guidelines must be followed.

Eligibility

To be eligible for Arts Council funding, organizations:
Must be a nonprofit organization (or an organization that has applied for non-profit status using a fiscal agent);Must have been producing quality arts programs for at least two consecutive years;Must have prior-year organizational cash operating expenses of at least $20,000. Tribal organizations must represent North Carolina or federally-recognized tribes.Eligibility for SubgrantsOrganizations must have been in operation for at least one year. While nonprofit 501(c)(3) status is preferred, organizations that are nonprofit in nature may also receive Grassroots Arts Program subgrants.Scope and allowable expensesPCPs may use up to 20 percent of their grant funds for general operating support; the remaining 80 percent must be used for arts programming as follows:PCPs with county populations above 50,000 are required to subgrant at least 50 percent of their allocations to other organizations to conduct arts programs.
PCPs with county populations below 50,000 must use 80 percent of their funds for arts programs that they conduct or for grants to other organizations to conduct arts programs.
To ensure that Grassroots Arts Programs reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of our state, each PCP is required to spend a representative percentage of its annual county allotment on programs that reflect the diverse cultures (specifically African American, Asian American, Latino, and Native American) of its county’s population. The minimum amount a PCP must spend on multicultural programming is provided on an allocation chart by county and is available on the Local Arts Council resources page.

Ineligibility

Grant funds may not be used for the following expenditures unless otherwise noted in the grant guidelines:Deficit reductionCapital expendituresContingency fundsFood or beverages for hospitality or entertainment functionsFundraising eventsArt sales events and auctionsInterest on loans, fines, or litigation costsLobbying expensesTuition for academic studyIndirect CostsGrassroots Arts Program Subgrant System Ineligibility:
Grassroots funds are not generally awarded to arts organizations that receive funding through the N.C. Arts Council’s State Arts Resources (SAR) Program. SAR organizations must receive prior approval from the N.C. Arts Council staff before applying for Grassroots funds.Grassroots funds may not be used for activities associated with a school’s internal arts programs such as in-school student performances, the purchase of art supplies, or student arts competitions and publications.