NCAC: Sustaining Support for Arts Organizations Grant

The North Carolina Arts Council's Sustaining Support program offers funding between $7,500 and $65,000 to arts organizations that produce engaging programs reflecting their communities. Eligible applicants must maintain a budget of at least $75,000 and demonstrate commitment to quality arts programming. This support aids in various operational needs, including salaries and production costs, fostering the state's creative economy and ensuring diverse artistic practices.

Sustaining Support provides flexible funding to arts organizations in North Carolina that consistently produce arts programs and services that engage audiences and reflect their communities. These organizations provide work opportunities for artists and arts professionals, are well managed and financially accountable, are committed to diverse and inclusive practices, and contribute to the state’s creative economy.
From $7,500 to $65,000
These grants support the ongoing artistic and administrative functions of arts organizations. Recipients may use them to fund salaries, artists’ fees, production, travel, promotion, office expenses, and facility operation. Grant amounts generally range from $7,500 to $65,000 and are based on the organization’s application rating and budget size. Grant awards may not exceed 10 percent of the organization’s cash operating expenses, averaged over the past three fiscal years.

Eligibility

Who may apply:Arts organizations that meet the North Carolina Arts Council’s general eligibility criteria and have maintained an average organizational expense budget of at least $75,000 over the past three fiscal years.To be eligible for Arts Council funding, organizations:
Must be a nonprofit organization in good standing with the state of North Carolina;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.North Carolina municipalities, schools, and universities are also eligible to receive funding from the North Carolina Arts Council, unless otherwise noted in the guidelines.
Colleges and universities may receive grants for programs that are community-based or generate area-wide arts involvement. For the purposes of this operating support category, an arts organization is defined as a 501c3 organization that has the creation and/or promotion of arts in its mission statement and dedicates at least 80 percent of its annual programming expenses to arts activities. North Carolina Arts Council staff will ask a nonprofit organization whose scope of work is broader than the arts to submit an itemized annual expense statement to document the 80 percent threshold.Arts organizations that employ at least one half-time equivalent staff person, as demonstrated in the organizational financial statement for the most recent fiscal year.

Ineligibility

Colleges, universities, and arts organizations that are part of another entity (such as a municipality) are not eligible to apply in this category. Generally, organizations that receive funding through the Statewide Service Organizations grant category or that receive the county Grassroots allotment as a Designated County or Provisional County Partner are not eligible to apply in this category.Applicants are not allowed to use fiscal agents to apply for Sustaining Support for Arts Organizations. Projects that involve hiring student artists generally are not eligible for funding directly from the Arts Council.
Grant funds may not be used for the following expenditures unless otherwise noted in the grant guidelines:

• Deficit reductionCapital expenditures
• Contingency funds
• Food or beverages for hospitality or entertainment functions
• Fundraising events (activities designed to generate profit)
• Art sales events and auctions
• Interest on loans, fines, or litigation costs
• Lobbying expenses
• Tuition for academic study
• Indirect Costs