SMAC: Art Project Grants

SMAC: Art Project Grants

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Southwest Minnesota Arts Council
Amount: Up to US $10,000
Last Updated: February 02, 2026

Summary

The SMAC Art Project Grants support nonprofit organizations in Minnesota to enhance the arts through various projects, including performances, exhibits, and community arts education. Grants of up to $10,000 are available to eligible organizations, specifically those classified as 501(c)(3) and located within the SW MN Arts Council service region. Applications from public schools and those using fiscal sponsors are also welcomed, ensuring that diverse artistic initiatives can flourish in the community.

Overview

Program Intent The Art Project grant program provides nonprofit organizations with funding to stimulate and encourage the creation, performance, and appreciation of the arts in the region. Art Projects may include, but are not limited to: Music, dance, and theater productions by community groups Productions by professionals brought into the community Visual art exhibits Readings by authors Arts classes for community members of all ages (excluding projects in schools) Public art Arts festivals Funding Art Project grants are available for up to $10,000.

Eligibility

We've imported the main document for this grant to give you an overview. You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. The Art Project grant program is open to nonprofit organizations as described in Section 501 (c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code with Articles of Incorporation on file with the State of Minnesota or official units of city, county, or state government of the State of Minnesota. Public schools may apply if they have a community project. If your organization is not yet a registered nonprofit, you may apply using a fiscal sponsor. Applicant organizations must be located within the SW MN Arts Council service region, consisting of eighteen counties (Big Stone, Chippewa, Cottonwood, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, McLeod, Meeker, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Renville, Rock, Swift, and Yellow Medicine counties) and two tribal nations (Pezihutazizi/Upper Sioux Community, Cansayapi/Lower Sioux Community). We acknowledge that the Southwest Minnesota region occupies the traditional, ancestral, and contemporary lands of the Dakota people.

Ineligibility

Any state agency, public entity, or nonprofit organization that receives a legislative appropriation or legislatively mandated grant (allocated directly to the organization by the state legislature) from the State of Minnesota’s arts and cultural heritage fund for FY 2026 is NOT eligible to receive a FY 2026 Art Project grant. The following activities and organizations are NOT eligible for these grants:Applications that do not have an art focus. Activities of a for-profit project, organization, or business. Applications that are primarily for educational projects within a school system. Payment of costs for projects that will take place outside the geographic boundaries of the state of Minnesota or costs related to travel outside the state of Minnesota, including performer, artist, or consultant travel.Costs for relocating the applicant’s legal address/residence outside the state of Minnesota. Projects for which artists are required to pay excessive entry or exhibition fees in order to exhibit or perform in the project for which funds are sought. Requests for new building construction, purchase of real estate, or endowment funds. Fundraising events. Grant funding should allow projects to break even, not make a profit. Activities that are not open to the public. Projects must be inclusive and accessible in their process and/or final product, considering economic, geographic, and physical accessibility, as well as the cultural, racial, ethnic, age, and gender make-up of the community. Activities essentially for the religious socialization of the participants or audience. Activities that attempt to influence any state or federal legislation or appropriation. Applications submitted for the purpose of regranting, lobbying, or scholarships. Projects that don’t provide timely promotion of the project throughout the SMAC region with use of the proper funding credit line and logo. Requests for funds to account for deficits in projects or programs begun prior to the project earliest start date. In other words, payment of debts incurred before the grant activities begin or outside of the grant project scope of activity. Applications in which funds are to be used to match other SMAC grant projects. Budgets including prorated operating costs if the organization is already receiving SMAC operating support for the same time period. Budgets exceeding 90% of the total project’s cash expenses in combined support from the Minnesota State Arts Board and SW MN Arts Council. Applicants with past due SMAC final (or other) reports.