Slots: 2. All applications require partnerships that involve at least two primary partners as defined by these guidelines: a nonprofit organization and a local governmental entity.
Deadlines
Internal Deadline: Contact RII.
LOI: August 3, 2023, 11:59pm ET
External Deadline: August 17, 2023, 11:59pm ET
Award Information
Award Type: Grant
Anticipated Amount: Grants range from $25,000 to $150,000, with a minimum nonfederal cost share/match equal to the grant amount.
Link to Award: https://www.arts.gov/grants/our-town
Eligible lead applicants are:
- Nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c)(3) U.S. organizations with a documented completed three-year history of programming. For the purpose of defining eligibility, “three-year history” refers to when an organization began its programming and not when it incorporated or received nonprofit, tax-exempt status
Process for Limited Submissions
PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Research Initiatives and Infrastructure (RII) Application Portal: https://rii.usc.edu/oor-portal/. Use the template provided here: RII Limited Submission Applicant Template
Materials to submit include:
- (1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; standard font type, e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
- (2) CV – (5 pages maximum)
Note: The portal requires information about the PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#, Gender, and Ethnicity. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.
Purpose
Our Town projects must demonstrate a specific role for arts, culture, and design as part of strategies for strengthening local communities, ultimately centering equity and laying the groundwork for long-term systems change tailored to community needs and opportunities.
Our Town projects are intended to be catalytic. Projects may support new activities, or new phases of a previously funded or ongoing project, as well as establish new or deepen existing cross-sector partnerships. Projects may work to advance a specific local economic, physical, or social change. Or, a project may aim to address systems change directly.
Projects may include activities such as:
- Artist residencies; arts festivals; community co-creation of art; performances; and public art. These activities may honor traditions and customs shaped by the lived experiences of a community’s residents.
- Cultural planning; cultural district planning; creative asset mapping; and public art planning.
- Artist/designer-facilitated community planning; design of artist spaces; design of cultural facilities; and public space design.
- Creative business development and professional artist development.
For more information, review the list of recently funded Our Town grants.
Competitive Projects
Competitive projects will:
- Demonstrate a specific role for the arts, culture, and design to strengthen the local community.
- Pilot new arts, culture, and design activities that are led by a diverse range of local partners.
- Establish new or deepen existing cross-sector partnerships.
- Advance inclusive community engagement and community-desired outcomes for a place.
- Lay the groundwork for long-term systems change that sustains the integration of arts, culture, and design into strategies for strengthening communities over the long term.
- Demonstrate alignment with the NEA’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
For Fiscal Year 2024, we are particularly interested in arts, culture, or design projects that address health or well-being, transportation or infrastructure, or climate-related challenges within a community. View past Our Town projects that address these fields.
Budgetary Requirements: Our grants cannot exceed 50% of the total cost of the project. All grants require a nonfederal cost share/match of at least 1 to 1. These cost share/matching funds may be all cash or a combination of cash and in-kind contributions. You may include in your Project Budget cost share/matching funds that are proposed but not yet committed at the time of the application deadline.
Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.