The North Carolina Arts Council’s 2018 grant guidelines for nonprofit arts organizations are now available at www.NCArts.org. The deadline for submitting applications is Thursday, March 1.

The N.C. Arts Council’s grant programs are designed to sustain and advance the arts infrastructure that reaches into all 100 North Carolina counties, to enhance the education of children and youth, and to ensure that all North Carolinians have access to a wide range of high quality arts programs.

Funds distributed by the N.C. Arts Council are appropriated by the state General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The grants serve as a catalyst for public-private collaborations. For every $1 invested by the Arts Council, an additional $18 is leveraged in required matching funds.

New grant categories include Military and Veterans Healing Arts grants that will provide funding for arts projects that serve North Carolina’s military service men and women, veterans, and their families. The other new category is the Rural Touring and Outreach program that will expand or support arts programming in rural areas and is available to organizations currently funded in the State Arts Resources (SAR) category.

To be eligible to apply for Arts Council grants, an organization must: have nonprofit status, have been producing quality arts programs for at least two consecutive years, and have prior-year organization cash operating expenses of at least $20,000.

Grant awards are recommended by panels of civic leaders and experts in diverse arts fields based on artistic merit, benefit of the project to the state’s citizens, and the applicant’s organizational strength and capacity.

Information about grants for organizations is available at the Arts Council website, ncarts.org/resources/grants/grants-organizations. The grant application deadline is Thursday, March 1.

– submitted by Rebecca Moore/NCDNCR