Our Impact | Cultural Arts

Overview & Impact Area Update

The local arts sector, and the creative people it employs, contributes so much to the Triangle region and North Carolina as a whole. Research has shown that the arts have positive effects on health and that participation in arts programming among children has positive impacts on their social and emotional development. It’s clear that cultural arts are integral to a thriving community.

Despite the wide-ranging benefits, however, cultural arts organizations, particularly arts organizations led by and serving audiences of color, face ongoing challenges to their sustainability, particularly as they recover from the impacts of COVID-19. As the Triangle and the nation continue to become more diverse demographically, it is imperative to invest in arts organizations that are making art that reflects the rich diversity of the Triangle and is accessible to residents of our region.

Triangle Community Foundation is excited to provide funding to support cultural arts organizations that represent the people and places of the Triangle.

Goals

Funding will support general operations of organizations that are doing work related to two key program goals:

• Increase culturally representative arts programming
• Increase the arts in public and community space

Grantmaking

We are pleased to offer multi-year grants in this program, offering up to $20,000 per year for a total of up to $40,000 over two consecutive years. Applicants who were funded in the last grant cycle and met all reporting deadlines and requirements may reapply for this two-year grant. We anticipate making a total of +/- 10 awards through this call for proposals.

Eligibility

• Nonprofit, 501(c)(3) arts organizations serving one or more Triangle Counties (Wake, Durham, Orange, Chatham); Projects with a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor are eligible to apply.
• Organizations that:
  • have a history of promoting arts programming that is created by and/or centers communities of color of other communities that are underrepresented in cultural arts spaces in the Triangle; and/or
  • have a history of creating public arts projects, particularly in neighborhoods, rural places, or other places where there is otherwise limited arts available to the community.
• Organizations must meet the Foundation’s non-discrimination policy.
• Only one application per organization will be considered.

Evaluation Criteria

Foundation staff work with volunteer advisory committee members to review proposals and reach grantmaking decisions. In reviewing grant proposals, the Foundation will use the following evaluation criteria:

• Alignment of organization’s current / planned arts programming with program goals:
  • Increase culturally representative arts programming
  • Increase the arts in public and community spaces
• Organization’s track record of delivering programming that aligns with program goals (see above)
• Commitment to equity and community engagement
• Organization’s financial health

We will seek to have a grantee cohort that reflects a diversity of artistic expression and mediums, and represents the four counties Triangle Community Foundation serves (Chatham, Durham, Orange, and Wake).

Frequently Asked Questions

Please click here to view the FAQ document for this grant program.

Timeline