Creative Communities Grant Goals:

• Expand community access to the arts.
• Support and address community needs.
• Promote the unique identities of ME’s communities as places people want to live, visit, work, and play.
• Promote inclusion of artists and culture bearers in community projects.

An applicant who meets these criteria may apply:

• The applicant is a nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service, a school, or is a unit of municipal, county or tribal government, legally established in the state of Maine. Non-501(c)(3) applicants cannot apply under a fiscal sponsor or agent.
• The applicant operates within the state of Maine.
• Has a valid UEI number (www.sam.gov). You cannot receive a grant without a valid UEI.
• If applicable, has completed all Final Reports required by the Maine Arts Commission for previous awards.
• Is compliant with organization requirements on both the state and federal levels.

The funded activities proposed in your application must be in full accordance with the U.S. Constitution, federal law, state law, and public policy requirements including, but not limited to, those protecting free speech, religious liberty, public welfare, the environment, and those prohibiting discrimination.

Eligible Expenses

Ineligible Expenses:

All applications and materials must be submitted using the online Maine Cultural Access Portal. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to carefully review these details and call us with questions prior to beginning an application. It’s important to give yourself plenty of time to write a strong application, so be sure to start the process early!

• Answer the below application questions. (All questions are to be completed in the application portal.)
• PROJECT SUMMARY:
  • Describe what you're doing, when, and where it will happen. (1200 characters)
  • Describe who will be involved (collaborators, artists, culture bearers).   (1200 characters)
  • What are the goals for the project? What do you hope to achieve? (1000 characters)
• COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & ACCESS:
  • Describe the audience who will participate in or benefit from this project. (1000 characters)
  • How will this project benefit the well-being of your community or help solve a community challenge?   (1200 characters)
  • How are you including people who are underserved or under-resourced in the arts? (1200 characters)
• PROJECT CAPACITY:
  • How will you manage and carry out this project? Include your anticipated timeline. (1000 characters)
  • How will you know if your project succeeded? What will you measure or observe?   (1000 characters)

• Complete the budget form (show overall budget including cash and in-kind contributions, not just what you want the grant to cover).

• Upload Required Application Documents

• Copy of IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter (not applicable for schools, tribal entities, and municipalities*).
  
  *Municipalities/Territories/Schools/Tribal Entities Only: Provide an official authorization letter (i.e., a formal letter signed by the appropriate county, city, town, or village executive) to verify their tax-exempt status.

• Upload Optional Support Materials:

• Examples of related projects you have previously completed, photos or videos of project location to highlight community need(s), etc.
• Materials showing how this project is meaningful to this community. This can be email exchanges or letters showing support from collaborators, partners, and venues, or quotes and testimonials from past or current program participants.
• Materials showing the artist(s) or culture-bearers involved in this project. This can be resumes, videos, images, short bios, etc.

The Maine Arts Commission may use submitted materials solely for the non-commercial promotion of the artist and/or Maine Arts Commission programs.

Submitted applications are first reviewed by staff for completion, eligibility, and adherence to these funding guidelines. Applications are then reviewed by a diverse panel of arts and culture professionals; these panelists review each application and submit ratings based on the review criteria (see below). These ratings help determine how funding will be allocated.

Review Criteria

Award Payments

Awardees are required to submit a final report for each grant received. Final reports are due 14 days after the end of the fiscal year. You may not be eligible to apply for another Maine Arts Commission grant if you do not submit your final report.