Grassroot Art Project Grant | Arts Council of Fay

Grassroots art project grant

Project Period July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027

Grassroots Art Project Grants support programs and activities which proliferate the arts within the Cumberland County community. Eligible programs will produce arts, culture, or history-focused content through an artistic discipline including but not limited to visual arts, performing arts, literary arts, folk and traditional arts, public art, digital and media arts, arts education, and/or other innovative artistic mediums not listed here.

Eligible entities may request up to $15,000. Total grant funds should not exceed more than 25% of organizations operating expenses.

Grassroots Art Project Grants are supported by the North Carolina Arts Council Grassroots Allocation and through the National Endowment for the Arts Grants for Art Projects program.

download guidelines

Guidelines

Eligibilty

ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS MUST

Be a 501c organization, Institution of Higher Education, or a Municipality.
Be based out of Cumberland County and provide arts related activities, programs, and services for the residents of Cumberland County.
Have a history of quality artistic programming.
Have Federal IRS Tax Exempt Status
Maintain a current Charitable Solicitation License (where applicable).
Be in good standing with the Federal IRS and NC Secretary of State.
Maintain a governing Board that is representative of the diversity of Cumberland County.
Have completed all prior grant requirements for ACFCC contracts (if applicable).
Not be a recipient of North Carolina Arts Council State Arts Resource Grant funds
Match operating support 1:1 (match waived for organizations operating expense under $250,000 annually)

UNINCORPORATED GROUPS, COLLECTIVES, AND GUILDS

Unincorporated Groups, Collectives, or Guilds who have been in operation for more than one (1) calendar year and who have financial history which detail near-nonprofit operations are eligible to apply using a Fiscal Agent but must first meet with the Director of Grants and Allocations to discuss operations and programs.
Fiscal Agent who does meet all eligibility requirements and must adhere to the following:
- Fiscal Agent must meet all eligibility requirements.
- Fiscal Agent Agreement must be submitted as part of application to include how finances will be tracked, how records will be kept, and through which means the Applicant will receive the funds disbursed from the Fiscal Agent.
- Fiscal Agents cannot be a recipient of NCAC funds through the States Arts Resource grant program.

Applications are accepted in one of two annual cycles. Organizations may submit one (1) request per funding cycle and may not be awarded more than one Grassroots Art Project Grant contract per fiscal year.

Application Process

Work Samples

At Least Three (3) high quality samples of your organization’s projects/programming.
Work samples are a very important element of the application review and are the leading example of your institutions ability to produce arts-, culture-, or history-focused programming through artistic disciplines.
Applicants must include a brief narrative explanation of the work sample and how it relates to the requested project.
All work samples must have been produced within the last 3 years (on or after January 2023).

Upload Check List

In additional to narrative questions, the following documents are required uploads as part of the application, unless noted.

IRS Tax Determination Letter
Charitable Solicitation License
Board of Directors with Term, Race/Ethnicity, and Officers listed
Prior Year’s 990
Itemized Project Budget
Evidential Support (optional)
Work Samples
Partner Information/Resumes (required for Arts Education Programs)
Articles of Incorporation (required for first time applicants)
Bylaws (required or first time applicants)

Grant Restrictions

Art, music, and dance therapists*
Large Capital expenditures
Contingency funds
Deficit reduction
Expenses for programs created for or engaging closed populations
Expenses for programs which advocate, promote, or proselytize any specific dogma or faith
Fundraising events
Food or beverages for hospitality or entertainment functions
K-12 School initiatives
Lobbying expenses
Oral history and history projects*
Tuition for academic study
Interest on loans, fines, or litigation costs

*Speak with Grant Staff

Evaluations

Grassroots Art Project grant applications are evaluated by a panel composed of Arts Council Board of Trustees members and additional community members who represent the diversity of Cumberland County and who have professional experience in arts, culture, history, education, grants, marketing, finance, and project management.

The Grassroots Art Project panel reviews applications and provides a recommendation for funding to the full Arts Council Board of Trustees who decide on the final awards.

Grassroots Art Project grants are competitive. Requests are evaluated based on merit as presented in your application. All panel members’ scores are averaged to produce an aggregate score of up to 100 points. Funding is recommended to programs who score the highest.

Requests are evaluated along the following review criteria :

Artistic Quality of the Proposed Project (50 pts)

Work Samples show programming of high artistic excellence
Project/Program increases awareness of underrepresented artistic disciplines
Program/Project utilizes professionals with detailed experience in their fields

Community Impact of Project (25 pts)

Use of Cumberland County based professionals with adequate and competitive compensation
Project/Program attracts persons or groups who have limited opportunities due to educational, geographic, cultural, physical, economic, or other constraints

Ability to Plan and Implement Project (25 pts)

Effective marketing and communications strategies for the project
Appropriate evaluation strategies that are matched to program goals
Applicant organization's past performance as an Arts Council grantee (where applicable).
The organization is financially stable

When making final funding decisions, Grassroots Art Project Grant funds are prioritized in the following ways:

Requests that support qualified 501c3 arts organizations.
Requests that support arts learning and arts-in-education programs or projects.
Requests that support community, civic, and municipal organizations that provide high-quality arts experiences for the greater community.

Important dates

Action Item	Cycle One Dates	Cycle Two Dates
Guidelines Published	December 15, 2025	December 15, 2025
Grant Information Sessions	January / February 2026	July/August 2026
Grant Submission Deadline	Thursday, March 5, 2026 \| 5:00 PM	Wednesday, September 1, 2026 \| 5:00 PM
Notification of Recommended Funding or Declination	by May 31, 2026	by November 30, 2026
Earliest Project Start Date	Wednesday, July 1, 2026	Friday, January 1, 2027
Project Update Reports & Meetings as required	November 2026 - March 2027	March - April, 2027
Latest Project End Date	June 30, 2027	June 30, 2027
Final Reports Due	Thursday, July 15, 2027 \| 5:00 PM	Thursday, July 15, 2027 \| 5:00 PM

questions?

For questions regarding the Grassroots Art Project Grant application or your proposal, contact:

Michael Houck | Director of Grants and Allocations MIchaelh@theartscouncil.com

Kashia Knight | Arts Education Manager

KashiaK@theartscouncil.com

Fund
Partners

The Mini Grant program is supported locally by the City of Fayetteville, Cumberland County, and the Cumberland County Occupancy Tax. Additional funds are provided through the generous support of individual donors to the Arts Council of Fayetteville | Cumberland County.

Financial information and a copy of its license are available from the Charitable Solicitation Licensing Section at (888) 830-4989.

The license is not an endorsement by the State.