Artist Support Grants for Lead Partners

Overview

This category funds regional consortia of local arts agencies that award project grants to artists within their area. The Artist Support Grant provides direct support to individual artists, funding professional and artistic development for emerging and established artists to enhance their skills and abilities to create work or to improve their business operations and capacity to bring their work to new audiences.

Grant Amounts

• Regional consortia: $5,000 to $50,000
• Individual artists: generally $500 to $3,000, depending on consortium fundraising, number of applicants, and types of projects funded
• Up to $1,000 of consortium grant may be spent on administrative expenses; remainder awarded to artists

Fundable Project Types

• Creation of a new work
• Purchase of equipment
• Professional development workshops
• Travel support for expenses associated with a professional opportunity such as participating in an exhibition or a conference
• Development or upgrading of promotional materials such as brochures, DVDs, CDs, and websites

Key Dates

• Application opens: January 5, 2026
• Application deadline: March 2, 2026
• Funded activities must take place between July 1 and June 30 of the following calendar year

Eligibility

Applicant must be a nonprofit organization in good standing with the state of North Carolina (or an organization that has applied for nonprofit status using a fiscal agent); have been producing quality arts programs for at least two years; and have prior-year organizational cash operating expenses of at least $20,000. Tribal organizations must represent North Carolina or federally-recognized tribes. North Carolina municipalities, schools, and universities are also eligible; colleges and universities may receive grants for community-based programs or area-wide arts involvement only, not internal programs.

Application Requirements

Applicants must have a nonprofit organization profile in the grant system with details including authorized signatory, Employer Identification Number (EIN) and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) numbers, mission statement, and documentation of nonprofit status. Each applicant must also set up a separate user profile.

Application Narrative

• Select the county or counties where the project will physically take place; Artist Support Grant applicants should select all counties for which subgrant applications are accepted
• List all partner local arts agencies
• Provide a brief description of the marketing plan and proposed selection process for the upcoming grant year, including how panels are composed, specific objectives for the cycle, application and selection panel dates if scheduled, and details about how you plan to engage artists with limited opportunities due to factors such as educational background, geography, ethnic or cultural diversity, or economic constraints

Contact

Creative Economies Director Leigh Ann Wilder, 919-814-6508, [email protected]