Search Through Grants for the Arts in Mississippi in the U.S.

First Horizon Foundation

First Horizon Foundation is the private charitable foundation of First Horizon Corporation. Founded in 1993 to serve the communities in which we operate, our Foundation has donated more than $100 million across our footprint.

Meeting the financial needs of the people we serve is just part of our story.

First Horizon Foundation is the private, charitable foundation of First Horizon Corporation. Founded in 1993 to serve the communities in which we operate, our Foundation has donated more than $150 million across our footprint. Our grants are invested in a way that responds inclusively to community needs and promotes progress and prosperity across these impact areas:

Arts & Culture

• Emphasizing excellence and enrichment in the arts

Education & Leadership

• Educating and developing the next generation of leaders

Environmental Sustainability

• Fostering a more sustainable future

Financial Literacy

• Promoting financial literacy within our communities

Health & Human Services

• Improving the well-being of our communities

Our contributions are targeted to strengthen these pillars of the communities we serve:

• Improving the well-being of our communities
• Investing in the financial future
• Educating and developing the next generation of leaders
• Promoting excellence and enrichment in the arts
• A more sustainable tomorrow and future

Community Grants

State Farm is committed to helping build safer, stronger and better-educated communities.

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​We are committed to auto and home safety programs and activities that help people manage the risks of everyday life.
• We invest in education, economic empowerment and community development projects, programs and services that help people realize their dreams.
• We help maintain the vibrancy of our communities by assisting nonprofits that support community revitalization.

Good Neighbor Citizenship company grants focus on safety, community development and education.

Focus Areas

Safety Grants

We strive to keep our customers and communities safe. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Auto safety — improving driver, passenger, vehicle or roadway safety
• Home safety — shielding homes from fires, crime or natural disasters
• Disaster preparedness and mitigation
• Disaster recovery

Community Development

We support nonprofits that invest and develop stronger neighborhoods. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Affordable housing — home construction and repair
• Commercial/small business development
• Job training
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Financial literacy
• Sustainable housing and transportation
• Food insecurity

Education

Our education funding is directed toward initiatives that support the following programs:

• Higher education
• K-12 academic performance
• K-12 STEM
• Pathways for college and career success

Our Mission

Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. We invest in journalism, in the arts, and in the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers. Our goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which we believe are essential for a healthy democracy.

Community and National Initiatives

Supporting equitable, inclusive engagement

What We Fund

We fund primarily in eight cities where the foundation has resident program officers, including Akron, where our founders started Knight Newspapers, and Miami, where their business was eventually headquartered. We invest through grantmaking directly from our endowment and from endowed donor-advised funds (DAF) at local community foundations in the Knight communities.

In the 18 cities where our foundation does not have a program director living in the community, we primarily work with community foundation leaders and local advisory committees to identify investment opportunities that support engaged, inclusive and equitable communities.

Communities Program

Our work in community focuses on attracting and nurturing talent, enhancing opportunity, and fostering civic engagement. Rather than a single approach, we seek to support efforts authentic to each community.

Learn more about our work in each of the communities where Knight has offices: 

• Akron, Ohio
• Charlotte, North Carolina
• Detroit
• Macon, Georgia
• Miami
• Philadelphia
• San Jose, California
• St. Paul, Minnesota

In these cities, Knight program directors are your first point of contact.

Knight works in 18 small to mid-sized communities in partnership with local community foundations. Learn more about this program. 

• Aberdeen, South Dakota;
• Biloxi, Mississippi;
• Boulder, Colorado;
• Bradenton, Florida;
• Columbia, South Carolina;
• Columbus, Georgia;
• Duluth, Minnesota;
• Ft. Wayne, Indiana;
• Gary, Indiana;
• Grand Forks, North Dakota;
• Lexington, Kentucky;
• Long Beach, California;
• Milledgeville, Georgia;
• Myrtle Beach, South Carolina;
• Palm Beach County, Florida;
• State College, Pennsylvania;
• Tallahassee, Florida;
• Wichita, Kansas

If you are interested in receiving Knight funding in these 18 communities, please read more about our individual community strategies and ask your local community foundation about the local Knight donor-advised fund.

National Initiatives

Our National Initiatives program seeks to accelerate and amplify the work we do in communities by identifying opportunities in common, and ideas that can be shared across communities. Current areas of focus include:

• Smart cities: Harnessing the growth of digital technology to improve how communities respond, connect to and engage with residents;
• Public Spaces: Investing in spaces such as parks, trails, libraries to engage and connect residents to each other and to the places where they live, such as through our multi-city initiative, Reimagining the Civic Commons.

In addition, our national program responds to opportunities that emerge from the 26 cities where we work.

Agency Overview

The Mississippi Arts Commission was established in 1968 by the Mississippi Legislature as the official grants-making and service agency for the arts in the state. MAC provides financial and technical assistance for arts programming to arts organizations and educational institutions throughout Mississippi. Funded annually by the Mississippi Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts and private funds, MAC uses this support to carry forth its mission and continues to act as a core and essential function of government.

Government support for the arts plays a critical role in the creative sector. This type of support:

• Provides for the inclusion of all citizens in diverse artistic experiences;
• Ties arts to economic development through partnerships and collaborations;
• Offers credibility and insists on accountability;
• Ensures openness of decision-making; and
• Provides leadership in cultural policies.

MAC is the public agency that serves as a catalyst for private support of the arts.

MAC operates both an administrative side and a programmatic side. The administrative side consists of the executive and deputy directors, the fiscal officer, the systems administrator, the communications director and the executive assistant. The programmatic side consists of directors over the following areas: Arts-Based Community Development, Arts Education, Arts Industry, Folk & Traditional Arts, the Whole Schools Initiative and various special initiatives.

The role of MAC goes beyond grants-making. To serve as a catalyst for arts development at the local level, MAC seeks to:

• Foster networks of local leaders, artists of all disciplines, arts volunteers and patrons;
• Consult on community arts development, performing, visual and literary arts, folk arts, and arts education;
• Provide training in arts management, arts education planning, arts facilities planning and community-wide cultural planning; and
• Promote broad-based public awareness of the importance of the arts in education and community life.

Through the arts, diverse communities of all sizes can better identify shared values, create vibrant public spaces, and enhance the effectiveness of schools. The arts also attract visitors who leave with a strong, positive image of Mississippi. Fostering excellence in the arts provides the inspiration to generate a higher quality of life for all citizens.

Underserved Initiative

To ensure more equitable access to the arts throughout the state, the Mississippi Arts Commission identifies counties that have not recently received grants or services from MAC and provides direct outreach to locations in those counties to help facilitate arts programming and/or funding. MAC considers these counties “underserved.” The purpose of this special initiative is to provide access to quality arts programming in all 82 Mississippi counties and encourage potential grantees in underserved counties to take advantage of opportunities offered through the agency.

About the Mississippi Humanities Council

The Mississippi Humanities Council is an independent nonprofit organization affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities. Established in 1972 on the premise that the humanities are relevant to any enterprise involving serious thought, discussion and decision-making, the Council has worked to foster the public’s understanding of historical, literary and philosophical perspectives on the human experience. The Council is committed to making its programs accessible to as many Mississippians as possible and expects grant recipients to do the same.

What are the Humanities?

The humanities enrich our understanding of the human experience in the past, present and future. The humanities disciplines, as defined by Congress, include:

• literature, classics, languages and linguistics
• history and archaeology
• philosophy, jurisprudence, ethics and comparative religion
• history, criticism and theory of the arts
• social sciences employing historical or philosophical approaches

Through language, literature and the arts, human beings express their knowledge about their cultural heritage and reflect on its meaning. The contributions of scholars, writers and researchers in such fields as philosophy, ethics and jurisprudence enrich the civic dialogue in a democratic society. Insights about the past from archaeology and history enable us to interpret the present and plan for a better future.

Minigrants

The MHC grants program seeks to fund projects that stimulate meaningful community dialogue, attract diverse audiences, are participatory and engaging, and apply the humanities to our everyday lives. Project activities are primarily intended to serve Mississippians and must be free and open to the public. 

There are no deadlines for minigrants though applications must be received at least six weeks before the program or proposed grant period begins.

It is essential that the applicant organization and humanities scholars collaborate in preparing the grant application. Please state on your application whether your proposed speakers have accepted your invitation to participate on the scheduled dates. Participating scholars should understand that their audience will consist of the general public, not just other scholars.

Grant-Making Priorities

The Phil Hardin Foundation seeks to improve educational and life outcomes for Mississippi children and youth, with a special emphasis on Meridian and Lauderdale County, and to expand access to high-quality educational opportunities.

The foundation has adopted seven grant-making priorities as a means of achieving that mission for the five-year period beginning July 2019. Any grants approved or initiatives supported will fit into one or more of these categories:

• Early childhood development
• Literacy
• Teacher quality
• School leadership
• Equity of educational access
• Arts and cultural enrichment
• Community and state capacity building

Our work begins in Meridian and Lauderdale County, where at least 50 percent of our grant dollars are invested each year. We envision an educational continuum in our home community that serves as a model of collaboration and coordination, to include Meridian and Lauderdale County Public Schools, Meridian Community College, Mississippi State University-Meridian, nonprofit educational service providers, and local arts and cultural organizations. Our No. 1 priority as a foundation is to enhance the capacity and performance of these entities in meeting individual and community needs and to encourage them to work, plan and share resources together to the maximum extent possible.

Jackson, as the state's capital and largest city, is a secondary area of special interest for Hardin Foundation grantmaking. It is our belief that for Mississippi to reach its full potential, it must have a thriving capital city and urban center, and that improving education at all levels is a critical component in reaching that goal. 

Wherever they may originate, the Hardin Foundation is especially interested in proposals that have a potential regional (multi-county) or statewide impact or that if locally focused could be replicated in other communities. We value collaboration with other funders and proposals that emphasize multi-faceted, cross-sector partnerships at the local and state levels.

The Hardin Foundation has a long history of support for higher education in Mississippi. We accept grant proposals from all public and private four-year institutions in the state, but historically the foundation has emphasized its relationships with Mississippi State University, the University of Mississippi and Millsaps College. These institutions continue to receive priority in our higher education grant making.

Another long-standing emphasis of the Hardin Foundation is to increase knowledge and understanding of Mississippi arts, culture, history and geography, acknowledging the state's trials and shortcomings while celebrating its unique identity as a wellspring of creativity and abundant natural beauty.

Our MissionAdvancing Southern vitality through the arts.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, South Arts is a nonprofit regional arts organization empowering artists, organizations, and communities, and increasing access to arts and culture.

In partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the State Arts Agencies of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee — with additional funding from other public and private donors such as the Doris Duke Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and Mellon Foundation — South Arts supports artists and organizations through a rich and responsive portfolio of grants, fellowships, and programs.

Why? Because South Arts believes that the arts elevate the region, increasing connectedness and inspiring meaningful change in the process. 

Professional Development Grants for Arts Organizations

Program Description

South Arts strongly believes that skill and knowledge building for arts organizations are integral to success and sustainability. These grants are designed to support the professional development needs of Southern arts organizations for increasing organizational capacity to achieve long-term sustainability, growth, and/or operational stability. This grant program is open to film, visual arts, performing arts, traditional arts, literary arts, and multidisciplinary arts organizations.

Funding can support staff or board participation at conferences, workshops, and other professional development opportunities and events. In addition, these grants can support expenses for in-person and virtual professional development for organization-wide staff learning and training. Funds support travel expenses (for example, lodging and air/ground transportation), admission/registration fees, or other related expenses (for example, consultant/service fees for staff learning/training sessions). 

Mission

Driven by a philanthropic calling to support marginalized communities throughout the world, the Semnani Family Foundation partners with on-the-ground organizations and leverages its resources in a cost-effective and efficient manner that delivers the maximum benefit.

History

Guided by his grandmother Maliheh’s example and teachings, Khosrow Semnani and his wife Ghazaleh established the Semnani Family Foundation in 1993. The foundation’s first grant was issued through CARE International to an orphanage in Romania that cared for newborns affected by HIV. Over the last few decades, the foundation has continued to build upon its mission to empower the disaffected, partnering with a variety of organizations in different countries who can make the greatest impact.

In addition to its global influence, the Semnani Family Foundation established roots within the state of Utah with the founding of Maliheh Free Clinic in 2005 to provide free healthcare to thousands of uninsured people in the Salt Lake City area.

Where We Work

The Semnani Family Foundation focuses primarily on promoting health, education, and disaster relief for marginalized communities all around the world. Driven by a clear mission to adapt and serve at the global level, we have leveraged our resources to make a meaningful impact in the following countries so far:

• Afghanistan
• Bosnia
• Colombia
• England
• Ethiopia
• Ghana
• Guatemala
• India
• Iran
• Kenya
• Madagascar
• Mali
• Mexico
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Romania
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Tanzania
• Tonga
• Uganda
• United States
• Yemen

At the heart of the Foundation lies a fervent commitment to human welfare, always prioritizing health and the needs of society’s most vulnerable.

Detailed Program Description

South Arts believes that rural communities deserve great art, and can require specialized support to make that vision viable. Distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis, Express Grants support rural organizations and communities with expedited grants of up to $3,000. To be eligible for funding, applicants must program arts experiences featuring a Southern artist.

Express Grants are an opportunity for organizations in South Arts' nine-state region to receive fee support to present Southern guest film directors, visual and performing artists, or writers from inside or outside of the presenter's state. Artist fee support is awarded for:

• film (documentary, fiction, experimental, and animation),
• performing arts (theater, music, opera, musical theater, and dance),
• literary arts (fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry),
• traditional arts, and
• visual arts (crafts, drawing, experimental, painting, photography, sculpture, and mixed media).

Guidelines

Projects must include both a public presentation (film screening, performance, reading, or exhibition) and an educational/community engagement component. Based on the artist fee, the maximum request is $3,000. The grant requires a dollar-for-dollar cash match (for example, an applicant that requests $3,000 must provide a $3,000 cash match for a project with a $6,000 artist fee).

Policies

• The educational/community engagement component is integral to the project and should be carefully planned. A meaningful educational/community engagement component should involve concentrated preparation by the artist/company and presenter, including a learning event that has a lasting impact on the audience (e.g., workshops, lectures, and master classes). The artist(s)/company must conduct the educational/community engagement activity. Please be aware that failure to include an educational/community engagement component will result in ineligibility.
• Grants are NOT transferable to other events. All changes in an event must be submitted in writing to South Arts before the event. Awards may be revised or revoked in light of such changes.
• Grant awards require a dollar-for-dollar cash match. Applicants can request a grant up to 50% of the artist fee as listed in the artist contract or letter of agreement, up to $3,000 (subject to funding availability). For example, a project with an artist fee of $6,000 means the applicant can request $3,000 and must provide a cash match of $3,000. This grant does not support indirect and additional project costs.
• The minimum grant request is $500. The minimum artist fee for this grant program is $1,000.
• The maximum grant request is $3,000.

Background

The Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) has long recognized the importance of having adequate facilities in order to grow the number of artistic and creative opportunities in the state. To help expand the number of arts facilities in the state, the Mississippi Legislature appropriated funds to support the Building Fund for the Arts (BFA), a special initiative managed by MAC. BFA is focused on supporting the repair, renovation, or expansion of public facilities that are used for arts programming.

Program Goal

The primary goal of BFA is to support the repair, renovation, expansion or construction of facilities that serve as sites for year-round arts programming in their communities. MAC is focused on maximizing the impact of existing facilities through repair and expansion projects as well as increasing the number of facilities that can serve as points of public access to the arts for Mississippi residents.

Our Mission

Our mission is to continue and further the philanthropic legacy of Gardner Cowles, Jr. and the Cowles family, which includes promotion of education, social justice, health, and the arts.

The Founder

The Cowles Charitable Trust was first established in 1948 by Gardner “Mike” Cowles, Jr. (1903-1985). Born into the Cowles publishing family of Des Moines, Iowa, Mike was the youngest of Gardner Cowles and Florence Call Cowles’ six children. A newspaper editor and publisher by trade, he was committed to his family’s traditions of responsible, public-spirited, and innovative journalism as well as philanthropy. 

The Cowles Charitable Trust supports the arts, education, the advancement of ethical journalism, medical and climate research.

About the Mississippi Humanities Council

The Mississippi Humanities Council is an independent nonprofit organization affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities. Established in 1972 on the premise that the humanities are relevant to any enterprise involving serious thought, discussion and decision-making, the Council has worked to foster the public’s understanding of historical, literary and philosophical perspectives on the human experience. The Council is committed to making its programs accessible to as many Mississippians as possible and expects grant recipients to do the same.

What are the Humanities?

The humanities enrich our understanding of the human experience in the past, present and future. The humanities disciplines, as defined by Congress, include:

• literature, classics, languages and linguistics
• history and archaeology
• philosophy, jurisprudence, ethics and comparative religion
• history, criticism and theory of the arts
• social sciences employing historical or philosophical approaches
• Through language, literature and the arts, human beings express their knowledge about their cultural heritage and reflect on its meaning. The contributions of scholars, writers and researchers in such fields as philosophy, ethics and jurisprudence enrich the civic dialogue in a democratic society. Insights about the past from archaeology and history enable us to interpret the present and plan for a better future.

Oral History Grants

With funding from the Mississippi Legislature through an appropriation to the Department of Archives and History, the Mississippi Oral History Project has captured the stories of our state since 1999. Groups may apply for grants to support oral history projects that relate to the experiences of Mississippians. All grantees must arrange with a public archive in Mississippi to accept, catalogue and make accessible all recordings collected with a Mississippi Humanities Council oral history grant. If you need assistance identifying a public archive for your project, please contact the Mississippi Humanities Council. Oral history grant applicants are strongly encouraged to develop a plan to use, disseminate or exhibit the interviews once they are completed.

Detailed Program Description

Grants of up to $2,500 for organizations to make arts programs accessible to persons with disabilities.

The Southeast is home to some of the world’s more diverse and vibrant artistic communities. At South Arts, we believe that the arts are for everyone. The arts enrich the lives of people of all abilities and backgrounds. In our commitment to amplifying the success of the Southeast’s arts ecology, South Arts offers micro-funding to supplement the efforts of arts organizations throughout our service area.

Art making is for everyone too! South Arts encourages arts organizations to hire artistic personnel of all abilities at all levels; for these grants in particular, we encourage arts organizations to work directly with artists who identify as disabled. 

Through our partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, South Arts offers small grants that compliment existing efforts by arts organizations to include audiences and artists with disabilities. Accessibility micro-grants are available to support Nonprofit, 501c3, arts organizations located within the South Arts Service region states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. This funding program is open to a wide variety of organizations, including community cultural organizations, museums, performing arts presenters, theatre companies, visual arts and music organizations. Priority funding will be given to new applicants to South Arts.

South Arts has prioritized the following:

• South Arts prioritizes applications from BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ identifying organizations.
• South Arts prioritizes applications from organizations led by persons with disabilities or organizations that provide significant programming to artists or audiences with disabilities.
• South Arts is committed to funding artists organizations in rural communities (with populations under 50,000).
• Primary consideration will be given to new applicants.

Usage of Funds

Grants awards may reimburse the applicant for any combination of qualifying expenses incurred during the grant period. Projects may include but are not limited to the following:

Programs

• Usage of large print or braille program materials for patrons/audiences with low vision
• Artist/consultant fees to provide accessibility training or audits
• Transportation of constituents or performers with disabilities
• Preparation for special exhibitions (i.e. space modifications or accessibility audit)
• Audio description
• Sign language interpretation
• Website accessibility
• Docent training for visual or audio enhancement
• Consultant fee to develop an overall accessibility plan for your organization
• Inclusive programming
• Staff training to learn about accessibility as it relates to programming, operations, or facilities modifications (i.e. travel to a workshop and/or training)
• Other accommodations that make programs accessible

Facilities Enhancements

• Accessibility signage for exterior and/or interior space
• Modification of restroom(s) signage
• Modification to drinking fountain(s) signage
• Installation of Braille plaques

About the Mississippi Humanities Council

The Mississippi Humanities Council is committed to helping our communities to explore and share their history and culture by creating public humanities programs that encourage reflection, discussion, and civic participation. The Council offers a variety of grants to support public humanities lectures and panel discussions, historical and photographic exhibits, oral histories, the planning of larger projects, and the development of original productions in film and online content.

What are the Humanities?

The humanities enrich our understanding of the human experience in the past, present and future. The humanities disciplines, as defined by Congress, include:

• literature, classics, languages and linguistics
• history and archaeology
• philosophy, jurisprudence, ethics and comparative religion
• history, criticism and theory of the arts
• social sciences employing historical or philosophical approaches

Through language, literature and the arts, human beings express their knowledge about their cultural heritage and reflect on its meaning. The contributions of scholars, writers and researchers in such fields as philosophy, ethics and jurisprudence enrich the civic dialogue in a democratic society. Insights about the past from archaeology and history enable us to interpret the present and plan for a better future.

Regular Grants

The MHC grants program seeks to fund projects that stimulate meaningful community dialogue, attract diverse audiences, are participatory and engaging, and apply the humanities to our everyday lives.  Project activities are primarily intended to serve Mississippians and must be free and open to the public. 

Regular grants may be used to support larger public humanities programs, conferences, exhibits and the development of original productions in film, television, radio or online resources.

It is essential that the applicant organization and humanities scholars collaborate in preparing the grant application. Please state on your application whether your proposed speakers have accepted your invitation to participate on the scheduled dates. Participating scholars should understand that their audience will consist of the general public, not just other scholars.

Cross-Sector Impact Grants

South Arts’ mission is advancing Southern vitality through the arts, and this program addresses a strategic goal to cultivate and strengthen deep, cross-sector partnerships that are artist and community centered. As our communities continue to change, the arts play an incomparable role in addressing many of our communal and individual challenges and strengths. The value of partnership and working together across sectors brings new opportunities, increased effectiveness, and greater depth to our collective work. Through this program, South Arts seeks to provide significant support to projects developed by partners that harness the power of “Arts & …” (these are projects at the intersection of arts and other sectors). This year, we are shifting to a new program model.

Over the next three years, South Arts is committed to one community impact area – Health and Wellness. Eligible projects must focus on the “Arts & Health and Wellness” theme - for example, arts & mental wellness or arts & physical health. Matching grants of up to $15,000 will be awarded to support approximately 18 projects. We anticipate funding these 18 projects for three grant cycles and expect applicants to commit to the collaborative work for a three-year duration. Funding will be awarded in three separate fiscal years with streamlined, grant renewal forms submitted for cycles two and three. Matching grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded to continue or advance the project with the same two partners in cycles two and three.  

South Arts’ mission is advancing Southern vitality through the arts. This program addresses two of South Arts’ strategic goals:

• Connect artists and arts professionals in the South to resources that will increase opportunities for success within and outside the region
• Advance impactful arts-based programs that recognize and address trends and evolving needs of a wide range of communities in the South

Project Requirements

SSouth Arts welcomes applications from partnering entities working together on a project that addresses Arts & Health and Wellness through cross-sector partnerships. Projects must utilize the arts as a tool in creative approaches to address and advance a health and wellness issue that is of importance in their community. Projects should also establish or advance relationships across at least two different sectors, one being in the arts. 

Arts disciplines may include, but are not limited to:

• Performing arts, including dance, music, theater, musical theater, opera;
• Literary arts, including fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry;
• Visual arts, including craft, drawing, experimental, painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media;
• Film or media;
• Traditional and folk arts, including music, craft, storytelling, dance; or
• Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary artforms.

Community impact areas may include, but are not limited to:

• Physical (overall well-being and the ability of the body to function properly);
• Mental/Emotional (overall well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life and their emotions);
• Social (overall well-being that stems from connection and community); or
• Occupational (overall physical, mental, and social well-being of workers). 

Matching Requirements

The minimum grant request is $5,000 and the maximum request is $15,000 (subject to funding availability). A match of at least 1:2 is required; meaning for each grant dollar, the grantee must provide $.50 towards the project expenses. For returning grantees, in cycles two and three, the maximum request is $10,000 (subject to funding availability).

Up to half of the match may be comprised of in-kind contributions such as donated materials, donated services, or other contributed non-cash assets or staff time diverted to this project. At least half of the match must be cash. For staff time diverted to this project, up to 10% of the total project expenses, but no more than $5,000 can be included as a cash expense or cash match for staff time. The remaining staff time must be an in-kind contribution. Contracted individuals and services specifically for this project are eligible cash expenses. 

Calling to Serve

Since its inception in 2016, the Robinson Foundation has sought to demonstrate God’s love through sharing the gifts we have received. We understand the often unspoken hardships and struggles that people in and outside of our community face everyday. As such, our contributions are focused on relieving these hardships for the betterment of our world.

As a family-operated foundation, we pray that our small efforts will not only create immediate change in the lives of our neighbors, but will help set those lives on a course for success in the future. We are thankful for each and every day we have on this earth to use what God has granted us to make a difference.

Areas of Interest

• Animal Welfare
• Children & Families
• Disaster Relief
• Education
• Medical Assistance
• Nature & Wildlife Conservation
• Poverty Relief
• Religious & Spiritual Endeavors
• Veterans' Issues

Grant Considerations

We take many different aspects of applications into account when making grant issuing decisions, however these are some of the high-level questions we ask ourselves during the process:

• How does the organization serve their key audience goals?
• Is the organization fiscally responsible?
• Will a grant have a tangible, meaningful impact?
• Will we see direct results from this grant?
• Does the organization have other financial contributors?

Mini-grants for Organizations

Mini-Grants for Organizations are matching grants designed to support professional development and capacity building for arts organizations. Mississippi based non-profit organizations and government entities are also eligible to receive Mini-Grants to hire professional artists such as those listed on MAC’s Artist Roster and Teaching Artist Roster. LLC’s and other for-profit businesses are NOT eligible to apply for MAC grants.

MAC funds activities that promote public understanding and support of the arts and artistic excellence, including:

• Performances, readings, exhibitions and related publications
• Workshops and artist residencies
• Arts research, planning, development, fieldwork and cultural documentation
• Information dissemination
• Services to artists and arts organizations
• Artistic and managerial professional development
• Projects that promote arts education
• Projects that increase access to the arts
• Commissioning of artwork
• Adding to museum collections
• Projects that increase resources for the arts
• General operating expenses of arts organizations
• Indirect costs of up to 10% of the total project budget

Eligible Activities

There are types of activities that may be supported through Organization Mini-grants:

Presenting/Hiring Professional Artists:

Mini-grants can pay for up to half of the total fee to hire a professional artist.

Those hiring members of MAC’s Artist Roster will be given funding priority.

Other professional artists must include proof of artistic excellence and professionalism. Examples of how to establish this within the application include, but are not limited to: Artist’s resume and work samples, signed intent to hire agreement, link to professional website or listing on another adjudicated roster program, such as the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi, the Poet Laureate of Mississippi, or a program managed by another state or regional arts agency.

• Organizations may hire artists (Priority will be given to those hiring MAC Roster artists or MAC Teaching artists) to: 
  • Present a performance, workshop, or other presentation
  • Create public art on/in your building or for your organization
  • To create arts curriculum

Organizational or Curriculum Development:

Mini-grants can support up to half of the total fee of a consultant to support organizational capacity building, organizational professional development or curriculum development.

• Organizations may hire professional consultants to provide a short-term consultancy that is focused on overall organizational development such as: 
  • Organizational long range Strategic Planning
  • Organizational Fundraising Planning
  • I.D.E.A. Audit (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access)
  • Diversity Training or other professional work to diversify and organization’s Board of Directors
  • ADA Compliance and Accessibility Trainings
  • Board Member Training
  • Arts Related Emergency Preparation
  • Convening focus groups of different types of artists, stakeholders or members of the community touched by your organization
  • Curriculum development in a K-12 school

Please note: The applicant organization must demonstrate through the required attachments that the consultant is qualified to do the work.

Conference Support:

Mini-Grants can support up to half of the total cost for an arts organization to send staff or board members to an in-person or online professional conference or workshop that directly relates to the organization’s work in and through the arts.

If you are a non-arts organization, please contact MAC staff to discuss eligibility.

The Assisi Foundation of Memphis Grant

Creating Positive Change

At The Assisi Foundation, we work with nonprofit organizations to address pressing challenges and search for root causes with the goal of healthy, positive transformation. Our focus areas are listed below. However, it should be noted that whether or not an organization falls neatly within one of these categories, we always invite the exploration of good ideas that align with our mission of philanthropy, done well.

Areas of Focus

• Health and Human Services: The Foundation supports initiatives that enhance the spiritual, mental and physical health and well-being of the Mid-South community. Grantees include organizations that address a variety of social determinants through the provision of direct care, research or preventive measures.
• Education and Lifelong Learning: The Foundation strives to strengthen our community’s educational well-being through programs that develop tools for life and focus on the awareness and importance of accepting social responsibilities. The Foundation funds nonprofits that build the organizational capacity of provider agencies, provide professional development, promote collaboration, and leverage local, state and federal resources.
• Social Justice and Ethics: The Foundation values organizations that help individuals strive to reach their greatest human potential. The Foundation funds projects and programs that strengthen ethical values among Mid-South citizens and promote social justice—initiatives that lead to a better understanding of, and a more effective response to, the economic and social challenges of the community.
• Cultural Enrichment and the Arts: Seeking to foster an even greater appreciation of Memphis arts and culture, The Foundation supports some of our area’s cultural icons and groups that work to promote the cultural and artistic heritage of the Greater Memphis area.
• Community Enhancement  & Capacity Building:  For grant applications that don’t fit neatly into other named categories, The Foundation welcomes the opportunity to explore activities that offer clear community benefit valued by named beneficiaries; address gaps and promote effectiveness within the socioecological system; and strengthen community resilience.

Rooted in Justice

The Cedar Tree Foundation is excited to announce a new round of grantmaking for “Rooted in Justice” a funding program designed to help amplify youth voices and actions in the environmental and food justice movements. We support community-based organizations and groups that specifically manage youth-led urban greening programs.

Rooted in Justice recognizes the importance and undeniable right of every young person to have the ability to develop their own relationship with the environment, be it through growing food, spending time with nature, creating community green spaces, or becoming environmental stewards. Rooted in Justice also honors the power and possibilities that arise when young people collectively work to be change-makers in their communities.

Rooted in Justice supports organizations, groups, collectives, and programs that work with young people between the ages of 12 to 20 in youth-led programming for communities or cultures which have historically or currently experience:

• A lack of access to land or nature;
• Agricultural oppression and/or neglect;
• Food apartheid; and/or
• Other forms of injustice based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics and disability.

Started in 2021, Rooted in Justice awards annual grants to a small cohort of organizations recommended to the Cedar Tree Board through an open RFP. Proposals are reviewed and selected by a panel with a majority of BIPOC leaders through a participatory grantmaking process. 

Definitions

Rooted in Justice grants support organizations or programs that include all four of the elements described below: social justice, youth-led, urban greening, and cohort-based youth work. We articulate our understanding of those terms below in an effort to provide a guide for prospective organizations to use in determining whether their program is a good fit. However as we continue our work towards questioning and dismantling some of our preconceived notions, we recognize that these are not finite definitions and encourage prospective applicants who still feel their work may be a good fit to describe in their proposals why this is the case.  

Social Justice-Based Programs

Programs dedicated to creating equitable outcomes for communities directly affected by different aspects of injustice by:

• Sharing and redistributing power and resources;
• Amplifying voices and leadership;
• Tackling root problems through ongoing engagement and collaboration to find solutions, organize against oppression of all kinds and create mechanisms for change; and
• Developing a critical analysis with youth and community members.

Youth-Led

Young people are a core part of the planning and decision-making process for their program. Young people participate in programming but also have access and help shape the internal workings of the organization through structured or unstructured methods. Examples include participants: 

• Managing a portion of their programming budget;
• Co-facilitating program activities, meetings and gatherings;
• Being included in the shaping of a program and/or organizational strategic planning; 
• Having regular and end-of-program opportunities to provide program feedback and evaluation;
• Being provided opportunities for personal and/or professional growth within the program and organization; and
• Participating in ample opportunities for feedback and expression through a diversity of means.

Urban Greening

For the purpose of this grant we are defining “urban greening” as any activity that creates a mutually beneficial relationship between city dwellers, their environments and/or local wildlife. Project settings can include, but are not limited to: urban farms; greenhouses; hydro and aquaponic farms; community gardens; community green spaces; composting sites; rain gardens; rooftop gardens; land conservation efforts; school gardens (when in partnership with an outside organizational partner); urban forests; and river or other water restoration, etc.   

Cohort-Based Youth Work

Rooted in Justice is looking to fund organizations that build community with cohorts of youth through intentional, recurring programming. This grant is intended to support programs that offer youth significant learning and leadership opportunities as a group and as individuals; priority will be given to organizations that have program infrastructure that goes beyond drop-in programming, one-time conferences, or individual internships. 

Use of Funds

Rooted in Justice funding must be used for project support of youth led, urban greening, social justice work and associated general operating expenses. Operating expenses can include anything from program costs like staff salaries and youth stipends to organizational sustainability needs like major equipment purchases and leadership/staff training. If your organization’s entire mission is youth led, urban greening, social justice work, the Rooted in Justice grant can be general support.

All Rooted in Justice grantees must share a plan to allocate a portion of the grant funds for youth participants to manage. What do we mean by this? Youth participants can use their allocated funding to:

• Fund an entrepreneurial endeavor;
• Design the brand or swag for their group;
• Hire a speaker or outside expert to teach a new skill;
• Purchase supplies for a community-based art project;
• Host a celebration for their families, friends and neighbors;
• Pay for transportation to programming, special events, or conferences; and/or
• Any other youth-led activity the group may find beneficial.

Funding

Two Year Grant

• Rooted in Justice Grant awards are two-year grants of $20,000 - $25,000 per year.
• After the initial two year grant, grantees may be eligible for a third year of funding at the same or lower level through a simple renewal process.
• In this cycle, the Cedar Tree Foundation expects to award 6-8 grants.

Funding for Professional Development

• Annual funding is set aside for grantees to support professional development opportunities identified by each organization.
• Rooted in Justice grantees can request reimbursement from this fund to attend conferences, hire consultants, purchase equipment or software that increases organizational capacity, or participate in any activities that strengthen youth programming or justice practice of program providers in support of their youth development programming.   

Community Cohort Space

• Cedar Tree works with grantee partners to assess their professional development interests and facilitates on-line gatherings of staff or youth for skill shares, trainings, and networking opportunities.
• These network calls will likely happen 2-3 times per year. 

Volunteer and Civic Engagement Project 

Volunteer Mississippi, the Governor-appointed commission on service and volunteerism, announces grant awards to support Volunteer and Civic Engagement projects. Projects must take place within the specified time. These projects will engage Mississippians of all ages and backgrounds in service to their communities. 

Examples of volunteer and civic engagement projects include (but not limited to):

• Mentoring and tutoring projects
• Projects advocating for change and social justice
• Restoring natural areas (parks, rivers, beaches, etc.)
• Literacy projects
• Community arts projects
• Projects that address food insecurity, poverty, and homelessness

Funding

$1500 minimum - $10,000 maximum

Presentation Grants Program

Presentation Grants are an opportunity for organizations in South Arts' nine-state region to receive fee support to present Southern guest film directors, visual and performing artists, or writers from outside of the presenter's state. Artist fee support is awarded for:

• film (documentary, fiction, experimental, and animation),
• performing arts (theater, music, opera, musical theater, and dance),
• literary arts (fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry),
• traditional arts, and
• visual arts (crafts, drawing, experimental, painting, photography, sculpture, and mixed media).

Projects must include both a public presentation (film screening, performance, reading, or exhibition) and an educational/community engagement component. These grants are limited and very competitive. Based on the artist fee, the maximum request is $9,500 for modern dance and contemporary ballet or $7,500 for other artistic disciplines. 

South Arts is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. We have prioritized this commitment to ensure that Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) led organizations, LGBTQIA+ led organizations, and organizations representing persons with disabilities are represented as both applicants and grantees. In addition, we encourage applications for projects that engage BIPOC artists, LGBTQIA+ artists, and artists with disabilities.

MAC Operating Grants

Operating Grants are specifically available for arts focused institutions as these organizations are crucial partners with MAC in providing increased access to the arts in Mississippi. Operating grants serve as a way to assist these core organizations maintain their financial stability, build their organizational capacity, improve their artist programs, and broaden their programs throughout the community. Eligible organizations should have the arts as their primary focus and mission. 

Operating Grants can be used by these arts focused organizations to support any of their general operating expenses, including salaries, marketing, rent, insurance, or artistic fees. Because of the wide range of expenses the grant can support, Operating Grant applicants are also required to submit more detailed information than other applicants in order to provide MAC grant review panels with a more detailed picture of the applicant organization’s overall structure and activities.

MAC awards Operating Grants in each of the following programs areas:

Arts Based Community Development

Program Goal: To improve the social, economic and cultural conditions of Mississippi communities through meaningful, quality arts programming.

Whether it is after-school programming targeting at-risk youth, public art refurbishing a blighted downtown area, or a music festival bringing together a diverse audience from the community, successful Arts Based Community Development programming utilizes community-driven planning and the power of the arts to create stronger communities.

Arts Industry

Program Goal: To improve the social, economic and cultural conditions of Mississippi communities through meaningful, quality arts programming.

Arts Industry organizations seek to enrich the lives of their audience through entertainment and through learning about themselves and others by expanding the role the arts plays in the broader social arenas of Mississippi communities. They involve the general public with their services and programs. They reach diverse communities to identify shared values, foster excellence in the arts and provide inspiration to generate a higher quality of life for all citizens by providing inclusive and diverse artistic experiences.

Folk & Traditional Arts

Program Goal: To improve the social, economic and cultural conditions of Mississippi communities through meaningful, quality arts programming.

Folk & Traditional Arts works to increase the awareness of and foster the continuation of the state’s folk and traditional art forms.

Before applying, review the goals of each program area to determine which one most closely aligns with your organization’s mission and activities.

Project Grants

Much of the work done to expand arts activities across Mississippi is accomplished through projects taken on by arts and community-based groups. MAC supports these efforts through its Project Grant program, which funds a wide range of arts projects that support the main goals of the agency.

MAC awards Project Grants in each of its four program areas:

• Arts Based Community Development
• Arts Education
• Arts Industry
• Folk & Traditional Arts

Following are brief descriptions of each program, including examples of the types of projects that can be funded. If you are still unsure about which program you should apply under, contact MAC before submitting an application.

Arts Based Community Development

Program Goal: Support the Development of Mississippi Communities through the Arts.

Arts Based Community Development looks to improve the social, economic and cultural conditions of Mississippi communities through meaningful, quality arts programming. Whether it is after-school programming targeting at-risk youth, public art refurbishing a blighted downtown area, or a music festival bringing together a diverse audience from the community, successful Arts Based Community Development programming utilizes community-driven planning and the power of the arts to create stronger communities.

Arts Education

Program Goal: Strengthen Education in and through the Arts.

Arts Education works to enable students Pre-K through 12th grade to receive a quality education that includes the arts. The program does this by fostering professional development for educators, enabling them to teach the arts more effectively and use the arts as learning tools in teaching non-arts curriculum.

Arts Industry

Program Goal: Improve the Capacity and Stability of Mississippi’s Arts Industry.

Arts Industry organizations seek to enrich the lives of their audience through entertainment and through learning about themselves and others by expanding the role the arts plays in the broader social arenas of Mississippi communities. They involve the general public with their services and programs. They reach diverse communities to identify shared values, foster excellence in the arts and provide inspiration to generate a higher quality of life for all citizens by providing inclusive and diverse artistic experiences.

Folk & Traditional Arts

Program Goal: To Increase Awareness of Mississippi’s Traditional Arts and Culture.

Folk & Traditional Arts works to increase the awareness of and foster the continuation of the state’s folk and traditional art forms. This is done through the Project Grant Program by encouraging and supporting projects that document or promote Mississippi traditional arts.

Entergy’s Open Grants Program focuses on improving communities as a whole. We look for giving opportunities in the areas of arts and culture, education and workforce development, poverty solutions and social services, healthy families, and community improvement.

Arts and Culture

The arts are expressions of ourselves – our heritage, feelings and ideas. To cultivate that, we support a diverse range of locally based visual arts, theater, dance and music institutions. Our long-term goal is to increase the access to contemporary art for a wider public, including children and the financially disadvantaged.

Community Improvement/Enrichment

Entergy supports community-based projects that focus community enrichment and improvement. A few examples include civic affairs, blighted housing improvements, and neighborhood safety. By giving to communities in this way, we actually help them become more self-sufficient.

Healthy Families

Children need a good start to grow into healthy, well-adjusted adults. With that in mind, we give to programs that have a direct impact on children educationally and emotionally. We’re also interested in family programs, like those that better prepare parents to balance the demands of work and home.

The amount and nature of an organization’s request will determine which type of grant the organization would need to apply for.

The Program

Professional Development and Artistic Planning Grants are available to support the professional development needs of Southern presenters, programmers, or curators, for strengthening program design or increasing organizational capacity. South Arts strongly believes professional development for presenters/programmers/curators is integral to success, including traveling to see new works and attending convenings. This grant program is open to film, visual arts, performing arts, traditional arts, literary arts, and multidisciplinary organizations.

This funding can support staff’s travel expenses to conferences, festivals, exhibitions, workshops, and other professional development opportunities. Funding also supports guest artists’ or guest curators’ travel expenses for onsite planning meetings with presenting organizations. These grants support travel expenses (for example, lodging and air/ground transportation), admission/registration fees, and other related expenses. In addition, these grants support expenses for virtual professional development opportunities and staff training (for example, diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility training or technology training for virtual engagements).

South Arts is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. We have prioritized this commitment to ensure that Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) led organizations, LGBTQIA+ led organizations, and organizations led by people with disabilities are represented as both applicants and grantees. In addition, we encourage applications for projects that engage BIPOC artists, LGBTQIA+ artists, and artists with disabilities.

Community Partnership Award

The Mutual of America Foundation Community Partnership Award recognizes outstanding nonprofit organizations in the United States that have shown exemplary leadership by facilitating partnerships with public, private or social sector leaders who are working together as equal partners, not as donors and recipients, to build a cohesive community that serves as a model for collaborating with others for the greater good.

Each year, the Mutual of America Foundation sponsors a national competition in which hundreds of organizations demonstrate the value of their partnership to the communities they serve, their ability to be replicated by others and their capacity to stimulate new approaches to addressing significant social issues.

Six organizations are selected by an independent committee to receive the Community Partnership Award.

• The Thomas J. Moran Award is given to the national award-winning program and includes $100,000 and a documentary video about the program.
• The Frances R. Hesselbein Award is given to a partnership that is addressing social challenges in more than one community, or which demonstrates the potential to be replicated in other communities. This recipient receives $75,000.
• Four other organizations are named Honorable Mention recipients for their programs, and each receives $50,000.

Since its inception in 1996, the Community Partnership Award has recognized 262 partnerships from cities and towns across America. Like so many of our clients working in the nonprofit community, Mutual of America is dedicated to having a direct, positive impact on society.