Search Through Arts Grants for Nonprofits in South Carolina in the U.S.

First Horizon Foundation invests in communities in Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina.

The Foundation is the private charitable foundation established by First Horizon National Corp., the parent company of Capital Bank and First Tennessee Bank. Since its inception in 1993, the Foundation has donated more than $90 million to meet needs and enrich lives of people in the communities we serve.

Contributions from the Foundation include the following areas:

• Arts and Culture
• Education & Leadership
• Environment
• Financial Literacy
• Health & Human Services

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). 

South Carolina Humanities

South Carolina Humanities' mission is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians.

Established in 1973, this 501(c) 3 organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. SC Humanities presents and/or supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually.

Humanities disciplines include history, literature, folklore, philosophy, comparative religion, archaeology, African American studies, Southern studies, linguistics, ethics, jurisprudence, political science, anthropology, international studies, art theory and criticism and Women’s Studies.

Our programs and activities take place in town halls, small and large museums, libraries, schools, colleges and universities—any place that people come together to share, to learn and to have enlightening conversations about our world and our place in it.

Mini Grants

Mini Grants are to support public humanities programs of modest cost. Awards are $5,000 or less. Mini Grants are reviewed monthly with deadlines on the first business day of the month. 

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.

About

The Audacious Project is a collaborative funding initiative catalyzing social impact on a grand scale. Every year we select and nurture a group of big, bold solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges, and with the support of an inspiring group of donors and supporters, come together to get them launched.

Housed at TED, the nonprofit with a long track record of surfacing ideas worth spreading, and with support from leading social impact advisor The Bridgespan Group, the funding collective is comprised of several respected organizations and individuals in philanthropy.

Our goal is to match bold ideas with catalytic resources.

• We encourage the world’s inspirational changemakers to dream bigger than ever before.
• Help shape their best ideas into viable multi-year plans.
• Present those solutions in a compelling way to potential supporters.

The Process

Every year, The Audacious Project works with proven change-makers to surface their best, boldest ideas for tackling global problems.

Sourcing & review

Projects are sourced from public applications and a global network of partners and donors. They are narrowed down to a group of finalists whose ideas are representative of a broad range of geographies and issue areas while elevating leaders with proximity to the communities they serve.

Idea shaping & investment support

Each finalist project goes through a rigorous ideation, due diligence, and investment support process, to ensure their proposal is achievable and compelling.

Funding & launch

Finalist projects are presented privately to groups of donors and are then publicly unveiled at TED. Funded projects then pursue their plans and share regular updates on key milestones reached with donors and the public.

Is Your Idea Audacious?

• Are you a changemaker with a bold vision?
• Are you a non-profit with an experienced team equipped to receive large scale philanthropic support?
• Is your idea a proven concept that aspires to create a better world?
• We look for ideas that cover a wide range of issues, from global health and climate change, to social justice and education.

What Makes An Idea Audacious?

Inspire

• Transformative vision
  • Your idea should capture a bold vision for tackling one of the world's most urgent topics.
• Creating a better world
  • It is your opportunity to take a giant leap forward; you may be tempted to think incrementally, but remember for it to be bold, your idea should offer significant, enduring impact.
  • This vision should bring us much closer to your version of an ideal world in a matter of years rather than generations.
• Innovative and original
  • There should be a unique aspect or creative element to your approach that challenges convention or status quo or changes the narrative for the greater good.

Convince

• Proven concept
  • There should be evidence that the idea will have impact based on a track record of past success, a demand from those that would be affected, and justified confidence that results can be sustained in the future.
• A bold vision that has clear outcomes
  • There should be a sense of where you will be at the end of a multi-year funding term and the strategy, resources and timeline required to achieve it. We want to hear about the changes that would take place because of your idea, not just the components that go into implementing it.

• Established support
  • You and your capable and confident team have the backing of a nonprofit, NGO, or institution (or is part of a collaboration between multiple such entities). This organization should be able to receive philanthropic funds and have the core infrastructure necessary to support the work. (Note: Past projects have had an annual operating budget of $1 million or more.)

Please refer to FAQ for additional guidelines.

Areas of Giving

• Health Care Support
• Education Support
• Human Services
• Youth & Amateur Athletics Support
• Art & Culture Support
• Conservation & Wildlife Support

Transformational Capital Grant

Transformational Capital Grants provide major funding for nonprofit organizations to permanently and vastly improve their mission delivery by supporting the development of physical spaces that make a meaningful difference in enabling them to provide high-quality, impactful programs and services to those they serve. Grant amounts are up to $5 million, payable over multiple years.

These grants are extremely competitive, and the most compelling Initial Proposals will demonstrate completion of analyses to validate the project need and viability; strong Board commitment as demonstrated with a board-approved plan and community support; progress toward key regulatory benchmarks; at least 50% of the project costs pledged or received; and culminate with a milestone (groundbreaking, dedication, or similar) within one year of the Initial Proposal submission. Additionally, Initial Proposals should reflect a nonprofit’s strong leadership and proven impact in providing direct services and programs for unmet needs in underserved regions aligned with the Yawkey Foundation’s Giving Areas and geographic priority areas, including Gateway Cities in Eastern Massachusetts.

The approximate timeframe for reviewing Transformational Capital Grant Initial Proposals in order to determine which nonprofits will be invited to submit a Grant Application is 12-18 months, however the time period between Initial Proposal and application may vary depending upon the complexity of the project. The Yawkey Foundation is unable to provide feedback during the review period and will reach out to a nonprofit should further information be required for the Initial Proposal.

Vision

A just, compassionate and vibrant community

Mission

The Jolley Foundation will advance efforts to eliminate the root causes and effects of poverty and discrimination by:

• seeking systemic and sustainable solutions to historically intractable problems
• investing in nonprofit organizations committed to building their capacity to serve community needs
• pursuing opportunities for collaborative philanthropic effort

Program Areas

• Arts, culture, and humanities
• Education
• Environment, animals
• Health
• Human services
• Public/society benefit

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

Areas of Giving

• Health Care Support
• Education Support
• Human Services
• Youth & Amateur Athletics Support
• Art & Culture Support
• Conservation & Wildlife Support

Program and Small Capital Grants

Program and Small Capital Grants support high-impact, strategic, and innovative nonprofit organizations in delivering on their core missions. Grant amounts are up to $100,000, most often paid over one year.

Program and Small Capital Grants may fund programming, one small project, or a piece of equipment aligned with a nonprofit’s purpose. These grants are extremely competitive, and the Yawkey Foundation will receive many more compelling Initial Proposals than it will be able to fund. Initial Proposals should demonstrate an awareness of and alignment to the Yawkey Foundation’s mission and Areas of Giving. Additionally, the most competitive Initial Proposals will reflect a nonprofit’s strong leadership and proven impact in providing direct services and programs for unmet needs in underserved regions aligned with the Yawkey Foundation’s geographic priority areas, including Gateway Cities in Eastern Massachusetts.

The timeframe for reviewing Program & Small Capital Grant Initial Proposals in order to determine which nonprofits will be invited to submit a Grant Application is between 90-120 days. The Yawkey Foundation is unable to provide feedback during the review period, and will reach out to a nonprofit should further information be required for the Initial Proposal.

4K Arts Integration Grants

Purpose

These grants help CERDEP preschool providers offer arts-integrated experiences for students and professional learning opportunities for teachers to use the arts to increase kindergarten readiness.

Projects may be considered to increase kindergarten readiness by:

• building connections between the arts and other subject areas in a meaningful
• providing artist-in-residence experiences for students that include professional learning for teachers
• supporting teachers in implementing projects based on professional learning in arts integration
• addressing gaps in arts access that have previously impeded learning in the classroom

Although there is not one singular definition for arts integration, the SCAC finds that the Kennedy’s Center’s comprehensive definition of Arts Integration is a worthy model.

Funding

• Up to $2,000 per fiscal year
• Matching Requirement: 1:3 (grantee:SCAC); no match for qualifying providers. No match is required for CERDEP preschool providers located in the Opportunity Initiative Counties.

Who We Are

The roots of the Community Foundation for the CSRA run deep in Augusta and its surrounding communities. For more than 25 years, we have faithfully connected the philanthropic spirit of our community members with nonprofits and community initiatives throughout Richmond, Columbia, McDuffie and Burke counties in Georgia and Aiken and Edgefield counties in South Carolina. All of our work is grounded in our collective desire to enhance the quality of life for all residents of our region — for today and tomorrow.

In everything we do, we strive to:

• Cultivate generosity by giving donors the tools and information they need to make a significant difference in our community
• Strengthen non-profits by connecting organizations to financial resources, training and opportunities for meaningful collaboration
• Engage our community around issues that matter to us all

Women in Philanthropy

Women in Philanthropy is a charitable organization of over 200 women in the Central Savannah River Area of Georgia and South Carolina who are committed to a philanthropic effort focused on the unique needs of women and children within the local communities.

Focus Areas:

• Arts
• Education
• Health and Social-Well Being

South Carolina Arts Commission

Vision

We envision a South Carolina where the arts are valued and all people benefit from a variety of creative experiences.

Mission

The mission of the South Carolina Arts Commission is to promote equitable access to the arts and support the cultivation of creativity in South Carolina.

Emerging Arts Leaders Grant

Purpose

To strengthen and nurture emerging arts leaders and their organizations. This leadership- and capacity-building initiative will provide resources, training, and support for emerging leaders and the boards of arts nonprofits to build sustainability, capacity, and partnerships in South Carolina.

Program goal

• Support professional growth and leadership training in the arts.
• Strengthen the small organizations’ operational capacity.
• Develop and strengthen South Carolina’s Arts Industry workforce.

Additional Requirements of this Grant

• Attend two (2) one-on-one meetings with the SCAC program director
• Participate in one (1) peer network activity hosted by or identified by the SCAC program director
• Host a site visit during the grant period, aligned with state guidelines regarding COVID-19.

Funding

$2,500 ($1,500 for organization training and $1,000 for leader training)

Grants Overview

The Philip L. Van Every Foundation supports the vision and legacy of Mr. Van Every by making meaningful gifts to qualified 501(c)(3) organizations in North and South Carolina which strengthen our communities, demonstrate fiscal responsibility, exhibit strength in leadership and have a proven track record of success.

Human and Community Service, Education, Healthcare and Rehabilitation and Arts, Culture and History are the Foundation’s primary areas of focus. A very limited portion of our funding supports organizations that fall outside these perimeters.

Areas of Focus

Education

As Americans, we find ourselves living in an increasingly competitive global economy. Students are entering a highly competitive job market. The unemployed and underemployed are seeking new career opportunities that require enhanced skills.

The Philip L. Van Every Foundation is addressing these issues by supporting colleges, universities and nonprofit organizations that provide quality affordable education and job re-training programs for individuals seeking degrees or certificates. We believe that education is critical to the future success of our children, families, communities, state, and nation.

Healthcare/Rehabilitation

The Philip L. Van Every Foundation is committed to improving the health and quality of life for individuals residing in North and South Carolina.

We respond to our commitment by investing in programs and services that focus on medical innovation, research, education, rehabilitative care, prevention, wellness and substance abuse.

Human & Community Service

The Philip L. Van Every Foundation is committed to improving lives and strengthening communities in North and South Carolina.

We support organizations that address the underlying causes of a myriad of social issues, meet the critical needs of people in their service area and focus on creating financially stable and healthy families.

Arts, Culture, History

Arts, culture and history promote creativity, innovation, exploration and diversity while improving the quality of life for residents of our communities. Dynamic performances and museums as well as other cultural and historic venues engage and inspire audiences, building bridges throughout our region. Arts education plays a pivotal role in enriching the lives of children and provides them with a well-rounded education and the creativity they will need to lead in a global economy.

The Philip L. Van Every Foundation recognizes the important role that arts, cultural and historic organizations play in our communities and supports select organizations that provide quality experiences for residents of North and South Carolina.

Purpose

The purpose of the Summer Arts Education Project Grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC) is to support quality arts education programs for K-12 students between school years, through both traditional providers (arts organizations) and other organizations (e.g., social service, health, community, education) that utilize the arts to meet the educational, developmental, and social needs of K-12 students. This two-year grant supports projects occurring during the summers of 2022 and 2023.

Activities should

• Expand student access to arts education opportunities; and
• Complement, augment, or advance standards-based arts instruction or arts integration activities delivered to students during the course of the school day curriculum; and
• Be focused on or include significant components delivering quality instruction and/or experiences in the visual arts, performing arts, media arts, design arts, folk and traditional arts, or creative writing; and
• Address South Carolina’s 2017 College and Career Ready Standards for Visual and Performing Arts Proficiency.

If you are hiring artists:

Starting in Fiscal Year 2022 (July 2021), SCAC Arts in Education grant recipients must use members of the S.C. Arts Directory for grant-funded group lectures, demonstrations, performances, classroom residencies, and short-term arts teaching experiences. Artists labeled as Certified Teaching Artists on the Directory have been additionally vetted by SCAC through the submission of sample lesson plans, recorded teaching samples, and letters of recommendation; we encourage but do not require grant-funded teaching artist residencies to employ Certified Teaching Artists. Additionally, Arts Access SC Teaching Artists have trained with Arts Access SC to provide children, youth, and adults with disabilities quality arts experiences. Note: Schools should check with their district office about policies related to hiring artists, arts organizations, and teaching artists.

Funding

Up to $50,000 ($25,000 per summer)

Matching Requirements

• 1:2 (grantee:SCAC)
• At least 50% of the applicant’s match must be cash.
• Funds from another SCAC grant may not be used as matching funds.

South Carolina Humanities Mission

SC Humanities seeks to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians by providing high-quality programs that enrich minds and broaden perspectives, foster positive human relationships, encourage good citizenship and bring together the diverse people of our statewide culture. SC Humanities supports programs that are balanced, reflect sensitivity to a breadth of ideas, encourage open dialogue, demonstrate integrity and are ethical in operations. Established in 1972, SC Humanities is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Humanities

The humanities are our cultural and intellectual heritage, our ways of looking at the almost endless diversity of human culture and experience. They give us knowledge of the past, insight about the present and wisdom for the future. In order to develop the critical skills of reasoning, inquiry and analysis, the humanities disciplines offer methodologies that teach us about others and help us to know ourselves. Humanities disciplines include history, literature, folklore, philosophy, comparative religion, archaeology, African American studies, Southern studies, linguistics, ethics, jurisprudence, political science, anthropology, international studies, art theory and criticism and Women’s Studies. 

SC Humanities seeks projects that:

• cause people to analyze critically their values, beliefs, and attitudes relating to both the past and the present; 
• promote public awareness of the importance and pervasiveness of the humanities in daily life;
• build alliances and networks across the state through collaboration with local organizations including education, business, federal, state and local governments; 
• make a particular effort to reach underserved areas of South Carolina and ensure that all counties have access to SC Humanities and its programs; 
• can become self-perpetuating or that have a high possibility of extended/ lasting impact; 
• preserve and promote knowledge and understanding of the history, story and culture of South Carolina;
• engage with current technologies as a means to communicate with larger audiences;
• demonstrate collaboration among teaching institutions and cultural entities to increase the possibility of interdisciplinary exchanges. 

The SC Humanities Grant Program

SC Humanities grants support public programs designed to be accessible by a broad audience, to serve citizens in urban, rural, and small-town settings, and to make possible humanities programs that illuminate and enrich the lives of both audiences and scholars.

Major Grants

Grant awards are in sums between $5,000 and $15,000. 

Areas of Giving

• Health Care Support
• Education Support
• Human Services
• Youth & Amateur Athletics Support
• Art & Culture Support
• Conservation & Wildlife Support

Strategic Investment Grant

Strategic Investment Grants support nonprofit organizations catalyzing plans around strategic growth, which may entail a reimagining, rescoping, or re-energizing of mission delivery for long-term optimized impact. Grant amounts range from $250,000 to $1 million, most often payable over multiple years.

Strategic Investment Grants may fund a nonprofit’s regional expansion (within Yawkey Foundation geographic priority areas), synergistic collaborations between two or more nonprofits for improved program or service delivery, and mergers or consolidations of organizations in transition. These grants may advance a nonprofit’s efforts around the feasibility and progress of a strategic plan.

These grants are extremely competitive, Initial Proposals should reflect a nonprofit’s strong leadership and proven impact in providing direct services and programs for unmet needs in underserved regions aligned with the Yawkey Foundation’s geographic priority areas, including Gateway Cities in Eastern Massachusetts. Initial Proposals for Strategic Investment Grants should demonstrate that a nonprofit’s Board has made a commitment to and has approved the strategic initiative.

The timeframe for reviewing Strategic Investment Grant Initial Proposals in order to determine which nonprofits will be invited to submit a Grant Application is between 6-12 months. The Yawkey Foundation is unable to provide feedback during the review period, and will reach out to a nonprofit should further information be required for the Initial Proposal.

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.

South Carolina Arts Commission

Vision

We envision a South Carolina where the arts are valued and all people benefit from a variety of creative experiences.

Mission

The mission of the South Carolina Arts Commission is to promote equitable access to the arts and support the cultivation of creativity in South Carolina.

Art of Community: Rural SC Grants

Purpose

This grant supports arts-based projects throughout rural South Carolina that use the arts to address issues and challenges in rural communities. The project must serve the rural community in which the applicant is located.

Grant-funded activities should:

• expand community access to the arts in rural areas and
• include a public engagement component and
• engage a project steering committee to lead the project.
  • A project steering committee is the group of people who will be collaborating on and leading this project.
  • This group should have a strong understanding of the project and the applicant organization.
  • The project steering committee is responsible for, but not limited to, providing advice and direction, setting the project timeline and budget, monitoring the quality of the project, evaluating, and monitoring success of the project, and defining project outcomes.

Projects

Projects must support one or more of the following artistic disciplines:

• Dance (choreography or performance)
• Music (composition or performance)
• Opera/musical theatre (production or performance)
• Theatre (performance or playwriting)
• Visual arts (painting, drawing, mixed media, sculpture, or printmaking)
• Crafts (ceramics, fiber, glass, leather, metal, paper, plastic, or wood)
• Photography
• Design arts (architecture, fashion, graphic, industrial, or interior)
• Media arts (film, animation, including production or screenwriting)
• Literature (poetry or prose)
• Spoken word/slam poetry
• Time-based arts (installation, sound, video art, animation, film, computer generated art, or performance art)
• Public art (ephemeral or permanent)

All projects must:

• include a public engagement component AND
• provide opportunities for
  • participants to develop their own artistic skills and/or produce their own artistic work; OR
  • artistic development for artists through activities such as residencies or workshops; OR
  • using the arts in new contexts.

Purpose

The purpose of the Arts Project Support (APS) Grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC) is to support an artist’s or organization’s quality arts project or program or their commitment to improving themselves and/or their work artistically. Among other things, the APS grant can be used to build and/or increase technical, online, or virtual capacity; for community arts development; and for career advancement and/or professional development for artists and arts administration staff.

Background

Grants are one of the four ways the S.C. Arts Commission accomplishes its work in arts education and artist and community arts development. The South Carolina Arts Commission is honored to be named 2019 Public Sector Grantmaker of the Year by the 3,000-member Grant Professionals Association.

Purpose

To help South Carolina organizations make arts programs and existing facilities accessible to persons with disabilitiesUse 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

• Printing large print program materials
• Printing Braille materials
• Artist/consultant fees
• Preparation for special exhibitions
• 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 (i.e. travel to a workshop and/or training)
• Other accommodations that make programs accessible
• Purchase of assistive listening devices

Facilities

• Curb cuts
• Construction of accessibility ramp(s)
• Accessibility signage for exterior and/or interior space
• Modification of restroom(s)
• Modification of drinking fountain(s)
• Installation of elevator
• Installation of electronic door opener
• Installation of Braille plaques
• Architectural or engineering study to address accessibility of existing facility
• Capital improvements (“bricks and mortar”) of existing facilities
• Capital improvement projects must meet all local and state building codes.
• If the existing facility is on The National Register of Historic Places or deemed eligible, all work must conform with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.
• Applicants for capital improvement project support must upload
• A copy of the deed or letter from the property owner, acknowledging approval of this capital improvement project.
• Photographs, drawings or plans of existing facilities, identifying project areas. All construction documents must be stamped by the architect and/or engineer.
• Design development and construction documents that address the proposed accessibility project
• Adaptive equipment
• Other accommodations that make facilities accessible

Matching Requirements

• 1:1 (grantee:SCAC)
• At least 50% of the applicant’s match must be cash. 

Term Arts Education Project Grants

This grant supports quality arts education programs for preschool (3k- 4k) and/or K-12 students during the school term (including beyond the school day), through both traditional providers (arts organizations) and other organizations (e.g., social service, health, community, education) that utilize the arts to meet the educational, developmental, and social needs of preschool (3k-4k) and/or K-12 students. This grant supports projects occurring during the school term 2025-2026. For the purposes of this grant, a term is defined as an academic year.

Activities should:

• Expand student access to arts education opportunities; and
• Complement, augment, or advance standards-based arts instruction or arts integration aligned with school curriculum; and
• Be focused on or include significant components of quality instruction and/or experiences in the visual arts, performing arts, media arts, design arts, folk and traditional arts, and/or creative writing; and
• Address South Carolina’s 2017 College and Career Ready Standards for Visual and Performing Arts Proficiency.
• If applying for or including preschool programming, address South Carolina’s Profile of the Ready Kindergartener.

Examples of eligible in-school and after-school activities include, but are not limited to:

• Workshops
• Artist residencies
• Performances
• Exhibitions
• Acquisition of critical equipment or supplies
• Program planning
• Professional learning for educators, instructors, artists and/or administrators
• Camps (non-summer camps)

Funding

• Up to $15,000 
• Matching Requirement: 1:2 (grantee:SCAC)
• This funding category is highly competitive.

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.

Nominate a Nonprofit

The People Helping People Awards are a celebration of exceptional work within the communities we serve and provide us the opportunity to honor members and nonprofits that drive positive change through service to others.

Each year, BECU members can nominate local nonprofits for a People Helping People Award of up to $50,000 in grant funds.

So look around you for heroes who deserve recognition, and nominate a nonprofit for a BECU People Helping People Award today.

Giving Areas and Subcategories

Nonprofit work must be focused in any one of the following seven giving areas:

• Advancing education (Pre-K through college): Access to education, mentoring, educational materials and programming, classroom, school and PTSA funding for educational programs/materials/experiences.
• Arts and culture: Equitable access to art experiences, underrepresented art and cultural organizations, cultural programs.
• Creating economic opportunity: Living-wage jobs, small and startup businesses, job quality for low-wage workers.
• Preserving health and promoting wellness: Access to healthcare, illness prevention/cure, mental health, patient support, disabilities, veteran advocacy.
• Preserving or restoring the environment: Conservation, stewardship, sustainability.
• Providing for basic human needs: Affordable housing, homelessness, senior advocacy, infant and child advocacy, food/diaper/clothing banks.
• Strengthening local communities: Neighborhoods, public safety, search and rescue, outdoor spaces, rotary/chamber.

South Carolina Arts Commission

Vision

We envision a South Carolina where the arts are valued and all people benefit from a variety of creative experiences.

Mission

The mission of the South Carolina Arts Commission is to promote equitable access to the arts and support the cultivation of creativity in South Carolina.

Festivals Program Grant

Purpose

To provide support for a broad range of arts activities at festivals that take place in—and have an impact on—S.C. communities, increasing opportunities for public engagement and participation in arts and culture.

About This Grant

Traditional arts are expressions of shared identity that are learned as a part of the cultural life of a particular group. This shared identity may be rooted in family, geographic, tribal, occupational, religious or ethnic connections, among others. As expressions of a living culture, traditional arts have been handed down from one generation to the next and reflect the shared experience, aesthetics and values of a group.

The purpose of the South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC)’s Folklife & Traditional Arts grant program is to ensure that South Carolina’s living traditions remain vibrant and visible parts of community life. The Folklife & Traditional Arts grant supports non-profit organizations and units of governments that seek to promote and sustain the traditional arts practiced across the state.

Use of Funds

The Folklife & Traditional Arts grant funds projects that may include (but are not limited to):

• Presentation of Traditional Artists through workshops, concerts, festivals, exhibitions, radio programs, recordings, etc.
• Documentation of Traditional Arts and/or Folklife of South Carolina (Note: Such a project must result in some form of public presentation, whether through programming or access to archived materials.)
• Cultural Survey: Fieldwork done to identify traditions and traditional artists
• Production, Documentation and/or Distribution of a traditional artist’s work (for example, the production of publicity materials)
• Acquisition of difficult-to-obtain materials or equipment needed to create traditional art
• Conservation: Projects, such as apprenticeships, that serve to keep a traditional art form vibrant and visible

Who We Are

Established in 1974, Coastal Community Foundation works to create vibrant communities along South Carolina’s coast by identifying the challenges facing the region and bringing together resources to address them. Coastal Community Foundation is the largest community foundation in South Carolina, managing more than 700 funds established by individuals, families and organizations and awarding tens of millions of dollars in grants and scholarships each year.

Open Grants

Nonprofits serving Berkeley, Charleston and/or Dorchester counties as well as Georgetown County arts nonprofits. If the proposal addresses one of the following areas, applicants can apply for up to $15,000:

• Arts
• Hospice Care
• Alzheimer’s and related disorders.

For all other focus areas, applicants may apply for up to $10,000. 

Who We Are

The roots of the Community Foundation for the CSRA run deep in Augusta and its surrounding communities. For more than 25 years, we have faithfully connected the philanthropic spirit of our community members with nonprofits and community initiatives throughout Richmond, Columbia, McDuffie and Burke counties in Georgia and Aiken and Edgefield counties in South Carolina. All of our work is grounded in our collective desire to enhance the quality of life for all residents of our region — for today and tomorrow.

Inspired by Mission – Succeeding Through Action

Long supported by the generosity of the Masters Tournament – as well as other organizations and individuals throughout our region – the Community Grants program provides dependable funding for necessary and outstanding philanthropic work by local non-profits. These grants are distributed through a competitive process designed to help nonprofit organizations meet their mission.

Funding Priorities

Arts/Culture/History:

Recognizing the positive impact arts, cultural and historical organizations have on a community, we welcome innovative and high-quality applications in this area.

Education/Youth Enrichment:

We welcome applications from organizations that provide enrichment and educational opportunities to disadvantaged children, youth and adults. Examples include: job skill training and/or placement, after school or summer programs, leadership, tutoring, GED and literacy programs.

Health/Environmental:

Some examples of programs in this funding area include: environmental research or management, animal services, programs that support sustainable community and backyard gardens, medical clinics, drug rehabilitation programs, medical programs for persons with disabilities, and mental illness.

People in Need:

This category is generally, but not exclusively for human service programs that work with people in need. Examples include feeding, housing, financial assistance, programs serving the homelessness, and programs for recently incarcerated individuals.

Funding

We do not set a minimum amount for grant awards. We ask that requests not exceed $15,000. We will only accept one grant application per 501(c)(3) per Community Grants Program cycle.