Arts Learning Grant

Maximum Award: $6,000
Grant Application Opens: September 15, 2022
Deadline: October 15, 2022 by 11:45 pm
Review Date: November 9, 2022
Approval Date: November 17, 2022
Earliest Start Date: December 5, 2022

Applications are open to organizations located in Beltrami, Hubbard, Clearwater, Lake of the Woods, and Mahnomen counties only.

Eligible Proposals
These grants support high-quality arts education for Minnesotans of all ages to develop knowledge, skills, and understanding of the arts. Arts learning projects and programs must begin within 12 months of the earliest start date, and must be completed by June 30, 2023. Eligible proposals must show new and/or expanded elements from similar arts activity that an organization has done in the past.  

Funds may be used for artists-in-residence programs, educational performances, educational arts field trips, or to provide arts training or workshops; all of which must be open to the general public. Applicants may apply for up to $6,000 with no cash match to fund projects that will benefit the residents of Beltrami, Hubbard, Clearwater, Lake of the Woods, or Mahnomen Counties.

Note: 501(c)3 non-profit organizations may include equipment and non-expendable item purchases that are necessary to the project within their budgets, with no cash match required. Equipment and non-expendable item purchases for all other applicants must be covered directly by the applicant organization funds or by projected income from the project and may not be listed as in-kind expense/income.

New to applying with R2AC? View a video on how to create an account for your organization in our grants portal!
OR – Login and apply online

Eligible Organizations
Organizations must be nonprofit and physically located within one of the five Region 2 Arts Council counties of Beltrami, Clearwater, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, or Hubbard. Eligible organizations include:

  • schools (parochial schools are ineligible)
  • community education programs*
  • institutions of higher learning (colleges or universities)
  • non-profits providing arts programming
  • local city, town, county government entities
  • tribal government entities
  • Groups without 501(c)3 nonprofit tax status are eligible to apply, but must be formed for non-profit purposes, must have the equivalent of a governing body similar to a board of directors or advisory council, and must use a a Minnesota-based non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)3 organization, or other tax exempt entity such as a school, institution of higher learning, or city, town, county, or tribal government as a fiscal sponsor.

*Based on Minnesota Statute 124D.19, Community Education Programs will be assumed to be operated by the school district and will be subject to all grant guidelines that apply to schools. 

Is your grant project eligible?  Is your organization? Check out our eligibility section: Arts Learning Grant Eligibility Requirements. If you can answer true to all these statements, then you should be eligible to apply. If you answer false to one of the statements, contact us to discuss eligibility.

The Grant Application
The online grant application will ask questions about demographics which we use for reporting to the Minnesota State Arts Board (see our Data Privacy Policy), and questions based on our scoring criteria. There are also pieces needed for the grant application that you should gather before you apply, such as work samples (Work Sample Submission Policy), resumes, and a list of all project costs.

Budget Guidelines and Budget Template
IMPORTANT FOR ALL APPLICANTS: Project specific costs incurred and paid prior to a project’s Earliest Start Date will make a project ineligible for funding. Read about this and more:
R2AC Budget Guidelines for Organizations
R2AC Arts Learning Grant Budget Template

Sample Application Form for download
Arts Learning Grant Application (Sample only – cannot be submitted – only online submissions are accepted)

Video of Last Year’s Arts Learning Grant Info Session – 20 minutes of great information about the application and what is needed to apply!

Looking for an artist for your project or idea? Check out our Teaching Artist Roster !

Region 2 Arts Council Arts Learning Grants are made possible by the voters of Minnesota thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.