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Open to organizations in rural communities of 50,000 people or less, the Express Grant program offers expedited awards of up to $2,000 supporting the presentation of touring artists.
View Full GuidelinesExpress Grants now require a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) instead of a DUNS Number. Read more about obtaining a UEI to begin the process of acquiring yours today.
How to obtain a UEISouth 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 $2,000.
To be eligible for funding, applicants must program arts experiences featuring a Southern artist. Express Grants can be used to support fees for presenting Southern guest film directors, visual and performing artists, or writers from inside or outside of the presenter’s state. Touring 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 component.
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. Our guidelines also acknowledge the current realities of the presenting and touring field. For the 2022-2023 grant cycle, we will again accept applications for virtual presentations and for the engagement of local artists, and we will temporarily adjust the cash match requirement from a dollar-for-dollar cash match to a 50% cash match.
New applicants are encouraged to contact Nikki Estes at 404-874-7244 ext. 816 to discuss eligibility prior to submitting an application.
The following is a top-level list of the main eligibility requirements necessary to be considered for an Express Grant. Please refer to the full list of eligibility requirements in the program's Guidelines.
A full list of eligibility criteria and other project requirements is provided in the guidelines below.
While preparing your Express Grant application, please refer to the following guidelines.
You can request a review of the method for South Arts’ decisions concerning grant applications through the Appeals Process. If you did not receive funding or if your grant award was rescinded or reduced, you may submit an appeal based on the criteria listed below. Incomplete applications are not eligible for the appeals process. Dissatisfaction with the denial or amount of an award is not a sufficient reason for an appeal. An applicant not funded may appeal South Arts’ decision if the applicant can demonstrate that the application was rejected for any of the following reasons:
If an applicant’s funds were rescinded or reduced, the applicant may appeal South Arts’ decision if the applicant can demonstrate that (a) the project activities outlined in the application were performed, and (b) the contract terms and conditions were followed and fulfilled. To appeal a funding decision, first contact the Program Director, Nikki Estes, to review considerations affecting South Arts’ decision. If you believe that you have grounds for an appeal, you must submit your appeal, in writing, to South Arts’ President & CEO no later than 15 calendar days following the receipt of the written notice from South Arts. The submission should contain evidence to support one or more of the allowable grounds for appeal. The decision on an appeal will be made by the President & CEO, who will render a decision within 30 days of the appeal. Mail your appeal to:
South Arts
ATTN: President & CEO
1800 Peachtree Street, NW
Suite 808
Atlanta, GA 30309
Applications are reviewed and funding adjudications are made using the following criteria to evaluate each application:
Helpful Resources
In addition to organizational and project information, you will need to provide a narrative addressing the following:
(Maximum 500 characters including spaces)
Provide a one-sentence description of the project which South Arts will use in publicity if a grant is awarded, e.g. “XYZ Quintet will provide two workshops for high school music students and a public evening performance at the ABC Theatre.”
(Maximum 1,250 characters including spaces, approximately ¼ page)
List the chronological schedule of activities during the project including what, when, where, who, with/for whom; include ticket prices where applicable. NOTE: If your schedule is not complete at this time, provide as much detail as is known about how many activities will take place, and which community members or groups will be involved.
(Maximum 2,500 characters including spaces, approximately ½ page)
Evaluation on this criterion is based on the submitted artist's work samples (i.e., audio, video, film footage, images, and written work), support material (i.e., ensemble/company history, artist biography, or writer’s resume/biography), and a description of artistic excellence for the artist. Work samples should represent the quality/type of work the artist/company will have presented during your engagement and should be no more than three years old. For audio/video samples, include instructions identifying the particular selection to be played. Promotional videos, montages and poor video quality will prevent the reviewers from being able to make an assessment on this criterion and may result in a low score. If sample is part of a larger publication/book, please mark the passage/section to review.
Describe the artistic excellence of the artist included in the project (only provide additional information that is not stated in the company history or artist biography/resume); be specific to include information about the artist’s impact or influence on the artform (local, regional, and/or nationally), the artist’s contributions to the artform, and/or if the artist or artistic expression is demonstrative of a historically underrepresented community.
(Maximum 5,000 characters including spaces, approximately 1 page)
Describe the project; include a detailed description of the presentation and explain why this artist/company was chosen. Explain why this project is important to your community. The educational and community engagement component* is the requirement that participants be engaged in learning activities that have lasting impact. Describe the educational and community engagement activities.
*An educational and community engagement component is a learning event that has a lasting impact upon the audience (e.g., workshops, lectures and master classes). The educational/community engagement component is an integral part of the engagement and should be carefully planned. A meaningful educational component should involve concentrated preparation by the artist(s) and presenter. The artist(s)/company must conduct the educational activity.
(Maximum 2,500 characters including spaces, approximately ½ page)
Audience development includes assessing audience and community needs, cultivating audiences, creating a plan for engagement, and developing effective partnerships. Describe your community and the population size. Describe the audiences and community segments that you are targeting and engaging with this project. Explain why they were selected for involvement in this project, how they are involved in planning, and what community partners are involved. Describe any plans to broaden or diversify your audiences, any additional efforts to reach those that lack access to arts programs, services, or resources, or how your organization is addressing diversity, equity and inclusion. Describe your marketing plan for target audiences.
(Maximum 2,500 characters including spaces, approximately ½ page)
Grantees are required to ensure accessibility to funded programs to people with disabilities. Beyond these minimum ADA requirements, describe actions you will take for programmatic and communications accessibility (e.g., planning/advisory committees include people with disabilities, large print programs/labels, captioning, American Sign Language interpretation, audio description, specific marketing strategies, etc.). Provide specific strategies on how you will reach those that lack access to the arts due to disability for this project specifically (not your organization’s work in general).
(Maximum 2,500 characters including spaces, approximately ½ page)
Describe your organization’s ability to carry out the proposed project. Provide a summary of your organization’s presenting/programming history. Describe the method(s) you will use to evaluate the success of the project.
Due to COVID-19, eligible projects have expanded to include:
We have temporarily adjusted the cash match requirement to a 50% cash match (rather than a dollar-for-dollar cash match). Example: For a project with an artist fee of $3,000, the applicant can request $2,000 and must provide a cash match of $1,000. For each grant dollar, the grantee must provide $.50 towards the artist fee.
We have expanded the types of artists and presenting organizations eligible to apply for Express Grants. This program now offers fee support to present Southern guest film directors, visual and performing artists, or writers. 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 component.
All grant applications must be submitted online using the eGrant system. We recommend that you visit the site early to create your account, and become familiar with the system. Complete your application in eGrant and upload the required materials as detailed above. Applicants will be notified of funding decisions by email within 4 weeks of the application submission. For assistance, contact Nikki Estes at 404-874-7244 ext. 816.
South Arts strictly adheres to deadlines and will NOT accept applications that are late or incomplete. Deadlines are not extended due to inclement weather. Applicants must agree to the applicable Contract Terms of Agreement, Assurance of Compliance, and Federal Suspension and Debarment Requirements prior to submission.
After reviewing program guidelines, log in to eGrant to apply for an Express Grant, edit an application in process, and submit any required reports.
Log in to eGrantReview recipient terms and conditions, download the appropriate logos, access final reporting requirements, and more.
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