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Grants of $10,000 for organizations to conduct projects that promote the sharing, teaching, learning, preserving, and documenting folk arts and traditional culture of Central Appalachia.
Applications for this program closed May 1, 2023. The guidelines below are for reference only.
The In These Mountains: Central Appalachian Folk Arts & Culture FY24 Project Grants advance the goals of the In These Mountains (ITM) initiative by supporting projects that promote sharing, teaching, learning, preserving, documenting, and supporting the continuity of the folk arts and traditional culture of Central Appalachia.
This funding program is open to a wide variety of organizations, including community cultural organizations, schools/colleges/universities, libraries, museums, performing arts presenters, community festival organizations, faith-based organizations, etc. Organizations must be located within and serve at least one Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) county in Kentucky, North Carolina, or Tennessee. Three projects from each eligible state (Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee) will be selected, for a total of nine recipient organizations.
We strongly advise you to contact South Arts traditional arts staff to discuss your project before you submit your application:
The South is home to an abundance of folk arts and traditional culture. Folk and traditional arts share the aesthetics, practices, and values of families, geographic communities, occupational groups, ethnic heritage groups, etc. Folk and traditional arts are learned orally or by observation and imitation, often through a mentor artist instructing an apprentice. They are usually maintained without formal instruction or academic training. Some traditional arts have a deep-rooted history with little change, while others are constantly evolving and adapting to their changing environment.
For the purposes of this application, the folk and traditional arts of Central Appalachia include music, handcrafts/material culture, and foodways. Some examples of traditional arts practiced in Central Appalachia are Cherokee stamped pottery, African American buck dancing/clogging, Anglo American ballads, Latin American foodways traditions, Bharatanatyam Indian dance, Traditional Vietnamese Medicine, and many more.
*There is no Interim Report required for this grant program.
Please check your email spam folder for application notification. Email notification will be from grants@southarts.org or thollingsworth@southarts.org.
South Arts has prioritized the following:
The following is a top-level list of the main requirements necessary to be considered for an In These Mountains: Project 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 In These Mountains Project Grant application, please refer to the following guidelines.
Eligible Counties
Eligible organizations must be located within and serve at least one of the following Appalachian Regional Commission counties:
Review Criteria
Applications are reviewed and funding decisions are made using the following criteria to evaluate each application:
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 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 they 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 Teresa Hollingsworth to discuss. If you believe that you have grounds for an appeal, you must submit your appeal in writing to South Arts’ Executive Director no later than 15 calendar days following the receipt of the electronic 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 Executive Director, 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
You may include up to five supplemental materials in support of your application. Some examples of support materials include work samples for a guest artist; a sample podcast; a museum brochure; the resume/CV of a contracted scholar/expert; a curriculum plan; etc.
Support materials are not required but are strongly encouraged.
Preferred file formats:
Please contact South Arts traditional arts staff with any questions.
All grant applications must be submitted online using South Arts’ Salesforce Grants Management System. We recommend that you visit the site early to register and become familiar with the system. Be sure to register as an organization to access the In These Mountains: Project Grants application. Complete your application in Salesforce, including the required materials as detailed below. NOTE: Please print a copy of your completed application for your records.
South Arts encourages applicants to begin grant applications early, allowing for plenty of time to organize and upload required materials. We also urge you to contact us with questions more than 48 hours before the application deadline; due to the volume of requests, South Arts team members may not be able to respond to inquiries submitted after that time.
The online application includes the following components:
Applications for this program closed May 1, 2023. The guidelines on this page are for reference only.
For questions about In These Mountains Project Grants, contact program director Teresa Hollingsworth.
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