Boulder County Arts Recovery Grant

This opportunity is not available at this time. 

Thanks to the generous support of the Community Foundation Boulder County, Boulder County Arts Alliance is offering grants up to $5000 to provide financial relief in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Awards will be made to individual artists and arts organizations that have experienced unforeseen hardships during and in the post-COVID-19 environment. 

Grants from this fund will be considered from artists who live and work in Boulder County.

Grant awards will not exceed $5000. Art forms can include but are not limited to: Music, Theater, Dance, Film/Video, Literature, and Visual Art.

Boulder County Arts Alliance is proud to administer this fund for the Community Foundation Serving Boulder County.

Definitions

Unforeseen needs due to special circumstances may include loss of equipment or supplies, and unplanned expenses due to COVID-19. Priority is given to applicants that are not eligible to file insurance claims or who may be eligible but coverage is inadequate to cover the loss. 

The intention of the fund is to help make the lives of artists a little easier as they may face financial challenges that others in traditional jobs may not. Similar to the Martha Kate Thomas Fund, this grant is offered so that artists do not have to choose between paying for a prescription or purchasing art supplies, for example.

The work of the artist or organization will also be taken into consideration as proposals are reviewed. 

Important Dates

  • Application deadlines are rolling. Grant awards will be made as they are received and reviewed.
  • Funding cycle dates The project, purchase or request must take place within 12 months from the date the grant check is issued.

Persons, Organizations and Activities Funded

  • All applicants must be current with final reports from other grants received from BCAA. All applicants, when relevant, are encouraged to post your events to the BCAA calendar..
  • Organizations and individual artists must live and work in Boulder County. 501(c)(3) status is not required.
  • Individual artists must be at least 18 years old.

Persons, Organizations and Activities Not Funded

  • Organizations that practice discrimination of any kind
  • Organizations that influence legislation or support candidates for political office
  • Organizations that will use the grant money for prizes, scholarships or grants
  • Projects primarily for academic or scholarly purposes
  • Deficit or debt elimination or endowments

The primary eligibility requirement for this grant is:        

  • Loss of income directly due to COVID-19

Application Evaluation Criteria

All applications are reviewed and commented on by a multi-disciplinary panel using the application evaluation criteria listed below. Each panelist reviews and scores every application on his/her own; all applications are reviewed by the panel as a whole. A final score is reached and the top scoring applicants will be awarded grants. Panelist comments are recorded and are available for applicants to review after the awards are announced.

BCAA grant panelists are instructed to read proposals for content over grantsmanship. However, we expect that every reasonable effort will be made to provide a well-crafted, clear proposal. This would include:

  • accuracy of facts, figures, arithmetic
  • demonstration of ability to complete projects through such efforts as effective planning, management and budgeting of the project and citing previous successes 
  • a strong proposal will delineate a plan to achieve sustainability and a commitment to making art
  • artistic excellence of artists involved and merit of proposed activities 
  • evidence of individual's or organization’s need, detailed description of adverse circumstances and how you will use these funds

Application Process

Submit only one application per requesting individual or organization. Completed application consists of:

  1. Completed online application. 
  2. Supplemental Material (required): up to 5 attachments - including financial statements - can be uploaded with your electronic application. If you have work samples on the web, you may include urls in your grant narrative or in an attached document.

Required Attachments (hardcopy support materials will not be accepted):

  • Profit & Loss or income statements from 2019, 2020 and year-to-date. 

Optional - Feel free to attach another file that will support your proposal. For example, press reviews, testimonials or other documents that demonstrate artistic excellence or merit.

All proposals must be submitted electronically using the Boulder County Arts Recovery Grant Proposal form on the BCAA website. 

Questions

For additional information about the Boulder County Arts Recovery Grant and tips for submitting a successful proposal, email info@bouldercountyarts.org. Si necesita ayuda en español contacte a Soledad Diaz at soledad@bouldercountyarts.org para agendar una reunion informativa. 

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