Grassroots Arts Program Grant
The Grassroots Arts Program grant cycle for FY 26-27 is now CLOSED.
Applications must have been submitted by 5 pm on Monday, August 31, 2026.
Please note: You MUST have attended a Grassroots Grant Workshop Session to be eligible for this grant.
Read more about grant eligibility, guidelines, workshops, and submittal process below.
*Guidelines change annually.
Grassroots Arts Program Grant Workshops
Workshops were held on person on the following dates:
Grassroots Arts Program Grant Information
Grassroots Arts Program funding is provided by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the NC Department Natural and Cultural Resources.
Since 1977, the North Carolina General Assembly established the Grassroots Arts Program to ensure that every citizen has access to high quality arts experiences. The program provides funding for the arts in all 100 counties in North Carolina primarily through partnerships with local arts councils. Funds are primarily distributed using a per capita-based formula. The North Carolina Arts Council manages the Grassroots Arts Program for the state and provides technical and program assistance to its community partners.
ArtsGaston is the local arts council, in Gaston County, nominated by the county governments and approved by N.C. Arts Council as the Grassroots Partner to manage the Grassroots Grant Program allotment to eligible organizations in Gaston County.
Eligibility for Application
Nonprofit 501(c)(3) status is preferred, but organizations that are nonprofit in nature, or in some cases individuals, are eligible to receive subgrants. Grassroots partners may require applicants without 501(c)(3) status to have a fiscal agent to receive the funds on their behalf.
Subgrants may not be awarded to arts organizations that already receive operating support directly from the N.C. Arts Council.
All organizations must reside and carry out projects within Gaston County in which they are applying.
Projects for FY26-27 grant cycle must take place between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027, of the current fiscal year.
Only complete applications received by the due date will be considered.
Grant amounts range from $1,000 and up. The average range is $1,500 to $18,000.
Eligible Program/Projects and Cost
What the Grant WILL Fund:
Program expenses for arts projects including artist fees and travel, space rental, marketing, advertising, costumes, sets, props, and equipment rental.
Limited operating expenses for non-profit arts organizations
Examples of arts programs that are commonly supported with Grassroots funds are:
Performances
Festivals
Art exhibitions
Art camps and after-school programs
Artists residences for K-12 schools
Artists fees for classes and workshops
Marketing expenses for art walks and studio tours
Royalities, props, sets, and costumes for theater performances
Equipment rental for arts programming
Space rental for arts programming
What the Grant WILL NOT Fund:
Competitions, scholarships, tuition, financial awards, or prizes
Art, music, and dance therapists*
Fundraising events
Purchase of artwork
Food or beverages for hospitality or entertainment functions
Internal school programs such as band activities or equipment or choral activities
Oral history and history projects**
Interest on loans, fines, or litigation costs
* Art, music and dance therapists conducting a therapeutic program cannot be funded. However, qualified artists conducting an arts program in a health care setting may be supported with Grassroots funds.
**Oral history and history projects are not eligible for Grassroots funds. However, folklife documentation of traditional arts, including the creation of interviews, photography, videography, and other documentary media, is eligible for support through the Grassroots Arts Program.
Requirements of Grassroots Grant
Matching Funds: The Grassroots Arts Program legislation requires that the grant be matched dollar for dollar with cash from local sources during the applicable fiscal year. Neither Grassroots allocations nor the matching funds may be used to match any other N.C. Arts Council grant. All matching funds must be documented as part of the final report for the grant at the end of the fiscal year.
ArtsGaston and North Carolina Arts Council Logo Usage: All grant recipients are required to prominently display the ArtsGaston and the North Carolina Arts Council logos with tagline and credit lines on-site at funded events and in all digital and printed publicity materials including websites, electronics newsletters and in as many materials and places as possible. The ArtsGaston logo will be sent to awarded applicants. To access the N.C. Arts Council logo and branding materials, visit https://www.ncarts.org/grants-resources/resources/logo-branding-materials.
Reporting and Documentation Requirements: Grant awardees must complete a final report to document the use of the funds, share participant statistics and demographics, provide verification of matching funds and demonstrate examples of the use of the N.C. Arts Council’s logo and credit line. Grantees must also submit a No Overdue Tax Form.
Legislative Letters: Applicants are required to write all five state representatives for Gaston County to thank them for appropriating Grassroots funds. The letter should provide information about how Grassroots funds were used to support your program or project, and the community impact of the event. A copy of all letters to legislators must be included in the final report materials. You may find the names and addresses of the legislatures here: https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/CountyRepresentation/Gaston.
Panel Review
Priorities for Funding: Applications that support qualified arts organizations, such as theaters, symphonies, galleries, art guilds, choral societies, dance companies, folk arts societies, writers’ groups and arts festivals. Applications that support arts learning and arts-in-education programs or projects conducted by qualified artists. These can be artist residencies in schools, after-school programs, summer camps, or adult arts learning classes. Applications that support community, civic and municipal organizations that provide high-quality arts experiences for the greater community. These programs must be conducted by qualified artists.
Criteria for Evaluation: A local and diverse panel of volunteers (i.e. community members including artists, art leaders, county and public officials and one Gaston Arts Council board member, serving as chair) will evaluate all applications received based on the following criteria:
Artistic quality of the proposed budget - Community impact of project or program - Ability to plan and implement project
Subgrant Panel: The applications are reviewed by a group of volunteers knowledgeable about the county’s arts organizations, local arts resources, and art needs. They reflect the demographics of the community. The panel typically has four to six members, with a board member of the Gaston Arts Council serving as chair. Other board members may serve on the panel, but the panel will also include arts professionals and other community members to ensure impartiality in decision making. Panel members’ terms of service will be limited.
Panel Meeting: Panel members review applications prior to the evaluations meeting. The chair introduces each application and opens the floor for discussion, and panelists evaluate each application based on the criteria above and using a rating system established by the NC Arts Council. The subgrant panel considers geographic distributions of funds in the county.
The grant panel’s funding decisions are then presented as recommendations to the ArtsGaston Board of Directors. The Board of Directors votes and gives final approval to the grant panel’s recommendations. Following approval, the Executive Director informs grant recipients through award letters and grant contracts and processes information for distribution of funds.
Serve as a Grant Panelist: We encourage interested individuals to serve as Grassroots Arts Program grant review panelist. Panelists will be asked to thoroughly review the applications prior to attending the grant panel meeting. If you are interested in serving on the next panel or if you would like to nominate someone, please contact us. Please note: You must disclose any conflict-of-interest or involvement with potential grant applicants. Our policy does not support Grassroots grant applicants to also serve as grant panelists.
