Scene from Sara Ruhl's 2003-4 production of Eurydice at Madison Rep.
Photo courtesy of Madison Reportory Theatre from the 2003-2004 season world premiere of Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl.

DANE COUNTY CULTURAL AFFAIRS COMMISSION: GRANT PROGRAM

Goals

  • Provide equitable access to arts, culture, and local history activities
  • Offer opportunities for creative expression, engagement, and connection with one another
  • Support excellence, in service to all citizens and residents of Dane County

Policies & Practices Update

Summary of findings and conclusions from winter and spring 2011 listening sessions and online survey. Learn more.

Online Grant Application Submission

ALL applicants must submit grant applications using our online system, accessible at http://www.culturalaffairsgrants.com. Full instructions for navigation and use of this system are available on the website. Below are some important points to help you get started.

  • Registering on WebGrants: When you go to the site for the first time, you will need to create an account in order to get oriented and become familiar with the system. If you submit grant applications on behalf of an organization or other entity, your account should be created as the account of the organization, not as your own personal account (you will be considered the primary contact for that organization). If you submit grants for several organizations, you will need to create an account for each organization you represent.
  • Application Questions and Format Changes: If you have submitted grant applications to the Cultural Affairs Commission in the past, please be aware that with the rollout of our WebGrants system last year, the format and questions in our applications change from time to time. Please take the time to become familiar with the format and questions well in advance of the deadline for which you are applying.
  • Information Sessions: Commission staff will host information sessions to help applicants learn more about our grant program and WebGrants system. You may find it useful to attend one of these sessions. Please see this link for session schedule and registration information.

Deadlines

Grant Application Deadlines will fall annually on the following dates:

  • First Grant Cycle: February 1st
  • Second Grant Cycle: June 1st
  • Third Grant Cycle: October 1st

Grant Applications must be received by 11:59 PM CST on the deadline date. Please be aware that Commission staff will be available to answer questions and provide technical assistance no later than 4:30 PM Monday through Friday.

Application Categories

The Grant Program presently consists of two reoccurring grant opportunities and occasional other special grant opportunities:

  1. Short Order Project Grants and Project Grants
  2. Capital Grants
  3. Other Special Grant Opportunities: Occasional unique grant opportunities may be offered. They will be listed in the menu above with a link to the opportunity description. See Distinctly Dane re-introduced for First Grant Cycle 2012, and the EUARCA+ Special Grant Opportunity.

Grant Applicants may submit ONE grant application in each category - Short Order Project or Project (may select only one), Capital, or Special - per grant cycle. This guideline means applicants may submit a maximum of one Short Order Project or Project Grant application, one Capital Grant application, and one Special Grant application for each grant cycle. More than one Short Order Project Grant or Project Grant application, one Capital Grant application, and one Special Grant application from one applicant in the same grant cycle will not be eligible for consideration or review.

Project Period Dates

Each grant cycle focuses upon PRIMARY ACTIVITIES that happen within certain date parameters and applies to a specific 12-month project period. Grant cycle project periods are defined as follows:

  • First Grant Cycle (February 1 application deadline): for PRIMARY ACTIVITIES happening between May 1 of current year through April 30 of following year
  • Second Grant Cycle (June 1 application deadline): for PRIMARY ACTIVITIES happening between September 1 of current year through August 31 of following year
  • Third Grant Cycle (October 1 application deadline): for PRIMARY ACTIVITIES happening between January 1 through December 31 of following year

Grant Amount Requested

Each grant opportunity, Short Order Project or Project, Capital, and Special, has an upper limit grant award amount that can be requested for each grant cycle. These amounts limits may change for each grant cycle and are announced within specific Funding Opportunities in our WebGrants system. Applications that include a grant amount request in Budget Summary exceeding upper limit will be ineligible for consideration and review.

Please see the Short Order Project, Project, Capital, and Other Special Grants links for more details!