Arts Education Community Learning Grant Program (United States)

There are no age restrictions. Projects should include hands-on learning experiences focused on performing, visual, traditional folk, and/or literary arts for the participants.

Funding Information

• Applicants may request up to $18,000.

Eligible Expenses

• Eligible expenses include:
  • NEW: Permanent education staff salaries including administrators or teaching artists (Based on the percentage of time spent on the project. This is particularly important for applicants that also receive an Operating Support grant covering permanent staff salaries.)
  • Contracted professional fees for planning, implementation, or evaluation directly related to the project.
  • In-state travel and/or lodging for permanent education staff or contracted personnel Space rental (for locations not currently being rented by the applicant organization)
  • Marketing
  • Consumable supplies related to the project

Ineligible Expenses

• The following are examples of activities and expenditures not allowable for AE-CL funds:
  • Incentives for participation including cash awards
  • Projects designed primarily as performances, demonstrations, or exhibits with only minimal impact and limited hands-on participation
  • Field trips
  • Competitions and/or tours in which students are presenting, performing, and/or exhibiting
  • Out-of-state travel
  • Individual private lesson instruction
  • Payment for apprentices or interns
  • Capital outlay for permanent or non-consumable materials or equipment purchases (such as musical instruments, books, cameras, easels, etc.)
  • Planned fundraising activities
  • After-school clubs
  • Scholarships or competitions
  • Food
  • Grant writing fees
  • Non-classical art forms including but not limited to culinary arts, martial arts, healing arts, exercise programs, acrobatics or gymnastics (exceptions exist – contact the Commission for details)
  • Payments to an employee or official of the State of Tennessee
  • Payments to members of the organization’s board
  • Guest artists to exhibit, direct, choreograph or conduct productions or performances who are not engaged in active instruction with participants. For example, funds are not eligible to support a guest conductor who travels in to conduct a final showcase, but who has not been active in the learning and rehearsal process; or for a choreographer who supplies their work via video recording for another instructor to translate to students.

Eligibility Criteria

• Nonprofit arts or non-arts organizations or local government agencies
• Applications must have a single project focus. Organizations with expansive education programs should narrow their focus to one component of their overall educational programming.
• Debarment and Suspension. Grantees are required to sign contracts certifying to the best of its knowledge and belief, that it, its current and future principals, its current and future subcontractors and their principals are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from covered transactions by any federal or state department or agency. Arts organizations that receive revenue directly.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Applicants may not apply for funds for the same project in another Commission grant category in the same fiscal year.
• Arts organizations that receive revenue directly from a “New Specialty Earmarked Plate” under T.C.A 55-4-301 (a)(1) are ineligible for Commission grant funding.

For more information, visit Tennessee Arts Commission.