Arts Impact Grants for Organizations

OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVES

Arts Impact Grants for Organizations (AIGO) are designed to help sustain Sonoma County’s creative and cultural nonprofits and to demonstrate the power of the arts to contribute to the social cohesion of our communities. The 2023 grants are funded by the County of Sonoma and the National Endowment for the Arts.

All applications will be reviewed with a lens of their commitment to providing equitable access and participation in their program(s) through at least one of the following impact areas:

County Impact: Investing in the broad cultural community making arts and culture opportunities accessible to County residents and visitors. These projects must demonstrate activities specifically designed to reach the entire county (or 3 or more Supervisor districts), including new audiences.
Neighborhood Impact: Supporting arts and cultural organizations for arts programs and projects that advance our communities’ connection to and appreciation of arts, culture and creativity. These projects must demonstrate activities specifically designed to reach a local area – town, neighborhood, etc.
Student Impact: Investing in TK-12 students through arts and cultural experiences including arts practice and arts career training. These projects must demonstrate programs that engage students in arts and creative activities.

[OPTIONAL] Environmental Sustainability Impact: Given the urgency of Sonoma County’s climate change challenges — from drought to fires to floods — applications for projects in any of the three impact areas that utilize the arts to advance the community’s awareness and understanding of environmental sustainability are encouraged.

IMPORTANT DATES

Application Opens: August 14, 2023
General Info & Application Workshop: August 22, 2023, 1:00-2:00pm PT via Zoom. Recording is avaialbe HERE.
Application DEADLINE: October 2, 2023 11:59pm PT
Funding Notification: January 2024 (revised from original notice date of late November/early December)
Contracting: January 2024
Funding Period: January – December 2024 (12 months)

GRANT AMOUNT

Up to $10,000. Most grants awarded will be in the $5,000-$7,500 range.

ELIGIBILITY

Applicants may include Sonoma County nonprofit arts and culture organizations, including museums, as well as culturally-specific nonprofit organizations that produce arts and culture programs and services, with the following requirements:

Organization operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and is headquartered and/or maintains a physical location in Sonoma County.
Minimum three-year history of consistent arts and culture programming and/or services prior to the application deadline. Collectives or companies that operated before they became a nonprofit entity may count programming that pre-dates nonprofit
status.
For 2024: Due to funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, applicants must attest that all activities and services that would be funded by AIGO are accessible according to federal law, including but not limited to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and any implementing regulations.

Not eligible:

Entities applying via a fiscal sponsor
County of Sonoma departments, divisions, or their related foundations
Schools, school districts, parent-teacher organizations, or their related foundations
Municipalities or their related foundations

See the Application Packet document (attached under “How to Apply”) for more information about eligibility and program restrictions.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Artistic excellence and merit
County, neighborhood, or youth impact
OPTIONAL: Environmental sustainability impact
Equitable access and participation
Capacity to administer and implement the program
Completeness and clarity of application

See the Application Packet document (attached under “How to Apply”) for more information about the criteria and review process.

APPLICATION PACKET AND HOW TO APPLY

Read the Application Packet, which contains the program guidelines and all of the application questions. No handwritten or paper-based applications will be accepted. Applicants will need to have or create an account in Submittable, our online application portal. Once the application opens in summer 2023, it will appear on Submittable.

AIGO Application Packet 2024 FINAL