Thread: Has anyone applied for grant funding???

I am thinking about applying for an emerging artist grant. I need some ideas on what to focus my grant on. I think I am going to either propose that I use the money to create marketing packages or use the money to put on a showcase performance in Jan. The grant would be a max of $1500. Has anyone done this? Have you gotten accepted? How was it for you and would you do it again?

Thanks!
Andalee

I have gotten grant money.

The key is to read the grant application very carefully, paying close attention to what they are looking for. For example, some grants specify that they don't give money to covering "administrative" expenses (such as rent, marketing, etc.) but they will give money to artistic projects (such as a workshop or show). Some give only to non-profit corporations, while others will give to individuals.

Examine the application instructions to find out what you must submit. There's typically a budget which requires detailed listing of the expenses, some sort of "proof of artistic merit" (ie, DVD showing you performing), etc. Some grants ask for "letters of reference" from third parties to support your claim that what you're doing is worthy of funding, and the agencies expect these letters to come from someone whose opinion matters, not an anonymous name. For example, a letter coming from a professor on the local college's dance faculty would carry a lot more credibility than the name of an unknown citizen.

Many grants will award only up to a maximum of 50% of the expenses. In other words, if your projected expenses are $2,000, the grant will award no more than $1,000, even if their general cap is $1,500. Also, some grants refuse to pay for certain expenses. For example, they may refuse to pay for travel expenses. For purposes of budget, they'll accept donated items as "expenses" for your half of what to cover. In other words, if you have a show in a restaurant, and the owner lets you use the space without having to pay him money for taking over his restaurant for the evening, then that is an "in-kind" donation that you can put on the budget to represent your half of the expenses. To find out what $$$ to put as the value of such an in-kind donation, ask around your town to find out what it would cost to rent equivalent space.

If you want to do a showcase featuring several dancers, your application should include video of every dancer that you intend to include in the program, to prove artistic merit. Your video should be tip-top quality, and so should your performers. What I mean by that, is that it should be well lit, in focus, without poor zooming levels, etc. Performer quality is where most belly dancers fall short. The people evaluating artistic merit will most likely be people who are knowledgeable about ballet, jazz, and modern dance. Their standards will be to look for such basic skills as centering, posture, clean lines, projection of energy, etc. A lot of "professional" belly dancers don't hold up well against such criteria.

Thanks Shira, that is helpful!