SRAC Arts & Culture
Operating Support Grant
This 3-year grant program
is closed to new applications until 2027.
SRAC’s Arts & Culture Grant Program aims to transform lives and enrich the community through arts by providing funding support, collaborative partnership opportunities, and program assistance to nonprofit arts and cultural organizations that are members of the SRAC.
The SRAC is partnering with Community Foundation of the Ozarks to provide the grant administration for these programs. The CFO distributes grants through these programs each year with the Arts & Culture Grant Review Committee making recommendations. Funding comes from a portion of the local hotel/motel tax collection allocated to the Springfield Regional Arts Council.
The SRAC seeks to support operational needs of five Springfield arts organizations. Selected arts organizations will receive $20,000 annually for 3 years. Example uses of operating support (but not limited to):
- General operational expenses like rent, salaries, utilities, etc.
- Planning efforts (strategic, operational, marketing, development, etc.)
- Marketing
- Facilities
- Shared Administration
- Technical Equipment
- Non-IT Equipment
- Virtual Security (virtual and/or physical)
Operating support funds should be considered supplemental funding, not as the primary source of the organization’s revenue. The intent of this grant award is to demonstrate what arts organizations can do when a portion of the burden of operating costs is supported. As a reminder, the grant is funded through collections of the local hotel/motel tax, so the impact of this grant funding should be tied to driving more travel and tourism to Springfield. Requests cannot represent more than 50% of the organization’s annual budget.
Guidelines
Arts & Culture Grant Priorities:
- To advance arts advocacy, education, collaboration and tourism in Springfield.
- To support professionalizing the sector by funding operating costs so organizations can focus on mission-driven work.
- To provide the community with access to high-quality arts and culture in Springfield.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Must be a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, government entity, school district or tax-exempt faith-based organization with a primary mission in the arts. Fiscally sponsored organizations are not eligible.
- Must be an organization primarily working in the arts in Springfield, Missouri. Organizations not primarily working in the arts are not eligible for this grant program.
- Must be an established organization with at least 3 years of successful operations.
- Must have a minimum budget of $100,000.
- Must be a current member of the SRAC.
- Matching funds are not required for this grant application but are strongly encouraged.
Grant Amount
$20,000 per year for up to 3 years
Proposal Timeframe
Three-year proposals
Total Budget
$100,000 will be dedicated to this effort in 2024; up to $300,000 over a three-year effort may be used.
Nondiscrimination Policy: In awarding grants, the Springfield Regional Arts Council will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran status. As part of the grant process, all grantees will be required to affirm that, in providing services funded in whole or in part by a Springfield Regional Arts Council grant, the grantee will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran status either in its employment practices or in its policies and procedures concerning access to services.
Grant Process Timeline:
| Date | Event |
| February 23, 2024 | Proposal timeframe opens |
| April 25, 2024 | Full proposal deadline |
| June 7, 2024 | Grant announcement event |
| May 1, 2025 | Recipient reporting deadline to request year 2 funding |
| On or before June 6, 2025 | Notification of year 2 funding decisions |
| May 1, 2026 | Recipient reporting deadline to request year 3 funding if agency received year 2 funding |
| On or before June 5, 2026 | Notification of year 3 funding decisions |
Proposal Process
Full Proposals are due to the CFO by 11:45 p.m. on April 25, 2024. The maximum page length for full proposals is up to 10 pages (including an executive summary).
Proposals must be submitted via the CFO’s Grant Interface site.
Details Required in Full Proposal:
Executive Summary
Provide a one-page executive summary within the full proposal:
- Brief description of the proposal, timeframe and any key details
- Include contact information for all key partners and members of the team
Proposal Details
- Explain the proposed use of operating funds and what need(s) will be addressed. Consider how the proposal fits into the scope of the organization’s mission and long-range plans. Will partners be involved?
- Itemize the impact the funding will have on the applicant’s organization and the community. How will the proposal address the arts & culture grant goals listed above?
- Describe the impact this support will have on travel and tourism for Springfield. What metrics will you use to show impact?
- How will you evaluate the proposal’s success? Consider explaining what kind of data will be gathered.
Annual Reporting Process
Annual reports from selected grant recipients must be provided each year for multi-year projects no later than May 1. The Arts & Culture Grant Distribution Committee will review annual reporting to determine next year’s funding request. This report will require key details on the progress of the original proposal’s milestone and timeframe goals and an updated budget, including all grant expenses.
Annual reporting must be no more than 10 pages and must include the following details:
- Updated project description: describe the progress of the project in its current phase.
- Share all milestones and any progress toward the initial proposal’s goals.
- Share the goals/benchmarks for the next phase of the proposal.
- Impact on Travel & Tourism: Share data collected that demonstrates impacts on driving visitors to Springfield. (Zip code analysis, hotel/motel stays, etc.)
- Partner update: List contact information for all key partners/members of team as well as agencies engaged in partnerships, with updated information on any new partnerships or any lost partnerships over the course of the last year.
- Past year budget: Provide a summary of current progress in the first year’s budget. (accounting for the 11-month timeframe may be factored in as well)
- Update on all other funding partners, if applicable.
