Art Grant Program
About
The Pierce County Arts Commission supports arts activities in Pierce County through its Art Grant program. The Commission works with a limited budget to assist projects that provide arts education, art programming, or art experiences for youth or to economically challenged areas within the County that are under-served by arts and cultural activities.
The application period for the Art Grant 2023 Funding Cycle closed on January 25, 2023. Grant applicants will be notified of their funding status on or around February 28.
Contact Us
For Grant and Reporting Questions:Kari Rinn | 253-798-7365 | M-W [email protected]
For Contract and Invoicing Questions:
Valerie Coty | 253-798-7382
[email protected]
Step 1
Step Closed
About The Grant Program
Learn more about the Pierce County Art Grant Program and determine your eligability
The Pierce County Art Grant program began in 1986 to increase access to the arts, develop educational programs, provide support for unincorporated and underserved areas of Pierce County and to celebrate cultural diversity.
The Pierce County Arts Commission serves the community with a mission to provide cultural enrichment for all Pierce County residents. We are committed to supporting the entirety of our community. We invite applicants to consider how their programs can help build a stronger more empathetic community with projects that are equitable and inclusive, offer opportunities for connection and relationship building, and contribute to the social, emotional, and physical well-being of our community members.
In 2021 Pierce County awarded $23,000 in grants which funded 5 projects, served 4,300 youth, and provided programming in 35 Pierce County schools.
The Commissioners
District 1 - Joyce Alvarez District 2 - Shanna Styron Sherrell District 3 - Codi Winans District 4 - Vacant District 5 - Mizu Sugimura | District 6 - Christopher Michael Escobedo Sr District 7 - Kelly Johnson At Large - Claudia Fornasiero At Large - Faaluaina Pritchard |
Eligibility:
- Your organization is a Washington State tax-exempt, non-profit corporation under Internal Revenue Service 501(c)(3) determination.
- Your organization is physically located in Pierce County with programs serving unincorporated areas of Pierce County.
- Your project will occur between January 1 and December 31, 2023.
- Your project will facilitate arts education, art programming, or art experiences to those who reside in unincorporated Pierce County or to areas of Pierce County, outside the city limits of Tacoma, which are under-served by arts and cultural activities in one of the following categories:
- Student musical instruments
- Performance arts
- Other art disciplines
- You are aware that funding is on a reimbursable basis; your organization will be required to cover initial costs and submit approved expenditures for reimbursement at the completion of your project.
- You are aware your application may be awarded only a portion of the funding requested and that funding in one year does not guarantee funding in subsequent years.
- You agree to acknowledge Pierce County Arts Commission’s funding in all appropriate publications and media with the supplied logo materials.
- Grant recipients must provide documentation of insurance coverage required by Pierce County.
The Washington State Constitution prohibits public agencies from giving gifts. The Arts Commission may only purchase specific arts services or products to benefit the citizens of Pierce County.
Pierce County Art Grants cannot support:
- Capital improvements, purchase real property, or support administrative costs not directly
associated with the project. - Costs incurred prior to the effective date of the contract.
- Events intended as fundraisers for any organization or person(s); events not commonly recognized as general public event; events expressing or advocating an opinion, position or viewpoint on matters of political or religious issues.
- Performance events for which an admission fee is charged.
- Services before they occur. Funds will be disbursed when the project is completed and the required final reports have been submitted and accepted.
- Food, alcohol, ticket subsidies, or transportation.
- Paying students for artistic services.
- Funding scholarships.
- Discrimination of any kind. Pierce County is committed to a policy of equal opportunity regardless of race, creed, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, veteran status, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a disabled person.
Updated 1/4/2023
Step 2
Step Closed
Apply
Timeline application support
Applications will be evaluated by the Arts Commission using a variety of criteria, including but not limited to the following:
- Artistic merit of proposed project.
- Reach, breadth and impact of the project.
- Provision of art programs/services to unincorporated areas of Pierce County where such services are limited or unavailable.
- Provision of art programs/services to lower-income youth.
- Proposed project is equitable and inclusive, offers opportunity for connection and relationship building, and contributes to the well-being of community members.
- Demonstrated managerial capability of the organization.
- Contributed and earned revenues beyond funding requested from Pierce County Arts Commission.
- Demonstrated community support for the project and/or organization.
Awards generally range from $500 to $5,000.
Applicants will be notified of award decisions on March 1, 2023.
Application Deadline: January 25, 2023 at 4 p.m.
Applications are available December 14, 2022 and due no later than 4:00 pm on January 25, 2023. Late applications will not be accepted. Applications may be submitted online, mailed or delivered to the Economic Development office. Late applications will not be accepted.
- Applicant must be a tax-exempt organization incorporated as a Washington State non-profit corporation under Internal Revenue Service 501(c)(3) determination.
- Physically located in Pierce County with programs serving unincorporated areas of Pierce County.
- Project must occur between January 1 and December 31, 2023. All projects must be completed by December 31, 2023.
- Projects should provide arts education, art programming, or art experiences to lower-income youth who reside in unincorporated Pierce County or to areas of Pierce County, outside of Tacoma City limits, which are under-served by arts and cultural activities in one of the following categories:
- Student musical instruments
- Performance arts
- Other art disciplines
- Funding is on a reimbursable basis; therefore, organizations must have a source of cash-flow to support their projects during the reimbursement period.
- Funding in a given fiscal year does not guarantee funding in subsequent years.
- Applications may be awarded only a portion of the funding requested.
- Pierce County Arts Commission’s funding must be acknowledged in all appropriate publications and media with the supplied logo materials.
- Grant recipients must provide documentation of insurance coverage required by Pierce County.
The Washington State Constitution prohibits public agencies from giving gifts. The Arts Commission may only purchase specific arts services or products to benefit the citizens of Pierce County.
Pierce County Art Grants cannot support:
- Capital improvements, purchase real property, or support administrative costs not directly
associated with the project. - Costs incurred prior to the effective date of the contract.
- Events intended as fundraisers for any organization or person.
- Performance events for which an admission fee is charged.
- Services before they occur. Funds will be disbursed when the project is completed and the required final reports have been submitted and accepted.
- Food, alcohol, ticket subsidies, or transportation.
- Paying students for artistic services.
- Funding scholarships.
- Discrimination of any kind. Pierce County is committed to a policy of equal opportunity regardless of race, creed, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, veteran status, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a disabled person.
To view or download a PDF version of the guidelines and sample form, click here.
Step 3
Step Open
Managing Your Art Grant
Congratulations, you have received notification of funding, what's next?
To receive your contract:
- Read all the components of the sample contract to understand your contractual agreement.
- Agree to a finalized Scope of Work and budget in collaboration with Pierce County Economic Development Department (PCEDD). This will be sent to you via email.
- Once these steps are complete, please fill out the Contract Requirement Form (CRF) here or use the link included in your scope and budget email. You will need the following to complete your CRF.
- A completed W-9 form.
- Certificate of Insurance naming Pierce County as additional insured plus the Policy Endorsement pages. Please refer to Section G and H of the Sample Contract for the required coverage. Certificate Holder address to use:
Pierce County
930 Tacoma Ave S
Tacoma, WA 98402 Determine your grant report deadline (this date is 30 days after the completion of your project).
Schedule a date for Pierce County staff and/or Commissioner(s) to visit your organization during your grant program.
Contact the PCEDD team at any time with questions or concerns about your grant. Contact information is listed at the end of this document.
- Any changes that impact your panel-approved budget, project parameters, personnel, or scope of work must have prior approval by the PCEDD office.
- All project or proposal changes must remain aligned with the goals outlined in your original grant application. We will do our best to support you through necessary changes.
- Grant recipients must acknowledge support from the Pierce County Arts Commission on promotional materials for grant projects. Please click here for access to Pierce County logos.
- Acknowledge Pierce County as a funding supporter in event programs, on media posts, websites and on site whenever possible.
- Please use the following language for print or verbal promotional credit: “This program is supported, in part, by a grant from the Pierce County Arts Commission”.
Funds may not be used to:
- Fund capital improvements, purchase real
property, or support administrative costs not
directly associated with the project. - Cover costs incurred prior to the effective
date of the contract. - Fund events intended as fundraisers for any
organization or person. - Fund performance art events for which an
admission fee is charged. - Pay for services before they occur. Pay for
food or alcohol served at a private or
community event. - Pay students for artistic services.
- Fund scholarships.
- Create a grant report timeline to compile data required for reporting to include:
- Budget expenditures– be sure to keep all receipts for reimbursement! Track your expenses on the ‘Expense Summary Worksheet’ as they occur so you are ready to complete your grant report. (PLEASE BE SURE YOUR EXPENDITURES ARE FOR APPROVED BUDGET ITEMS.)
- Metrics for an impact report, such as number of people served, geographic area served, what was the impact on those served? You may need to prepare a survey or other feedback tool to collect data in advance of your project. Please review STEP 4 Grant Reporting to properly prepare for your grant report requirements.
- We love to see you in action! Please work with staff to plan a visit while your project is taking place so we can see your program in action and get to know you better.
- We greatly appreciate photos of your projects, please use a media release form for consent. If working with minors, feel free to take pictures of projects and process if you do not have a guardian consent for photos.
- Use the Guide for Grant Reporting Success as a reference tool to draft your final report.
- Have fun, do good!!
Step 4
Step Open
Grant Reporting
Your program has been successfully completed, how to tell us all about it.
- Submitting a Final Report is a contractual obligation for this grant. Final Reports must be received within 30 days following the project completion, and no later than Dec. 14, 2023 for programs that run the full calendar year.
- Note: Invoice submittal is part of your final report and both are required for distribution of grant funds.
- Recipients must submit one original signed report per grant project.
- Recipients are encouraged to utilize the Guide for Grant Reporting Success to compile their responses.
- Answer the ‘Project Narrative Response’ section as succinctly as possible with a maximum of 3,600 characters per section or about 1 page of text. Provide the information requested in the order listed.
Online Grant Report
- Grant reports may be submitted using this online Grant Report Form.
- Online grant reports may be saved and resumed at a later time but must be received within 30 days of the project completion.
Physical or email Grant Report
- If you prefer a pdf version of the grant report to be submitted via email, mail or dropped off in person, please contact the Pierce County Economic Development Department. Contact information is provided at the bottom of this web page. Please make an appointment to drop-off reports in person.
- Invoicing is part of your Grant Report (see forms above).
- Requests for payment must include:
- Invoice for your 2023 total grant award. Be sure to invoice on organization letterhead and include organization’s complete address and logo, the date and the grant contract number.
- Expense Summary Worksheet. Please complete the Expense Summary Worksheet and include it with your Grant Report.
- Expense documentation that is aligned with the expenses designated as covered by PCEDD in your revised grant budget & documented on your expense summary worksheet.
- Expense documentation may include copies of receipts, contracts, invoices, accounting records, payroll reports, or other detailed expense reports. Documentation of personnel or contracted services should include dates and/or hours provided and hourly fees, as relevant.
- No grant funds will be paid for expenses that fall outside of the contract period.
- Schedule a date for Pierce County staff and/or Commissioner(s) to visit your organization during your grant cycle.
- Complete your final report and submit your reimbursement request within 30 days of project completion and no later than Dec. 14, 2023 for programs that run the full calendar year.
In the weeks after you have submitted your final Grant Report, an anonymous grant feedback form will be emailed to you. We would love to hear from you about what works well and what could be improved in this grant program. Thank you in advance for your time!!
For Grant and Reporting Questions:
Kari Rinn | 253-798-7365 | M-W
[email protected]
For Contract and Invoicing Questions:
Valerie Coty | 253-798-7382
[email protected]
Pierce County Arts Commission
c/o Pierce County Economic Development Department
950 Pacific Avenue, Suite 525
Tacoma, WA 98402
- Art Grants are reimbursement grants. Funds will be disbursed when the grant recipient’s approved project plans have been completed, required final report has been submitted and accepted, and after expense documentation and invoice have been approved by PCEDD.
- No grant funds will be paid for expenses that fall outside of the contract scope or period.
- Grant recipients must track expenses, keep clear records, and provide appropriate and timely documentation.
2023 Art Grant Recipient How To Video
Congratulations, you received a 2023 Pierce County Art Grant... Now what???
To help walk you through the 2023 grant cycle, please watch the prerecorded video below. The video covers important topics like steps to receive your county contract, tracking your 2023 Art Grant and how to prepare for your grant report.