News Flash

DUBUQUE, Iowa – The City of Dubuque and the Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission are soliciting competitive applications from all interested parties for two distinct arts and culture funding programs for the fiscal year (FY) 2015 grant cycle (July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015).
Guidelines and Application Forms for both the Special Projects Grants and Operating Support Grants are available at www.cityofdubuque.org/grants .

Since 2005, the City of Dubuque has awarded over $2.3 million dollars to area arts and culture organizations and other non-profits for programs that reach thousands of Dubuque adults and children each year. These funds have leveraged nearly $1 million in additional community support for arts and culture events and programs.

Last year, the Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission and City staff worked to better align the Special Project Arts Grant Program with the City Council’s goals and priorities, best practices in community art funding, and the art needs of the Dubuque community. “ We have examined how we can use arts and culture to engage all community members, make our residents more participatory, and ensure that arts, culture, preservation and heritage programs and events are welcoming and inclusive to those outside of a traditional audience,” says Ellen Henkels, chairperson of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission. “In addition, one of the Safe Community Task Force’s recommendations encourages the City to promote initiatives that include arts and cultural programs that promote respect and understanding among residents. The commission believes that these changes will support this strategy.”

The City of Dubuque seeks to fund artistic, creative projects that utilize community engagement at their core. Engagement describes an active, two-way process in which one party motivates another to get involved or take action—and both parties experience change and growth. It promotes consistent community interaction that is a step beyond the conventional.

Eligibility for the Special Projects Grant is open to include not only established, 501(C) (3) organizations, but non-profits that operate under an umbrella organization or groups that are acting as a non-profit. “The accessibility of the grants to a wide array of dynamic thinkers and groups in the community was important. We want to fund great art ideas,” says Henkels. “Any non-profit group may apply for an art project through this grant, even if its primary mission is not dedicated to the arts.”

A total of $35,000 in funding is available in the Special Projects Arts Grant Program in FY2015. The minimum grant awarded through the program will be $1,500 and the maximum will be $8,500. City staff will offer two grant workshops specific to the Special Project funding on Wednesday, March 19, at noon and 5 p.m., in the Lacy Board Room, 3rd Floor, Carnegie-Stout Library, 360 W. 11th St. The deadline for applications is May 12, 2014.

The Operating Support fund is designed to assist 501(C) (3) arts and cultural organizations located in Dubuque that primarily serve Dubuque residents with year-round arts and culture events, programs, and services and can demonstrate a record of programmatic and administrative stability. A workshop specific to Operating Support Grants will be held at noon on Wednesday, March 12, in the Lacy Board Room, 3rd Floor, Carnegie Stout Library, 360 W. 11th Street. There is $210,000 available in FY2015. The deadline for these applications is April 10, 2014.

All grants are reviewed by the Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission and approved by the City Council. Present members of the commission include Ellen Henkels, (chair), Katherine Kluseman, Marina O’Rourke, Sue Riedel, Gina Siegert, Julie Steffen, and Jessica Teckemeyer.

For additional information, please contact Megan Starr at econdev@cityofdubuque.org or by calling 563-589-4393. Complete application materials are posted online at www.cityofdubuque.org/grants.