LOCAL ARTS PROGRAM GRANT FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
& Technical Assistance Workshops

Guidelines and application forms for the 2016 New Jersey State Council on the Arts State/County Partnership Local Arts Program Grant, specifically for Somerset County organizations intending to apply for arts grant funding, are available at http://bit.ly/LAP2016 (all three links on this webpage are pertinent to the process).

Local non-profit arts and other non-profit (non-arts) organizations planning an arts program or series (theater, dance, music/concerts, visual arts, literary or film arts) may apply directly to the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission (SCC&HC). Grants funded through this re-grant program will be available to support cultural programs and events from January through December 2016.

Eligible organizations must be designated non-profit, based in Somerset County and planning an arts/cultural program, project or service within Somerset County that is accessible to the general public. Funding is competitive and organizations must demonstrate managerial competency, fiscal stability, artistic excellence and the capacity to execute the proposed program or project.

Applicants are required to provide a match for funding requested, and may request funding for General Operating (GO) support if their organization’s mission is solely arts-dedicated; or Special Project (SP) support or Arts in Non-Traditional Venues (ANTV) support, both of which are available to arts and non-arts organizations alike for the purpose of offering an arts program/event/series in Somerset County in partnership with other organizations or artists.

Two free Technical-Assistance Grant-Writing Workshops, geared specifically to this Local Arts Program Grant only to familiarize and assist potential applicants with the application process, will be offered on Friday, Sept. 11, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. and another one from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for those who cannot attend the earlier session. Pre-registration is required by Sept. 9.

To register, call SCC&HC Administrative Assistant Cathy Bunting at (908) 231-7021. All applicants are strongly advised to attend one session. Both workshops will be held in the second-floor Engineering Conference Room in the Somerset County Administration Building, 20 Grove St., Somerville, NJ 08876. The workshop location and free parking (in the attached Bernie Field Parking Deck off East High Street, directly behind the administration building) are accessible.

A formal Letter of Intent is due to the SCC&HC by Sept. 14, 2015, as a preliminary requirement of the grants process, in which the potential applicant states, in a paragraph or two, the purpose for which the organization intends to apply for funding, and approximately how much money will be requested.

The application deadline is 5 p.m. Monday, October 5, 2015.

For more information, contact Pat McGarry in the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission office at (908) 203-6020 or by email at CulturalHeritage@co.somerset.nj.us

This grant opportunity is made possible through the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, through the State/County Partnership Local Arts Program administered by the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission.