Operating Support Grant Program

To be eligible for the Operating Support program, applicants must be structured in one of the following ways:
- A nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt arts organization with an arts focused mission; or
- An arts affiliate, operating as a distinct arts focused program hosted within a Minnesota public or nonprofit 501(c)(3) nonarts institution

AND must be one of the following:
- An arts producing organization,
- An arts presenting organization,
- A community arts school or conservatory, or
- An artist service organization

All applicants must:
- Be physically located in Minnesota. The majority of an applicant’s arts programming, services, or activities must take place in Minnesota, and must primarily serve and engage Minnesota audiences and participants;
- Have been in existence and actively providing arts programming in Minnesota for two consecutive full years before applying to the Operating Support grant program for the first time;
- Have two-year qualifying expenses, averaged over fiscal years 2017 and 2018, of $174,000 or more;
- Receive at least ten percent of its total unrestricted revenue from charitable arts support, averaged over fiscal years 2017 and 2018;
- Have at least one paid, professional, administrative staff person in a contract or salaried position (i.e., someone to whom the organization issues a W-2 or 1099 form).

For additional eligibility information and requirements, see: http://www.arts.state.mn.us/pubs/pubs/fy2021-opsup-overview-and-instructions.pdf#page=5.

Ineligible Applicants:
- Any state agency, public institution, or nonprofit organization that receives a legislative appropriation or legislatively mandated grant from the State of Minnesota’s arts and cultural heritage fund is not eligible to receive an Arts Board Operating Support grant for the same fiscal year that it receives the appropriation or legislatively mandated grant.
- Any project, program, or division housed within or affiliated with a state agency, public institution, or nonprofit organization that receives a legislative appropriation or legislatively mandated grant from the State of Minnesota’s arts and cultural heritage fund is not eligible to receive an Arts Board Operating Support grant for the same fiscal year that it receives the appropriation or legislatively mandated grant.
- An affiliate and its host institution may not both receive funding in the Operating Support program. However, more than one affiliate of the same host may receive funding.
- Two separate organizations whose work supports or is based upon the same artists or arts programming — such as an organization and an associated “friends of” organization — may not both receive funding in the Operating Support program.

For Ineligible Proposals, see: http://www.arts.state.mn.us/pubs/pubs/fy2021-opsup-overview-and-instructions.pdf#page=6.

New applicants, or applicants that were not funded in the previous fiscal year, are welcome to apply in any application round.

The Minnesota State Arts Board is offering one-hour Webinars to help applicants prepare to apply for grant programs. These sessions will focus on program basics and applicant questions. The Webinars are free of charge, but advance registration is strongly encouraged. Each session is offered as a conference call with an option to view a PowerPoint presentation online. You must listen to the audio portion by telephone. If you are not able to participate in the conference call, but would like to view the PowerPoint used in the Webinar, it will be posted on the grant program Web page following the session.

The Operating Support Webinar is Thursday, December 19, 2019, 3:00 p.m. Register at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSePg8ovnsPDQw_HuZbB-_9DyUxsOFWfPCgFgAMk4T519uCZQQ/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1.

For more information about joining a session, see: http://www.arts.state.mn.us/calendar/information-sessions.htm.

FY 2021 applications must be submitted and accepted before 4:30 p.m. on Friday, January 17, 2020.

Important dates:
- Application Deadline: January 17, 2020
- Board Approval: July 2020
For a full calendar of events, see: http://www.arts.state.mn.us/calendar/index.htm.

First time applicants are encouraged to carefully review the Program Overview and Application Instructions and then call the program officer prior to beginning an application.

50 percent cap: During any year, a grantee may receive no more than 50 percent of its total operating expenses from the Arts Board.

A full application is required for new applicants and those returning applicants who have reached the end of a multiyear grant cycle. An interim application is required for returning applicants in each subsequent year of the multiyear commitment. The application requirements for full and interim applications are different; current grantees should refer to the FY 2020 returning grantee interim or full application list to ensure they submit the correct application.

For sample applications, see URL for Full Text below.

All applicants are required to use the WebGrants system to apply, and will submit all materials electronically. Applicants must be a registered user. New users need to register in advance in order to create an account and set up a user ID and password.

Two online tutorials are available to acquaint users with the WebGrants system:
- How to register as a WebGrants user: http://www.arts.state.mn.us/training-and-info/2012-10-wg-reg/
- How to use WebGrants: http://www.arts.state.mn.us/training-and-info/2012-11-wg-nav/

For an application checklist, see: http://www.arts.state.mn.us/pubs/pubs/fy2021-opsup-overview-and-instructions.pdf#page=15.