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The North Carolina Arts Council announced $11.5 million in grant awards for Fiscal Year 2024-25. Three hundred sixty-six grant awards will support nonprofit arts organizations, schools, after-school programs, municipalities and artists in all 100 counties this year. The grants range from $5,000 to $338,000.
“The arts benefit North Carolinians of all ages,” said Gov. Roy Cooper. “These grants will enrich our communities as well as grow their economies throughout all one hundred counties.”
Funding priorities this year include organizations and projects that:
• Emphasize community outreach and audience engagement.
• Improve organizational capacity and capabilities.
• Connect K–12 students with artists in a range of disciplines, notably the traditional arts of North Carolina.
• Foster public-private partnerships that leverage state and federal funding with local support.
• Provide outreach to military service men and women, veterans, and their families.
“The record number of applications we received this grant cycle signals that artists are inspiring audiences and producing arts experiences that make our state a wonderful place to live, work, and visit,” said Jeff Bell, the Arts Council’s executive director. “I thank Governor Cooper and the General Assembly for championing our arts and culture sector. The arts deliver more than $2 billion in economic impact annually to our state and are a powerful tool to uplift entire communities.”
“The arts are woven into the fabric of our state’s identity, and as I travel across North Carolina, I see firsthand how much the creative sector contributes to the cultural and economic vibrancy of cities, towns, and regions. When the arts flourish, communities flourish,” said Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary Reid Wilson.
As part of its funding process, the agency convened panels of reviewers with knowledge of different arts disciplines as well as community-building expertise.
This year’s grant awards significantly increase the N.C. Arts Council’s investment in small and mid-sized arts organizations. Eighty-five new organizations are receiving flexible funding through an expanded category called Sustaining Support, more than doubling the agency’s investment in work that promotes stability and sustainability in the arts sector.
The Stanly County Arts Council received $47,385 for 2024-2025.
“The NC Legislature increased our funding beginning with the 2023-2024 fiscal year. With this increase, we were able to fully fund all of our subgrantees’ requests. Since I’ve held the position, we have never been able to do this,” said Renee VanHorn, executive director of the Stanly County Arts Council. “It allowed us to meet the needs of the arts community more completely. In 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, we were also able to reach out to other entities and support their arts initiatives with the special grant funding through ARPA. That funding is no longer available, but with the increase in the Grassroots Arts Grant funding, we should be able to continue to support many of those organizations. Our subgrant applications have recently been released to the public. These applications are due by Sept. 22. Details and forms are available on our website.”
Visit https://www.stanlycountyartscouncil.org for more information.