Written and sent. On the way to the post office, I leaned in through the library director’s door.
“Here’s my grant,” I said, waving the envelope.” She turned.
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed,” she said. “State funding is awful, and I suspect that arts and culture programs are going to be the first to go.“
“Maybe the NEA can step in with their $50 million in stimulus — prop ‘em up,” I joked. She gave me a look.
“It’s hard to fund the arts when people can’t eat.”
She’s right, of course, but I figured this would be a good exercise, that it would really legitimize this endeavor if I received external funding.
So, for the curious, here’s the Arts Alliance of Yamhill County’s grant application form, and below is what I sent. If you have any tips for writing better grants, by all means, weigh in. I’m a novice at this.
Project Description — The McMinnville Art Exchange
As a response to grim economic conditions, I intend to start a small lending library for original artwork. Membership to the library will be open to the community at large, and patrons will be able to join and borrow without paying a fee. Initially, the library collection will be comprised of artworks by artists from whom I have solicited for donations, but there will be an ongoing call for submissions to help the collection grow and create a collection more localized to McMinnville.
Since the art library will have no institutional premises, images of the collection will be published online, and correspondence – including patron signup and requests for checkout – will be conducted via e-mail. I will deliver and pickup the artworks once per week in my personal vehicle, and the circulation period will be fairly long; between 4 to 6 weeks, in order to keep the project manageable.
The McMinnville Art Exchange will perform several exciting functions: it will enable people who do not have the financial means to own art to enjoy it in their homes, it will provide a novel avenue for emerging and casual artists to expand their audience, and it will foster and reinforce a sense of trust and community between the artists and the public.
Dispersal of Funds
The funds that I am requesting from the AAYC will be used to cover or defray startup costs per the following description:
$25 – getting the word out. This should cover the cost of printing posters and flyers advertising the McMinnville Art Exchange and the Call For Submissions; I plan to post these in local grocery stores, colleges, the public library, the art supply store, etc. $25 dollars will pay for eight 11×17″ high-quality prints ($23), with the remainder of the funds used to print flyers on copy paper.
$75 – protective materials. It’s not financially feasible to have the artwork professionally framed (though donations must be “wall-ready” in some way), so to protect the pieces during transportation and storage, I plan to construct stiff shells out of foam-core; for rigid pieces, or work that has already been mounted, I plan to buy fabric to sew into sleeves. $75 dollars will pay for 4 sheets of foam-core ($13 ea., 30×40″) allowing the remaining $23 to be spent on a few yards of bulk fabric.
Timeline
I aim to launch the project in April, 2009 with between 12 and 20 separate pieces available for checkout. Because this is intended to be an ongoing project, I can’t issue an official date of completion. However, since I am requesting these funds to cover the initial costs of this project, I plan to spend the money within 60 days of receipt.
