In 2008, the Arts Fund and The Community Foundation suspended our competitive grantmaking programs to dedicate time to learn how we can have a greater impact on communities in the 23-county region. Click here to learn more about this process. As a result of our planning, research and learning, we have created our Philanthropic Framework to reflect how we intend to continue to connect donors, nonprofits, community leaders and others to address community needs through philanthropy.

A key goal of our Philanthropic Framework is strengthening the region’s nonprofits and includes new approaches to our competitive grantmaking. Given the current economic crisis and our desire to serve as investors in the nonprofit community, the Arts Fund and The Community Foundation will focus on four main areas throughout several of our grantmaking programs: general operating support, capacity building, advocacy and innovation.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ARTS FUND GRANTS

The Arts Fund provides grants that strengthen small and midsized arts organizations with annual operating budgets under $2 million. For 2009, the Arts Fund is providing funds for general operating expenses to organizations that have strong, current business plans and serve the community in a robust, vital way.

Significant changes in the 2009 Grant Guidelines:

1. All grant funding in 2009 will be for General Operating Support.
2. Grants will be one-year only for a maximum of $75,000 or 10% of the applicant's current annual operating budget (expenses), whichever is less.
3. Organizations with budgets up to $2 million are eligible for support (raised from $1.5 million).
4. The 2-year waiting period after receiving an Arts Fund grant has been eliminated. Prior grant recipients must now "have received all dollars from previous grant and filed the final report as specified in the grant contract prior to reapplying."

Please refer to the Grant Guidelines on the grants page for full details on elgibility, funding priorities and schedule.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ARTS FUND TOOLBOX AWARD

The Arts Fund’s Toolbox Award gives small and midsized arts organizations custom-designed packages of management consulting and tools to help them solve key organizational challenges or problems. In 2009, the Toolbox will be primarily focused on helping organizations address issues related to organizational collaboration, financial management, scenario planning, updates to strategic plans and board development.

For more details on these areas of focus, please see the Toolbox page and read the Toolbox Award Guidelines.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ARTS LOAN FUND

The Arts Loan Fund helps arts organizations meet short-term capital needs by providing loans. Loans are accessible year-round with applications accepted on a rolling basis. In 2009, the maximum allowable loan has been raised from $25,000 to $40,000. Otherwise the program remains the same. More details are available on the Arts Loan Fund page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCHEDULE

• February 11-24 - Orientation sessions for organizations interested in applying will be held throughout February.
• March 6 – Deadlines for the Letter of Intent to Apply for a Grant AND the Arts Toolbox Award.
• April 2 – Final grant application deadline (only for organizations selected to submit a final application after review of their Letter of Intent to Apply.)
• May – Grant and Toolbox recipients notified.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ORIENTATION SESSIONS

All organizations are strongly encouraged to attend an orientation session. Arts Fund staff will discuss the new grant program, changes from prior years and answer questions. RSVPs are required to attend. Please email your RSVP to Josh Phillipson at jphillipson@atlcf.org. Include the organization name, the name of the individual attendee(s) and which session date they will be attending.

Orientation sessions will cover the grant program, the Toolbox Award and the Arts Loan Fund.

Wednesday, February 11, 2:30-4:30PM - CLOSED
The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum
1440 Spring Street at 18th Street (next to the Center for Puppetry Arts)
Atlanta, GA 30309 (directions)

Thursday, February 12, 10:00AM-Noon
Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau
6500 Sugarloaf Parkway, St. 200
Duluth, GA 30097 (directions)
RSVP by 2/11 5PM.

Thursday, February 19, 9:00-11:00AM - CLOSED
The Community Foundation - Board Room
50 Hurt Plaza, Suite 449
Atlanta, GA 30303 (directions)

** ADDED** Monday, February 23, 2:00-4:00PM
The Community Foundation - Board Room
50 Hurt Plaza, Suite 449
Atlanta, GA 30303 (directions)

Tuesday, February 24, 9:00AM-Noon
Session has been filled and registration is now closed - Please choose another!