Town of Chapel Hill Arts & Culture Award Program

A new arts & culture opportunity

Arts & Culture Award Program

Are you a local nonprofit organization with a great idea for an arts or cultural project? Want to collaborate with a local artist to create something amazing for our community? If so, check out the Town’s Arts & Culture Award program! This new program aims to inspire creativity and celebrate community while fostering inclusion, experience, and understanding.

You can apply for funding for the following types of projects:

Community festivals and special events
Public art (e.g. murals, sculptures, installations)
Arts experiences (e.g. workshops, classes, performances, exhibits)

Town Arts & Culture Program awards may not be used to subsidize ongoing organizational operations.

FUNDING: Applicants may apply for one of four award amounts: $2,500, $5,000, $7,500, $10,000

ELIGIBILITY: Please scroll down to see eligibility guidelines outlined below.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: December 31, 2023 at 11:59 PM

INFORMATION SESSIONS: Join us on Zoom for an informational meeting at one of the following times: Thursday, November 9 at 1pm or Wednesday, November 29 at 6pm. Register here.

Join us on Zoom for an informational meeting at one of the following times:
- Thursday, November 9 at 1pm
- Wednesday, November 29 at 6pm.
We will share a short overview of the Award Program and you’ll have the chance to ask questions.

Register here.
Your application must be submitted digitally: Apply by scrolling to the bottom of this webpage or clicking here.

Information you’ll need for your application:
- Mission/values of your nonprofit
- Project/program description
- Statement linking your proposed project/program to the Town’s mission, values, and community priorities or iniquities
- Evidence that you have conducted outreach efforts or have relationships with the community
- Primary audience for your proposed project/program
- Proposed project timeline
- Amount requested and proposed total project budget [including the amount you will pay to an artist (visual, musical, dramatic, poetic, etc); % funding from other revenue sources]. See budget template.
- Desired project outcomes and/or outputs
- Information about the make-up of your Board and staff/volunteers
Who is the application review team?

The team will include Community Arts & Culture Advisory Board members, Town staff, a local artist, and representative(s) from local arts agencies and historically marginalized communities. The review team will make a funding recommendation to Council. Council must approve the review team’s funding recommendations. Awardees must complete an Award Agreement with the Town before receiving funds. See sample agreement.

What will be required in the final report?

Once your project is complete, you’ll be required to submit the following:
- Outputs and outcomes achieved
- Summary of project expenditures
- Participant feedback
- Awardee lessons learned
The following organizations are eligible to apply:
- Certified nonprofit organizations that reflect the diverse people, perspectives, and traditions of our community, especially those whose missions focus on serving BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other historically marginalized communities.
- Nonprofit types accepted:
  - 501c3 Charitable, Religious or Educational Organizations
  - 501(c)7, 501(c)8, 501(c)10 Lodges, Fraternities, Societies & Recreation Clubs
  - 501(c)19, 501(c)23 Veterans Organizations before and after 1880
- Nonprofits do not have to have an explicit arts & culture-focused mission, but the proposed project must be arts/cultural focused.
- Nonprofits must be based in Orange County.
- The program or project must take place in Chapel Hill and have direct benefit to Chapel Hill residents.
- UNC departments are not eligible to apply.
- Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools affiliates are not eligible to apply.
Your proposed project or cultural experience must have clear public benefit and advance one or more of these community priorities:
1. Community health and well-being (for example, projects that provide music engagement, visual arts therapy, movement-based creative expression, expressive writing)
2. Social justice (for example, projects that result in public art centered on language justice, racial equity, LGBTQ+ rights)
3. Climate action/environmental justice
4. Youth engagement and education
Your proposed project must also meet the following requirements:
- There must be a working artist attached to the project who will be compensated as part of the project budget.
- Projects and experiences must be free and open to the public.
- Awardees must submit a final report describing expenditures and program impacts and outcomes, including feedback from program participants. Awardees who fail to complete a final report will be ineligible for future awards.
- Applicants may apply for one of four award amounts: $2,500, $5,000, $7,500, $10,000.
- Total funds available for this award program are set annually in the Town’s annual operating budget.
- In the interest of reducing administrative burden and potential barriers to access, awardees will receive project funds up front after completion of an Award Agreement with the Town. This is not a reimbursement-based award.
October 2023 Applications open

November 9, 2023 Applicant Information Session at 1pm – Register here.

November 29, 2023 Applicant Information Session at 6pm – Register here.

December 31, 2023 Applications due at 11:59 PM

April 2024 Award notification

May 31, 2024 Award Agreements due

June 2024 Funds awarded

July 2024 -June 2025 Awardees complete funded projects

October 2024 Interim project check-in #1 due

February 2025 Interim project check-in #2 due

June 30, 2025 Final report due

A new arts & culture opportunity

Apply today