Tribal Cultural Grant  

Funding for Fiscal Year 2025 (July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025)

This non-competitive grant offers funding for Washington State Federally-recognized Tribes to support Tribal communities as they expand, enhance, or create space for art and culture that is respectful and responsive to each community’s needs.  
 

Funding amounts

The current allocation amount per application this cycle is $18,000 per Tribe if all 29 Tribes apply. The application includes space for each Tribe to identify an additional funding request that will be considered if additional funding becomes available, or if all Tribes do not apply. Funding not requested by the closing date will be reallocated as additional funding to those that applied.
 

Background

In 2023 the Washington State Legislature provided funding to the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA) to support Washington Tribal Communities’ arts and culture. Funding will be distributed through a series of grants that may be used for a broad array of arts and / or cultural-related activities and programs.  

The first round of grant funding was awarded to 20 of the 29 Federally recognized Tribes (all Tribes who applied) in March in the amount of $552,700.  

Projects that this initial funding supported included: Supplies and instruction for regalia making, a Tribal language dictionary and children’s books, support for culture teacher’s salaries, murals and art for a Tribal youth center and a Tribal health center, a Lushootseed language camp and much more.
 

Eligibility 

• Applicants must be a Washington State Federally-recognized Tribe. 
• Each Tribe may submit one application, but the application may support several different projects.  
• For recipients of the Fiscal Year 2024 (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024) Tribal Arts Grant: You can apply at any time while the application is open, but you will be ineligible to receive Fiscal Year 2025 (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025) Cultural Grant funding until your final report for Fiscal Year 2024 is complete. 
• Funds may support Tribal cultural activities: this will be determined by your Tribe including but not limited to language, foodways, gathering spaces, classes or mentorships, regalia making, carving, weaving, Tribal museums, support for culture teachers, and more.  
• If you have a question about whether your project is appropriate for the funding, please reach out to us.  

Important Dates 

• Application open June 17, 2024 – September 30, 2024, at 5pm 
• Early applications, submitted by July 15, will receive notification August 15, 2024 
• Applications submitted by September 30, will receive notification by November 15, 2024 
• Agreements distributed no later than November 15, 2024 
• Deadline to utilize funding June 30, 2025 
• Final reports due August 31, 2025 

 
What are ArtsWA’s Tribal Cultural Grant Priorities? 

• Support Washington Tribal communities as they expand, enhance, and create space for art and culture, in a way that is respectful and responsive to each community’s needs. 
• Support projects, programs, and services spanning a diversity of cultural/art disciplines and traditions. 
• Foster equity and expand the creative economy by funding Tribes and Indigenous artists that have historically been excluded from government arts funding. 

 
What We Can and Cannot Fund

As a state agency, there are restrictions on what ArtsWA can support.  

Examples of what we can fund: 

• Artist, teaching artist, and contractor fees 
• Tribal museum support including, exhibitions, collections, enhancements, planning and consultations 
• Rent (equipment or space)  
• Travel expenses for in-state artists or consultants  
• Materials, supplies, software, and technology 
• Administrative expenses, including printing costs, postage, and other administrative fees  
• Fees for increasing access to programming such as closed captioning, translation services, interpreters, or consultant support on these efforts  
• Support of Native/Indigenous artists for start-up funds (business license, website development, technology) 
• Expenses for Tribal cultural classes 

What we cannot fund: 

• Expenses outside the current grant period 
• Activities that have occurred prior to the period designated by the agreement 
• Requests to cover previous losses incurred by the Tribe  

If you have questions about whether your project is appropriate for this funding, please reach out to us. 

What happens after you apply? 

1. Submission confirmation: You will immediately receive an automated message from Submittable confirming your application was submitted successfully. Make sure you have notifications@email.submittable.com listed as a safe sender for your inbox. 
2. Staff will contact you: Tribal Cultural Affairs staff will contact you directly over email or phone about your proposed project(s). All applications are reviewed for completeness and eligibility, we will let you know if there is anything missing in your application. Double check to make sure your contact information is correct so that we can reach you! 
3. Agreement issued: Eligible applicants will be officially notified of award and issued their agreement by either August 15, 2024, or November 15, 2024. Your authorizing official can sign the agreement digitally or with ink.
4. Payment: Tribes must select to receive their funds in advance of project expenses or as reimbursement. If you choose Advance Payment, you can receive your funds as soon as you sign your invoice (included in your agreement). If you choose Reimbursement, you will simply sign your invoice (included in your agreement) and let us know when you are ready to receive your funds or submit the signed invoice when you are ready to be reimbursed. It usually takes a few weeks for funds to arrive after they are requested. 
5. Final Report: Final reports are short and usually take about 15 minutes to complete. They will be available in Submittable after your payment is sent. This report is vital for the continued success of the Tribal Cultural Affairs program and our ability to continue providing support for Washington's Tribal communities. This information will be used for upcoming appeals to the state legislature for additional funding for future grants and programming. Photo documentation is also extremely valuable when explaining the importance of this funding and the projects that it supports - we ask that you share photos of your projects! (There is an easy photo upload link in the report.)  

 
Submittable Tips 

• Saving: Save your application as you work on it by clicking the "Save Draft" button located at the end of this webpage. You can log out and log back in, take a break, or work on your application over several days without losing your data. 
• Collaboration: If multiple people from your organization will be contributing to your application, invite them to collaborate by clicking on the "Invite Collaborators" button located at the top right of this webpage. 
• Required Questions: Questions marked with a red asterisk '*' must be completed before you submit your application. You will not be able to submit your application if any required questions have been left unanswered. 
• Submitting: Once you have completed your application, click the "Submit" button at the end of this webpage. You will receive an automated email confirming that your application has been successfully submitted. 
• Print or download a copy of your application by navigating to your "Personal Submissions" account list. Click on your Application submission. This will open up the submission's details page, where you can click the Download button in the upper right of the viewing box. 

Questions? 

Cheryl Wilcox, Tribal Cultural Affairs Manager, at 360-485-1278 or cheryl.wilcox@arts.wa.gov
Todd Clark, Tribal Cultural Affairs Program Lead at 360-485-1223 or todd.clark@arts.wa.gov

Questions about Submittable:

Linnea Ingalls, Tribal Cultural Affairs Program Coordinator, at 360-252-9969 or linnea.ingalls@arts.wa.gov 

ArtsWA's Wellness, Arts, and the Military (WAM) program - General Operating Support Grant 

The WAM General Operating Support Grant provides up to $35,000 to organizations that offer arts programs to military connected individuals and communities. 

For the purposes of this grant, "military connected individuals" is defined as U.S. military active-duty service members, guardsmen, reservists, veterans, and their families and caretakers. 

Funding Amount

• Up to $35,000
• No matching funds required

Important Dates

• Application Opens: August  28, 2024
• Application Deadline: October 11,  2024
• Notification of Grant Award: November 15, 2024 - Ongoing
• Grant Funded Activities: July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025

Eligibility Requirements, Policies, and Procedures

Who is eligible to apply?

• Washington State non-profit organization with 501(c)(3) status
• Washington State tribal, state, or municipal government agency
• National non-profit organization with Washington State chapter(s), for example Veterans of Foreign Wars

Who is not eligible to apply?

• Individuals
• For-profit businesses
• Political or advocacy organizations
• Organizations seeking to fund projects or programs that promote religious content or observance

Additional eligibility requirements:

• minimum two years in continuous operation (organizations may have paused programming due to the pandemic but not ceased operations completely)
• minimum two years of arts programming for military connected individuals
• minimum of one professional staff person trained to work with military connected individuals in non-clinical settings
• minimum of one professional staff person with experience managing arts programs
• Within the context of this grant, "arts programming" refers to structured activities that serve military-connected individuals and communities, are conducted under the supervision of the organization's staff, occur on a consistent schedule, and yield quantifiable results. Programs and services that are one-time events, mainly consist of discounts or passes, lack ongoing support, or do not align with the organization's mission statement, are not eligible.

Application Requirements

• SWV Number: Organizations must have an SWV (Statewide Vendor) number to receive grant funds from the state. An SWV number is not required to apply but must be registered and up to date before funds are given. An SWV number can take up to three weeks to be assigned. If your organization has received payment from Washington State in the past two years, it is likely you already have an SWV number. You can check on the status of your SWV number by using the vendor number lookup.

Non-profit organizations: 

• Board approved operating budgets, with actuals for income and program expenses, for the last two completed years of operation. If operations were paused due to the pandemic also include your board approved budget, with actuals for income and program expenses, for 2019
• IRS Letter of Determination
• Most recently filed IRS form 990

Most recently filed IRS Tax Form: 

• IRS form 1040 (sole proprietors) and the following: Schedule C, Profit and Loss from Business
• IRS form 1065 Partnership Return (no K-1s required)
• IRS form 1120 Corporation Return (no schedules required)
• IRS form 1120S S Corporation Return (no K-1s required)

General Grant Policies

• Use of Funds: Grant recipients must use the funds for costs incurred from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. Funds must be spent by June 30, 2024. ArtsWA can make no exceptions to this deadline.
• Reimbursement: This is a reimbursement grant. Grant recipients can submit up to three reimbursement requests or submit one request for the full amount of the grant. We ask that all reimbursement requests be submitted by June 15, 2025 to best facilitate payment by the close of the funding period (June 30, 2025). ArtsWA will send full reimbursement instructions at the time of grant award.
• Documentation: Grant recipients must track expenses, keep clear and precise records and receipts, and provide additional appropriate and timely documentation if requested.
• Final Report: Grant recipients must complete a final report by July 31, 2025. Instructions will come from ArtsWA staff. 

Grant Funds May NOT Be Used For:

• Regranting to individuals or organizations
• Regranting as scholarships
• Renovation, remodeling, restoration, or new construction of buildings
• Purchase of permanent equipment with a cost of $5,000 and up or real property 
• Travel outside of Washington State
• Costs and/or activities outside the grant period (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025)
• Previous losses/debts incurred by the organization
• Costs and/or activities that have already received state appropriations (for example, an applicant may not use these grants funds for costs that are already being funded by a different state agency)
• Supporting specific events if the organization does not also provide military-connected programming

Applying

Grant applications are completed and submitted online between August 28, 2024 and October 11, 2024 at 11:59 pm PST.

We will make no exceptions regarding the application deadline.

ArtsWA will accept applications online through Submittable. If you do not have a Submittable account, you will be prompted to register prior to accessing the online application. Submittable recommends using Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari as web browsers.

Please take your time when completing the application. Your work will be automatically saved as you move through the questions if you are connected to the internet. The application does not need to be completed in one sitting.

After the closing date of October 11, 2024, applications will be reviewed, and final determinations will be made. Applicants will be notified of their application status, as well as next steps, starting on November 15, 2024.

Make sure that the contact email you provide is appropriate for receiving emails from ArtsWA.

Contact us:

Bryan Bales, WAM Program Manager at 360-468-0888 or bryan.bales@arts.wa.gov 

Daniya Baisubanova, WAM Program Specialist at 360-252-9979 or daniya.baisubanova@arts.wa.gov

Gabriella Smith, WAM Administrative Assistant at 360-485-1277 or gabriella.smith@arts.wa.gov 

Additional Information

About ArtsWA

ArtsWA is the Washington State Arts Commission. The Washington State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts fund our programs. Grants are contingent on available state and federal funding. ArtsWA complies with all local, state, and federal laws and regulations concerning civil and human rights. For more information regarding ArtsWA’s policies on Accessibility, Diversity, and Nondiscrimination, click here.

Transparency

Let us know if individuals involved with your organization also have an affiliation with ArtsWA. This includes ArtsWA staff, commissioners, consultants, contractors, current grant panelists, etc., or immediate family members of any of the former, who are affiliated with your organization. This is for transparency only; the panel will review your application without bias. Read our full Conflict of Interest policy.

Appeals

Unsuccessful applicants may appeal in accordance with Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 30.12.036, found here: https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=30-12-036.

Wellness, Arts, and the Military (WAM) – Self-directed Art Practice (SAP) Grant 

This grant supports U.S. military-connected individuals. SAP grant funds help you find your voice and pursue personal growth through the arts. The SAP Grant supports military connected artists of all levels. You do not need to be a "professional artist" to apply, any skill level is welcome!

Research shows the benefits of a committed arts practice. They help military-connected individuals transition to civilian life by promoting independence and creativity. They also relieve stress and anxiety.

The SAP grant provides one-time grants of up to $3,000. These grants pay for costs associated with taking time to practice art. These costs could include:

· in-state travel

· artist workshop or retreat fees

· art supplies

· childcare

Applicants must provide:

· an art practice plan

· 3 art samples

· a simple budget that shows how time and funds will be used

Grant recipients must fill out a questionnaire about their experience after completing the funded art practice time.

Deadline

Friday, October 11, 2024 at 11:59pm PST

Important Dates

• SAP Grant Opens: August 28, 2024
• SAP Grant Closes: October 11, 2024 at 11:59pm PST
• Notification starting on: November 15, 2024
• Design Thinking for Creative Expression Cohort Starts: January 2025
• Design Thinking Classes will be offered at 2 different times, 2pm - 4pm or 5:30pm - 7:30pm
• A Survey will be sent to grantees to choose which day/time works

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Self-directed Art Practice (SAP) Grant, you must be one of the following:

• a U.S. military active-duty service member, guardsman, reservist, or veteran
• a spouse or registered domestic partner of a U.S. military active-duty service member, guardsman, reservist, or veteran
• a child (at least 18 years old) of a U.S. military active-duty service member, guardsman, reservist, or veteran 
• Past recipients of the grant may apply,  however preference will be given to qualified first time applicants
• Members of the same household may apply, however only one applicant per household will be approved
• Preference will be given to qualified service member/veteran applications

In addition, you must: 

• be a current Washington State resident 
• be pursuing an art practice (Visual arts, literary arts, dance, music, theater, media arts*, traditional/folk arts)
• have an SWV (Statewide Vendor) number to receive grant funds from the state. An SWV number is not required to apply but must be registered and up to date before funds are given. An SWV number can take up to three weeks to be assigned. If you have received payment from Washington State in the past, it is likely you already have an SWV number. You can check on the status of your SWV number by using the vendor number lookup. 

* For the purposes of this grant media arts can mean projects presented via film, television, radio, audio, video, the Internet, interactive and mobile technologies as an artistic medium, video games, immersive and multi-platform storytelling, and satellite streaming.

Required Document(s)

You'll be prompted to upload the appropriate document to confirm your military connection: 

U.S. military active-duty service member, guardsman, reservist:

• Department of Defense Identification Card—Common Access Card (CAC) or a Uniformed Services ID Card

U.S. military veteran: 

• DD-214, or State-issued ID (driver's license) with a Veteran designation,  or VA issued Veteran ID Card

Spouse or Child of U.S. military active-duty service member, guardsman, reservist: 

• Department of Defense Dependent ID Card

Spouse of U.S. military veteran:

• Veteran documentation (DD-214 and/or VA ID Card) AND marriage certificate

Child of U.S. military veteran: 

• Veteran documentation (DD-214 and/or VA ID Card) AND birth certificate. Applicant must submit copy of marriage certificate if veteran is a stepparent not listed on birth certificate. 

General Grant Policies

• Use of Funds: Grant recipients must use the funds for costs incurred from January 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025. Funds must be spent by June 30, 2025. ArtsWA can make no exceptions to this deadline.
• Living Expenses: No more then 20% of grant may be used towards living expenses. 
• Reimbursement: The approved grant funds will be disbursed in two equal installments in around February and April of 2025. The payments will be contingent on the attendance of the first and the last class of the Design Thinking for Creative Expression online class. This is an 8-week class where SAP Grantees will be learning strategies for tracking and completing their art projects.
• Documentation: Grant recipients must track expenses, keep clear and precise records and receipts, and provide additional appropriate and timely documentation if requested.
• Project Media: Grant recipient must upload media (photos/videos) of their project for a digital gallery upon completion
• Final Report: Grant recipients must complete a questionnaire about their experience by July 31, 2025.

Grant Funds May NOT Be Used For:

• Travel outside of Washington State
• To develop mass-produced items for retail
• Start up funds for small business
• Contest fees
• Tuition assistance for college, university or other formal course of study that generates course credit
• Purchase of permanent equipment ($3,000 and up) or real property
• Costs and/or activities outside the current grant period (January 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025)
• Costs and/or activities that have occurred prior to the period designated by the grant guidelines
• Previous losses incurred by the individual
• Costs and/or activities that have already received state appropriations (for example, an applicant may not use these grants funds for costs that are already being funded by a different state agency)

Applying

Grant applications can be completed and submitted online at any time between the morning of August 28, 2024 and October 11, 2024 at 11:59 pm PST. 

We will make no exceptions regarding the application deadline.

ArtsWA will accept applications online through Submittable. If you do not have a Submittable account, you will be prompted to register prior to accessing the online application. Submittable recommends using Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari as web browsers.

Please take your time when completing the application. Your work will be automatically saved as you move through the questions if you are connected to the internet. The application does not need to be completed in one sitting.

After the closing date of October 11, 2024, applications will be reviewed, and final determinations will be made. Applicants will be notified of their application status, as well as next steps, starting on November 15, 2024. 

Make sure that the contact email you provide is appropriate for receiving emails from ArtsWA.

Contact us:

Bryan Bales, WAM Program Manager at 360-468-0888 or bryan.bales@arts.wa.gov 

Daniya Baisubanova, WAM Program Specialist at 360-252-9979 or daniya.baisubanova@arts.wa.gov

Gabriella Smith, WAM Administrative Assistant at 360-485-1277 or gabriella.smith@arts.wa.gov 

Additional Information

About ArtsWA

ArtsWA is the Washington State Arts Commission. The Washington State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts fund our programs. Grants are contingent on available state and federal funding. ArtsWA complies with all local, state, and federal laws and regulations concerning civil and human rights. For more information regarding ArtsWA’s policies on Accessibility, Diversity, and Nondiscrimination, click here.

Transparency

Let us know if individuals involved with your organization also have an affiliation with ArtsWA. This includes ArtsWA staff, commissioners, consultants, contractors, current grant panelists, etc., or immediate family members of any of the former, who are affiliated with your organization. This is for transparency only; the panel will review your application without bias. Read our full Conflict of Interest policy.

Appeals

Unsuccessful applicants may appeal in accordance with Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 30.12.036, found here: https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=30-12-036.