Grants and Initiatives - The Arts

Welcome to the Grants and Initiatives Page for Arts Education! The information contained on this page includes two sections. The first section will contain any short term grant opportunities or special arts education initiatives that are usually time sensitive. There may be times when this section is vacant due to lack of offerings. The second section contains information and a direct link to ongoing arts funding strategies housed within the Arts Education Guidebook. CDE’s Arts eUpdate emails will always include any updates to new grant opportunities but please visit this page at least once a month for additions.

Community Partners' Grants and Initiatives

Colorado Creative Industries - Success Through Art (StART) Schools offers grants that support in-school arts learning for K-12 students. Deadline: August 31, 2012

Additional Funding Opportunities

In Colorado K–12 public schools are primarily funded through a combination of local property taxes and state revenues. Districts also receive federal funds, usually for specific programs. Since the arts are considered a core subject by the No Child Left Behind law, federal funding can be used for arts education as long the outcomes of the funding path are met. Maintaining adequate funding for arts education programs is a notable challenge. Perhaps the most important key to attracting funding, and for sustaining programs over time, is in developing a long-term strategic plan for arts education. Particularly in times of diminishing resources and competing priorities, a strategic plan can help a school or district establish priorities and use available resources in the most effective ways possible. Additionally, having a strategic plan in place demonstrates to potential donors that you are serious about using resources responsibly.

Art Works Grant: Deadline is August 9, 2012. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is sponsoring a grant that awards recipients $10,000-100,000 to projects that help K-12 students acquire knowledge and skills in the arts. The standards-based projects must allow students to engage with artists and art that can include experience, study, performance, and assessment.

**Please visit the e Magazine version of the Arts Education Guidebook page 42 for additional information.

For website assistance in the Arts, please contact Karol Gates.