Artists Engage Community Grant

Eligible Applicants
Open to artists or culture bearers in all arts disciplines, 21 years of age or older, living and working in one of the five Region 2 Arts Council counties of Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard, Lake of the Woods, or Mahnomen, Minnesota.

Eligible Proposals
Artists Engage Community grants support the creation, production, and presentation of high quality arts activities that help instill the arts into the community and public life in our region. Eligible grant proposals must connect and engage with audiences, participants, students, and/or communities to provide new and/or expanded arts programming to residents of our region’s counties, and/or remove barriers that audiences may have to accessing arts activities. These grants offer funding for a variety of artist led arts activities that will benefit the residents of Beltrami, Hubbard, Clearwater, Lake of the Woods, or Mahnomen counties. Arts activities proposed for funding must be artist led, accessible by the public, and connect with community members through the arts. Activity must begin within 12 months of the earliest start date, and must be completed by June 30, 2026.

Eligible Uses:

• Participatory arts projects

• Arts classes, camps, or workshops

• Public art projects – murals, sculpture walks/trails, concerts in public parks, etc.

• Arts performances – concerts, theatrical productions, dance performances, film screenings, etc.

• Arts presentations – readings, exhibitions, artist talks, etc.

• Arts festivals

Is your grant project eligible?  Check out our eligibility section: Artists Engage Community Grant Eligibility Requirements – If you can answer true to all the statements, then you should be eligible to apply. If you answer false to one of the statements, please contact us to discuss your eligibility.

Watch a video about how to create an account on our grants portal
or jump right in and create an account and apply online

We offer lots of help for applicants - click here for a list of our services!

The Grant Application
The online grant application will ask questions about demographics which we use for reporting to the Minnesota State Arts Board (see our Data Privacy Policy), and questions based on our scoring criteria – Artist Qualifications & Artistic Vision for the Project, Arts Access Provided by the Project, Community Impact and Evaluation of the Project, and Ability to Carry Out the Project. There are also pieces needed for the grant application that you should gather before you apply, such as work samples (Work Sample Submission Policy), resume, and a list of all project costs.

Budget Guidelines
IMPORTANT FOR ALL APPLICANTS: Project specific costs incurred and paid prior to a project’s Earliest Start Date will make a project ineligible for funding. Read about this and more:
R2AC Budget Guidelines

Outcomes and Evaluation Methods
Because we ask you to engage community in this grant, we want you to set an outcome and a means to measure whether you successfully achieved that outcome. An outcome should describe a change in knowledge, skill, attitude, awareness, behavior, or condition in your target audience. Effective project outcomes are specific, measurable, and can be reasonably achieved by the proposed activity. It is important that you measure and document progress made in achieving the proposed outcome for the target audience. You may wish to consult Getting Started with Program Evaluation – a guide published by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies for information on outcomes evaluation.

Sample Application Form for download
Artists Engage Community Grant Application
(Sample only – cannot be submitted – only online submissions are accepted)

Scoring Criteria
A community panel will review Artists Engage Community Grant applications and rate them (out of 100%) using the following criteria:

• Creative Vision for the Project

• Arts Access Provided by the Project

• Community Impact and Evaluation of the Project

• Ability to Carry Out the Project

NEW - At Region 2 Arts Council, we believe in fostering a thriving arts culture that enhances the quality of life in our communities. To support this mission, the final score for each Artists Engage Community Grant application will include up to five bonus points—1% per criterion—added to the community grant panel score. These bonus points reflect our commitment to equity, access, and community-rooted creativity. After the Community Panel scores applications the R2Arts Grants Manager will make score adjustments based on the categories below and then the scores must be approved by the R2Arts Board at their next meeting.

Intergenerational Knowledge Sharing (+1%)
Does the project foster meaningful exchange across generations?
 We value projects that connect youth and elders through storytelling, mentorship, shared creation, or performance. These efforts help preserve cultural knowledge and strengthen community bonds.

Alignment with Region 2 Arts Council Values (+1%)
Does the project and the organization’s mission reflect our core values of creativity, equity, inclusion, collaboration, and accessibility?
 We seek proposals that embody:

• Creativity: Celebrating artistic expression in all its forms

• Equity: Addressing systemic barriers and expanding opportunity

• Inclusion: Welcoming diverse voices and honoring lived experiences

• Collaboration: Building partnerships that strengthen community

• Accessibility: Removing barriers so all can participate in the arts

Projects that clearly demonstrate these values will receive a scoring bonus.

Underserved Location (+1%)
Does the project take place in or serve communities with limited access to the arts?
 We prioritize geographic equity by uplifting projects in rural or historically underserved areas across Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard, Lake of the Woods, and Mahnomen counties. If you are an organization in a community that has not received this type of grant funding in the past year, you will qualify for this.

Inclusive Outreach (+1%)
Is the project welcoming to participants of all abilities and experience levels?
 We encourage proposals that thoughtfully include people of all physical, cognitive, and artistic backgrounds—ensuring that everyone feels invited and supported.

First-Time Recipient (+1%)
Is this the applicant’s first Region 2 Arts Council grant?
 We celebrate new voices and aim to lower barriers to entry. First-time applicants are eligible for a bonus point to encourage broader participation in our region’s arts ecosystem.

A Note on Grant Awards as Taxable Income
If awarded, you will be asked to fill out a W-9 tax form and the grant award will be considered extra income for you in that tax year. Because this is a grant for individuals, you cannot shift the tax burden to any limited liability companies/corporations you may own for your arts business, but you can use a fiscal sponsor. A fiscal sponsor is a nonprofit entity that lends you their nonprofit status and provides some financial oversight for funds received from a grant award. Often they charge a flat fee or request a percentage of granted funds for this service.  If awarded, your grant award check would be made out to your fiscal sponsor, they would relay the funds to you in one large check or series of smaller payouts for your each of your expenses as you ask for/report them. The granted funds would be part of the fiscal sponsor’s tax reporting, removing the tax burden from you. You would want an agreement (sample fiscal sponsor agreement form) in place to set the responsibilities for each of you.