Season/Series Grant Video Overview (approx. 25 min.)

Note: If your organization receives a 2025-2026 Season/Series Arts Support Grant you will be ineligible to apply for the 2026 Arts Access Grant.

Applications are open to organizations located in Beltrami, Hubbard, Clearwater, Lake of the Woods, and Mahnomen counties only.

Eligible Organizations (must have planned and executed at least 4 arts or arts and culture activities, programs, performances, projects or workshops accessible by the public within the 24 months prior to this application deadline)

• arts organizations

• schools (parochial schools are ineligible)

• community education programs*

• institutions of higher learning (colleges or universities)

• non-profits providing arts programming

• local city, town, county government entities within our 5-county service area

• tribal government entities from Red Lake, Leech Lake, or White Earth Nations

• arts affiliate to a 501(c)3 host organization or other non-profit entity (such as a school, institution of higher learning, or city, town, county, or tribal government entity)

*Based on Minnesota Statute 124D.19, Community Education Programs will be assumed to be operated by the school district and will be subject to all grant guidelines that apply to schools.

Season/Series Arts Grant Intention
This grant program was created to help arts organizations, and other nonprofit entities that do a high volume of arts activities or arts and cultural programming, by allowing them to fill out one grant application to fund many events instead of multiple grant applications to fund each individual event. It is our hope that this will save valuable staff/volunteer time and effort in applying for our funding and subsequently filling out all the follow up information connected to a funded grant.

Each Season/Series Arts Support Grant assists an organization in funding the creation, production, and presentation of two or more arts activities to benefit the residents of Minnesota’s Beltrami, Hubbard, Clearwater, Lake of the Woods, and Mahnomen counties. Proposals must show a commitment to developing new/and or expanded arts programming from what the applicant organization has presented in the past. Additional attention should be paid to one or more of the following:

• Access - removing barriers that audiences may have to accessing arts activities

• Education - developing knowledge, skills, and understanding for the arts for Minnesotans of all ages

• Arts & Cultural Heritage - representing through the arts the diverse ethnic and cultural arts traditions in our state

• building bridges between Minnesotans through arts and culture.

Eligible Uses:

• Art, craft, music, literary, dance, film, fashion, or theater festivals

• Engagement of guest artists, authors, or performers

• Public art projects

• Art, craft, music, literary, dance, film, fashion, theater, or traditional cultural arts workshops

• Arts exhibitions

• Arts presentations such as author readings, craft talks, demonstrations, etc.

• Music, theater, or dance performances

New to applying with R2AC? View a video on how to create an account for your organization in our grants portal!
OR – Jump right in and Login and apply online

Is your grant project eligible?  Is your organization? Check out our eligibility section: Season/Series Arts Support 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.

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. There are also pieces needed for the grant application that you should gather before you apply, such as photos or links for your 4 qualifying arts activities, resumes or bios of key staff, volunteers, or participating artists, work samples of participating artists, timelines of projects, and a list of all costs for the funded arts activities or programming.

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 for Organizations. Also, check out our budget planning worksheet for help creating a budget for your Arts Season or Series! Applicant organizations have the option of uploading a budget or their own design or filling out our budget form.

Sample Application Form for download
2025-2026 Season/Series Arts Support Grant Application
(Sample only – cannot be submitted – only online submissions through our grants portal are accepted)

Scoring Criteria
A community panel will review Season/Series Arts Support Grant applications and rate them (out of 100%) using the following criteria:

• Creative Vision of the Season/Series

• Community Impact and Evaluation of the Season/Series

• Ability to Carry Out the Season/Series based on

  • Past Arts Activities

  • Proposal

  • Budget

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 Season Series 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. 

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.

The R2Arts board will then need to approve the recommendations of the community grant review panel with the addition of the awarded "bonus" points at their next board meeting.

Region 2 Arts Council Season/Series Arts Support Grants are made possible by the voters of Minnesota thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.