APPLICATION CLOSED
New guidelines available in February 2024
Grant Portal
FY24 Artist-in-the-Classroom Guidelines
The Artist-in-the-Classroom Grant provides funding for elementary schools in the Salt Lake City School District to support the placement of professional artists in the classroom during school hours. This residency program is designed to augment existing arts activities during the school-day and cannot be used for after-school programming.
Program Overview
Grant Program Purpose
Residencies should be a minimum of six weeks in length and students should receive at least one session per week with the artist. If a school does not have a pre-selected artist we suggest reviewing Utah Division of Arts and Museums Teaching Artist Roster for potential artists to engage.
Please read the Program Guidelines thoroughly as substantial changes have been made.
Program Structure
Overview
We aim to distribute approximately $30,000 annually. Grants will be distributed based on adherence to the Funding Guidance, as well as the Evaluation Criteria detailed below. Priority will be given to Title I Schools.
Grant Amounts
Artist-in-the-Classroom: $3,000
Eligibility Criteria
Elementary School Criteria:
- Maintains a physical, brick and mortar, building within the boundaries of Salt Lake City;
- Maintains accreditation with the Salt Lake School District (Including Charter Schools);
- Is prepared to administer the grant during the 2023-2024 academic year.
Individual Artist OR Arts-Based Nonprofit Organization:
- Is legally able to receive taxable income in the U.S. (e.g. citizen, green card holder, and/or permanent resident who can provide a W9 and SSN or ITIN)
- OR maintains a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with an EIN;
- Is 18 years of age or older.
Funding Limitations
- Expenses incurred outside of the grant timeline;
- Activities already underway or completed before the grant timeline;
- Sub granting to other artists or organizations;
- Employment of an artist or instructor currently employed by the district;
- Expenses related to administrative or overhead costs;
- Expenses related to the indirect costs of the school.
Additional Requirements
Additional eligibility and/or limitations may be added at any time with written notice to funded projects. If funded, artists must work with the school to complete a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and an Independent Contractor form. All artists who work unsupervised must go through a background check. This is required by the district, and is not administered or approved by Arts Council staff.
School’s Responsibility:
- Select the individual artist or arts-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization;
- Plan and manage activities during the residency in partnership with the artist;
- Complete and submit all grant documents.
a. The principal may authorize another individual (e.g. a parent, teacher, artist, or PTA member) to submit the application, however the final report must be completed by a school administrator/educator or the principal. - Complete and submit the required letter of agreement from the principal of the school. The template can be found here.
- Ensure the artist has all required district documents to work with students.
General Funding Guidance
We envision that these funds are utilized by an artist, in partnership with a school, to enhance arts activities in the classroom, not replace. Potential fund usage can be, but is not limited to, the following projects;
- Grant funds are paid directly to the artist. Please specify if the artist will be required to provide supplies related to the residency from the grant award. Generally, artists should be compensated no less than $30 per hour;
- Each school may only apply for one grant. Be sure to check with your school’s faculty and administrative staff to ensure your school submits only one application;
- The Artist-in-the-Classroom Grant does not require any in-kind or cash match. However, schools are welcome to and should indicate these additional funds in the budget portion of the application.
Grant Application and Review Process
- Guidelines Released: Typically February each year
- Application Opens: March
- Application Closes: Early April
- Salt Lake Arts Council Committee Review Process: April
- Preliminary Notification*: May
- *The Artist-in-the-Classroom Grants will not be formally approved by our Board of Directors until August, but for the purposes of planning, all applicants will be notified of the preliminary results of their application before this date.
- Salt Lake Arts Council Board Meeting: August
- Written Grant Notification: August
- Grant Agreement Form Acceptance: Early September
- Grant Distribution of Funds: by October 15th
- Final Grant Distribution: Date based on completion and approval of Final Report.
- Final Report Due: 30 days after expenditure of the funds or no later than August 31, 2024.
Evaluation Criteria
All applications will be scored in accordance with our scoring rubric, found here.
The breakdown of available points is as follows:
- Artists Qualifications: 10 Points Available
- Residency Description: 20 Points Available
- Description of Artist Instruction: 10 Points Available
- Team Approach: 10 Points Available
Total Points: 50 Points Available
Final funding decisions are made in consideration of the above Evaluation Criteria and resulting average score. However additional factors may be added in context with the available funds, applicants history of funding with our organization, and other areas as determined by the Committee.
Finance & Budget Information
All applicants must submit information on the expected costs of the residency within the grant portal.
Frequently Asked Questions
All questions or concerns regarding this grant program should be submitted in writing to
All questions and answers will be updated here as necessary.
Q: Does the principal have to submit the application?
A: Anyone associated with the residency may submit the application, however the principal does need to sign a form with a project description and associated information regarding the residency. Download the template.
Office Hours
Office hours are available during the application period for individuals to schedule a one-on-one meeting with the grants manager. The purpose of this meeting is to ask questions which are not answered in the Program Guidelines or Frequently Asked Questions. We are happy to help you with any additional technical or adaptive questions or concerns you may have, as well as answer specific questions you might have regarding your materials or application. We are administrators of the Program and, as such, we have to maintain a level of fairness to all applicants.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions first. If your question is not answered please contact Salt Lake Arts Council Grants Program at
