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New guidelines available in March 2024
Grant Portal
FY24 General Operating Grant Guidelines
The General Operating Support Grant Program assists Salt Lake City based arts and culture nonprofits with general operating expenses and the continuation or expansion of arts programming. Organizations funded in General Support must demonstrate artistic and cultural vibrancy and a positive impact on the community.
Program Overview
Grant Program Purpose
Organizations funded in General Operating Support must demonstrate artistic and cultural vibrancy, value, foster cultural equity, and cultivate a positive social impact on the community.
The review of a GOS grant application includes an assessment of the advancement of artistic and cultural vibrancy, the budget, the quality of programming, community support, and number of people served. Full evaluation measures are listed in detail below.
City Arts Grants can support only those programs and projects which take place within Salt Lake City limits. For General Support applicants, it is understood that organizations may conduct programming outside Salt Lake City boundaries. However, all awarded funding must be applied only to those activities which occur within Salt Lake City.
Applicants may only submit one application annually to the City Arts Grants Program. You cannot receive both a Project Support Grant and a General Operating Support Grant. There are no exceptions to this guideline, however, additional grant opportunities may become available and eligibility criteria and limitations will be made clear within those grant guidelines.
Please read the Program Guidelines thoroughly as substantial changes to this program have been made.
Program Structure
We aim to distribute approximately $200,000 annually in General Operating Support (GOS) and Arts Learning Enhancement (ALE) to an undetermined number of arts/culture-based nonprofit organizations. Grants are distributed based on adherence to the Evaluation Criteria. We anticipate a high number of competitive submissions to this program each year. Applicants are encouraged to adhere to the Evaluation Criteria whenever possible to maximize their score.
Arts Learning Enhancement Funding (ALE) is available to fund components of your program that focus on arts education for youth ages 3-18. ALE requests are combined with the GOS application. There is one question related to Arts Learning within the application that will be scored to determine the level of ALE funding.
The funds for GOS and ALE will be combined for a total award of up to $15,000.
Grant Amounts
General Operating Support: up to $10,000
Arts Learning Enhancement: $1,000-$5,000
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for a General Support grant, the applicant must:
- Be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization for at least three years, whose primary purpose is arts and/or cultural programming, arts and/or cultural support, or arts and/or cultural services;
- Be based in Salt Lake City at the time of grant application submission;
- Have administrative staff;
- Have matching funds for the requested amount of at least 1:1. This match can be through cash, earned income, private or public support, or through a combination of these sources. In-kind support cannot be used as part of the match;
- Apply any awarded funding to those services and activities which occur within the Salt Lake City boundaries;
- Apply any awarded funding to those services and activities which occur within the grant cycle beginning no earlier than September 1, 2023 and ending no later than August 31, 2024;
- Be in good standing prior to submitting an application to the Salt Lake City Arts Council.
Funding Limitations
General Operating Support Grants cannot be awarded to:
- Organizations based outside Salt Lake City;
- Organizations receiving a project support grant from the Salt Lake City Arts Council;
- Projects completed prior to the grant year;
- Programs or travel outside of Salt Lake City;
- For-profit business, such as a corporation or LLC;
- Deficit reduction;
- Fundraising and benefit events;
- Capital expenditures;
- Programs and services for restricted members only. Programs and services must be
open to the general public; - Organizations and projects that receive direct financial support of 50% or more of the overall project or organizational budget from Salt Lake City Corporation.
Additional Requirements
Additional eligibility and/or limitations may be added at any time with written notice to funded projects.
Grant Application and Review Process
Application Key Dates
- Guidelines Released: Friday, Apr 28, 2023
- Application Opens: Monday, May 1, 2023 at 9:00 a.m.
- Application Closes*: Friday, Jun 2, 2023 at 5:00 p.m.
*No application submitted after this date will be accepted. Absolutely no exceptions will be made. - Salt Lake City Arts Council Committee Review Process: Summer 2023
- Salt Lake City Arts Council Board Meeting: Summer 2023
- Written Grant Award Status Notification: August/September 2023
- Grant Distribution: Fall 2023
Organizations with less than three years funding from the Arts Council will receive two payments of 50%, the first Fall 2023 and the second upon completion and review of the final report.
All Correspondence will be conducted through email. Please be sure that your account lists current contact information and that your email address is not filtering out any emails sent from
Evaluation Criteria
All applications will be scored in accordance with our scoring rubric, found here.
General Operating Support
The breakdown of available points is as follows:
- Core Criteria: 40 Points Available
- Budget: 10 Points Available
Total Weighted Points: 50 Points Available
Arts Learning Enhancement
Total Weighted Points: 5 Points Available
Finance and Budget Information
All applicants must submit a detailed budget using the provided budget template, found here.
The budget should include clear detail on the income and expenses associated with this project.
The final budget form must:
- Be uploaded to the application as an Excel document.
- INCLUDE AMOUNT REQUESTED IN THE GRANT AMOUNT REQUESTED BOX (cell 10B).
- Must balance: Total income must equal total expenses
A balanced budget demonstrates your ability to administer and implement the proposed program. - Present matching funds for the requested amount of at least 1:1.
- This match can come from cash, earned income, private or public support, or a combination of these sources.
- Match cannot be met with funds from Salt Lake City Corporation (ACE grant support, etc.).
- Match cannot be met with in-kind funds.
- Include comments and explanations in the spreadsheet. Think of this portion of the application as a complement to the narrative.
- Provide a detailed budget narrative before submission, ensuring that all expenses related to this request are expended within, and in direct benefit of, Salt Lake City proper.
The Salt Lake City Arts Council values paying artists professional wages. Organizations that pay artists for their services will be given priority.
Additional Support
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: Should I include my annual budget in the budget form?
A: Yes, since this is a General Support Grant we would like to see the annual budget for your organization. Please use the budget commentary space to provide additional information for the grant review committee.
Q: Does my organization need to have paid staff in order to apply for the General Operating Support Grant?
A: In order to apply for the General Operating Support Grant your organization needs to have administrative staff; they can be paid or volunteer.
Q: Is my organization able to apply for a Project Support grant in addition to the General Operating Support Grant?
A: Applicants may only submit one application annually to the City Arts Grants Program. You cannot receive both a Project Support Grant and a General Operating Support Grant. There are no exceptions to this guideline, however, additional grant opportunities may become available and eligibility criteria and limitations will be made clear within those grant guidelines.
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.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions first. If your question is not answered please contact the Salt Lake City Arts Council Grants Program at
