APPLICATION OPENS MAY 2024
New guidelines available April 2024
Grant Portal
FY25 Project Support Grant Guidelines
The Project Support Grant Program is designed to fund individuals, groups, and nonprofit organizations for specific arts projects and programs taking place in Salt Lake City. Concerts, performances, festivals, workshops, symposiums, exhibitions, and readings are examples of projects eligible for funding through Project Support grants.
Program Overview
Grant Program Purpose
Project Support grants must include a community engagement activity. This includes projects and activities undertaken by an organization or group as part of a mission strategy to build deep relationships between the organization/group and the communities in which it operates for the purpose of achieving mutual benefit. (Definition courtesy of ArtsEngaged)
Community Councils are welcome to apply for a project support grant up to $2,500. All projects must be arts based. Projects cannot be only for the neighborhood community and must be open and accessible to the greater Salt Lake City community.
Program Structure
We aim to distribute approximately $70,000 each cycle of this grant category to an undetermined number of applicants. We anticipate a high number of competitive submissions to this program. Applicants are encouraged to adhere to the Evaluation Criteria whenever possible to maximize their score.
Projects must occur during the funding period for this grant. Round 1 Grant Cycle dates are September 1 of the current year through August 31 of the following year. Round 2 Grant Cycle dates are February 1 through August 31 of the current year.
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.
Grant Amounts
Project Support: $500 - $8,000
Arts Learning Enhancement: Additional 5%-20% of grant award
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for a Project Support grant, the applicant must:
- Be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization OR individual artist OR group of artists;
- All projects, whether facilitated by an organization, individual artist, or group of artists, must include community engagement activities, outreach efforts, or demonstrate social, educational, cultural, and/or economic relevance for the community. The Arts Council does not offer artists’ fellowships or awards.
- All projects and programs must occur within Salt Lake City (review Salt Lake City boundaries here);
- 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;
- Perform services within the grant cycle: Round 1 Grant Cycle dates are September 1 of the current year through August 31 of the following year. Round 2 Grant Cycle dates are February 1 through August 31 of the current year.
- If awards have been received in previous years, applicants must be in good standing prior to submitting future requests to the Salt Lake City Arts Council.
Funding Limitations
City Arts Grants cannot be awarded to:
- Projects already completed prior to the grant year;
- Programs or travel outside of Salt Lake City;
- For-profit business, such as a corporation or LLC;
- Debt reduction;
- Fundraising and benefit events;
- Capital expenditures;
- Programs and services must be open to the public and not restricted to members only;
- Projects which have already been funded by the Salt Lake City Arts Council;
- Research projects that do not contain an immediate and direct benefit to the community;
- Education/Tuition fees;
- 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
Project Support Round 1
For projects that occur September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024:
- Application Opens: May 2023
- Application Closes: June 2023
- Salt Lake City Arts Council Committee Review Process: Summer 2023
- Salt Lake City Arts Council Board Meeting: August 2023
- Written Grant Notification: September 2023
- Grant Agreement Form Acceptance: September 2023
- First Grant Distribution of 50% of award: October 2023
- Final Grant Distribution: Upon completion and review of the final report
Project Support Round 2
For projects that occur February 1, 2024 through August 31, 2024:
- Application Opens: Friday, October 6, 2023
- Application Closes: Monday, November 6, 2023 at 5:00pm
- Salt Lake City Arts Council Committee Review Process: Winter 2023
- Salt Lake City Arts Council Board Meeting: January 2024
- Written Grant Notification: January 2024
- Grant Agreement Form Acceptance: January 2024
- First Grant Distribution of 50% of award: February 2024
- Final Grant Distribution: 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.
Project Support
The breakdown of available points is as follows;
- Core Criteria: 30 Points Available
- Budget: 10 Points Available
Total Weighted Points: 40 Points Available
Arts Learning Enhancement: 5 Points Available
Finance & 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. This does not include personal or organizational income that does not directly relate to 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.
- The budget must balance: Total income must equal total expenses.
- A balanced budget demonstrates your ability to administer and implement the proposed program.
- Budgets must 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 donations.
- Include comments and explanations in the spreadsheet. Think of this portion of the application as a complement to the narrative describing how the expenses are calculated and shows fiscal responsibility in how granted funds will be used.
- Please 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.
QUESTION: I am a new applicant and creating a new account. What do I enter in the field asking for a business EIN?
- If you are applying as an individual artist or as a collective, please enter zeroes in this field. The business EIN is used to verify non-profit status for organizations applying.
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.
To schedule your 25 minute appointment with the grant administrator, please click here.
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
