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 E-Newsletter | January, 2012 |
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Greetings!
Happy new year!
Applicants to MRAC grant programs know that all applications are reviewed and rated by grant review panels, rather than by MRAC staff. The dramatic increase in MRAC's grantmaking activity following the passage of the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment a few years ago has necessitated many more panelists than ever before. At the end of each grant review panel meeting, we ask for comments or suggestions from panel members, and lately there have been many comments about how the quality of applications has improved. This is not a commentary on the quality of the projects necessarily, but rather on how clearly applications describe the activities and address the criteria outlined in the guidelines for each program. While it's very gratifying to hear this from panelists -- since we do provide free workshops for potential applicants to all of our grant programs -- my reason for writing about this in our newsletter is because this is feedback that applicants don't often get. So, dear MRAC constituents, keep up the great work!Another way that MRAC constituents excel is through your commitment to arts advocacy. This is demonstrated by sending thank you letters to your legislators, attending MRAC's Big Check events, and responding to calls to action from Minnesota Citizens for the Arts. One of the most important (and most fun) ways to show your support for the arts is by attending Arts Advocacy Day. Every year, arts advocates from around the state gather at the Minnesota State Capitol to tell their representatives how important the arts are to their communities. The 2012 Arts Advocacy Day is scheduled for February 29, 2012. So please save the date, and we'll see you at the Capitol. Sincerely,
Jeff Prauer
MRAC Executive Director
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Community Arts Grant Awards
In December 2011, MRAC awarded $303,079 to 64 organizations/projects in the first round of its FY 2012 Community Arts grant program. The organizations and projects chosen demonstrate both strong artistic quality and a connection to a community. This round's funded projects include: studio crawls; concert series; summer festivals; Hmong storytelling; visual art exhibitions; theater; dance; art classes; and more. The Community Arts grant program utilizes a block grant system to ensure funds are distributed throughout the seven counties in MRAC's service area. The following link is a list of grant recipients sorted by the county of activity that includes award amounts, project summaries, and links to the grantee's website. Please note that we separate the core cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul from the surrounding suburban Hennepin and suburban Ramsey counties. The Community Arts grant program is funded by an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature and the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Back to top |
Community Arts, Round 2 - Grant Deadline
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Arts Learning, Round 1- Grant Panels
The FY 2012 Arts Learning, Round 1 grant applications will be reviewed on January 18, 19, and 20. The panel review meetings will begin at 9:00 A.M. with a short panel re-orientation. Click on the linked panel date to see the order of reviews for that day.
January 18, 2012
January 19, 2012
January 20, 2012
MRAC panel meetings are public, open meetings, and constituents are encouraged to come and listen to the reviews to gain a fuller understanding of the process and hear the panelists' comments directly. Applicants may listen to the proceedings but are not invited to make presentations or participate in the panel's discussion.
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Creative Intersections Application Workshop
Do you have an arts idea that will strengthen or enrich your community and create community partnerships? The FY 2012 Creative Intersections guidelines are available on the Creative Intersections program page on the MRAC website.
The FY 2012 deadline for this program is February 13, 2012 with an earliest project start date of April 25, 2012. Please remember there is only one deadline for this grant program.
MRAC offers a workshop to help groups prepare MRAC Creative Intersections grant applications. Participants will become familiar with the program and application forms and learn how to write effective MRAC grant proposals. This is a great opportunity to get questions answered on your project ideas. The Creative Intersections grant application workshop will be held:
Friday, January 13, 2012, 1:00 to 3:00 P.M.
The workshop is free, but we ask that you register in advance. To register, click on the linked training title, visit our website www.mrac.org/grants/workshops.asp, email Mara Miller at mara@mrac.org, or call our office at 651-645-0402. Please contact us if you need special accommodations to attend an application workshop.
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Arts Learning Grant, Round 2 - Application Workshops
The next deadline for Arts Learning grant applications is Monday, March 5, 2012 with an earliest project start date of May 23, 2012. Grant guidelines and application forms are available on the Arts Learning grant program page on the MRAC website.
MRAC offers workshops designed to help groups prepare MRAC Arts Learning grant applications. Participants become familiar with the program and application forms and learn how to write effective MRAC grant proposals. This is a great opportunity to get questions answered on your project ideas. The Arts Learning workshops will be held:
Saturday, January 28, 2012, 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M.
Monday, January 30, 2012, 3:00 to 5:00 P.M.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012, 6:00 to 8:00 P.M.
The workshops are free, but we ask that you register in advance. To register, click on the linked training title, visit our website www.mrac.org/grants/workshops.asp, email Mara Miller at mara@mrac.org, or call our office at 651-645-0402. Please contact us if you need special accommodations to attend an application workshop.
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FY 12 Next Step Fund Guidelines and Workshops
The Next Step Fund for individual artists, through generous support from The McKnight Foundation, provides project grants up to $5,000 to professional artists in any discipline for the purpose of career development and artistic achievement. Applicants can be at any stage of their career, but must demonstrate achievement in their artistic field and have a history of public presentation or community contribution. The deadline for 2012 Next Step Fund applications is March 5, 2012. The guidelines are currently posted on the Next Step Fund program page and you may start the online application at any time.
MRAC offers workshops to help individual artists prepare Next Step Fund grant applications. Participants will become familiar with the program and online application. Because of the volume of applications to this program, MRAC staff does not offer individual consultations for this grant. The workshops are your opportunity to get questions answered. The Next Step Fund grant application workshops will be held:Saturday, February 4, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.Bloomington Center for the Arts, 1800 W. Old Shakopee Rd., Bloomington, MN 55431 Tuesday, February 7, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.Ritz Theatre, 345 13th Ave NE., Minneapolis, MN 55413 Tuesday, February 21, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55408 We will also be scheduling a Next Step Fund application workshop in a St. Paul location, but have not confirmed a date. Information about that session will be included in the February newsletter and posted on the MRAC website as soon as it is available.
The workshops are free, but we ask that you register in advance. To register, click on the linked training date. Please contact us if you need special accommodations to attend an application workshop. Back to top
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ADA Access Improvement Grants through VSA Minnesota
ADA Access Improvement Grants for Metro Arts Organizations are now available to nonprofit arts organizations in Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington counties with annual budgets less than $4,460,000. The focus of these grants, of up to $15,000 each, is to help make arts programming, activities, and facilities more accessible to people with disabilities. The grants are not intended for one-time activities, but should have the potential for significant or long-term impact in involving more people with disabilities as participants or patrons in arts programs. The grant program is administered by VSA Minnesota for the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Grant guidelines and application forms are available at www.vsamn.org/forms.html#adagrant, or contact VSA Minnesota at 612-332-3888 voice/tty or access@vsamn.org. A series of information meetings will be announced shortly. |
Collecting Photos!
The Metropolitan Regional Arts Council uses photos of arts activities from the past year on our website and in our print materials such as our brochure and annual report. We look for a variety of photos that will show the diversity of our community and the range of arts activities and arts disciplines that MRAC funds. Photos are selected for use based on our needs and photo quality. For more information and to submit your photos, please visit our photo submission page or contact Mara Miller by email at mara@mrac.org. |
MRAC Training
Developing Your Brand
Carlo Cuesta, CreationINCommon
In October, Carlo Cuesta discussed broadening, deepening, and diversifying your audience. In this session you'll explore these concepts further as you think about your organization's unique offering and benefit to the community--your brand. In practical terms, your brand message is an essential component of your marketing and fundraising efforts. It helps your participants and supporters understand and communicate the value of your organization. After an overview and examples of effective messaging, you will begin to develop a message specific to your organization's mission. You'll have a chance to receive feedback from the group and leave with an outline for message development in this hands-on, participatory session.
Carlo Cuesta has more than 20 years experience working with nonprofit and arts organizations helping them get their messages out and developing strategies for engagement. He was the lead trainer for the Minnesota State Arts Board's Statewide Audience Development Initiative and is the co-author of The McKnight Foundation commissioned report: Bright Stars, Charting the Impact of Art on Greater Minnesota. He has led research and planning with organizations such as the Jerome Foundation, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, North Dakota Council on the Arts, Plains Art Museum, and Illusion Theater. Carlo has produced and managed Shakespeare in the Park and outdoor summer festivals that drew thousands of people per night. He has an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and is an adjunct professor in the graduate program on arts and cultural leadership at the University of Minnesota.
Coming in February... Creating a Communications Toolkit Organization communication is not just about selling tickets! Come explore the essentials to a strong communications toolkit. What is the list of communication tools that arts organizations can't live without? This session will introduce participants to communication tools designed to help build visibility for their arts organizations. Examples of successful strategies used by arts organizations will be presented. Non-traditional Marketing and Advertising
Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Metropolitan Regional Arts Council
Today's consumers are bombarded by traditional marketing and advertisements. Non-traditional
marketing is a great way for arts organizations to break through the clutter and create a
lasting impression. You don't need a big budget for non-traditional marketing, but you will need time, energy, imagination and human interaction. Come explore this grassroots approach to reaching your audience!
These workshops are presented by MRAC in partnership with MAP for Nonprofits. The workshops are free, but we ask that you register in advance. To register, click on the linked training date, visit our website www.mrac.org/training, email Mara Miller at mara@mrac.org, or call 651-523-6384. Please contact us if you need special accommodations to attend a training event.
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 Logos Webpage! 
Trying to find the MRAC and/or Legacy Logo to use in your
publicity materials? Now MRAC has a webpage with downloadable logos and the required acknowledgement language. Visit www.mrac.org/resources/logos.html and help inform your fans about the importance of arts funding!
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| MRAC FY 2011 Annual Report
All of our grant awards from FY 2011 are available in a downloadable document--The MRAC 2011 Annual Report is now online! (Please be patient with the download; it is a relatively large file.)
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Resource Updates (These non-MRAC opportunities are listed at MRAC's discretion. The listing does not indicate an endorsement.)
Call for Artists: MNartists.org and Springboard for the Arts are seeking Minnesota artists of all disciplines for the 2012 Community Supported Art (CSA) program. Artists are selected from a pool of applicants by a jury of local food and art luminaries. Selected artists receive a stipend of $1,000 to create 50 "shares" by June 1, 2012. Shareholders purchase shares for $300 and will receive 1 box containing 3 works of art at 3 different pick up dates throughout the Fall/Winter season. More information is available at www.mnartists.org/submit/programs/csa-2012. Deadline: January 13, 2012.
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The Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grants provide general operating support to high quality, established arts organizations that produce, present, or exhibit works of art; organizations that provide a broad range of services to artists; and community arts schools and conservatories that make arts learning available to Minnesotans of all ages and abilities. More information is available at www.arts.state.mn.us. Deadline: January 13, 2012.
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Call for Artists: Public Art Opportunity: The City of Eden Prairie seeks an artist or team to create a dynamic mural or light-weight wall relief to enliven space near the Eden Prairie Community Center main entrance. The dimensions of the wall are 30 feet, 6 inches long, and 9 feet, 1.5 inches in height. Options for hanging pieces from the ceiling will be considered. More information is available at www.edenprairie.org/vCurrent/live/article.asp?r=8946. Deadline January 20, 2012.
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Applications for the 2012 Minnesota Fringe Festival (August 2-12, 2012) are now available at www.fringefestival.org/apply. The Fringe Festival connects adventurous artists with adventurous audiences through an annual 11-day performing arts extravaganza. Fringe Festival shows are selected by random lottery. The application fee is $25, and producing fees for shows selected range from $300 to $450, depending on venue size. Deadline: January 31, 2012.
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Franconia Sculpture Park is now accepting applications for their 2012 artist opportunities. Located on 20 acres in the St. Croix River Valley, Franconia is dedicated to fostering an inspiring environment for artists to expand their skills and promote the public education of three-dimensional art. The artist programs at Franconia bring in up to 40 artists each year to be in residence and create new work in the outdoor studio space to exhibit in the park. There are five different artist programs available, four with deadlines in February. More information is at
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The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits is offering a six-part Diversity and Inclusion webinar training series, hosted by Dr. Mai Moua, to explore the unique assets diversity and inclusion bring to organizations, identify challenges that create barriers to effective diversity and inclusion work, and to create strategies around diversity, inclusion, and leadership practices. In addition, MCN and the Charities Review Council of Minnesota are co-sponsoring free monthly networking lunches on topics of diversity and inclusion throughout 2012 with the first six lunches facilitated by Dr. Moua. Training sessions start in January. More information is available at www.minnesotanonprofits.org/events-training/diversity-inclusion.
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The Big Read is accepting applications from nonprofit organizations to develop community-wide reading programs between September 2012 and June 2013. The Big Read is a national program designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment. Visit the Big Read Website at www.neabigread.org for more information. Deadline: February 1, 2012.
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The National Endowment for the Arts will provide a limited number of "Our Town" grants, ranging from $25,000 to $150,000, for creative placemaking projects that contribute toward the livability of communities and help transform them into lively, beautiful, and sustainable places with the arts at their core. A key to the success of creative placemaking involves partnerships with a committed governmental leadership and the philanthropic sector. All Our Town applications must reflect a partnership that will provide leadership for the project. More information is available at www.arts.gov/grants/apply/OurTown. Deadline: March 1, 2012.
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Intermedia Arts' new ArtsHub co-working space is a place to get things done while being a part of a daily creative community. Practical and affordable, ArtsHub offers work stations, printing, copying, conference rooms, wireless internet, and free parking. Most importantly, ArtsHub offers a community of people who want to connect, collaborate, and be energized by one another. More information is available at www.IntermediaArts.org or by email ArtsHub@IntermediaArts.org. Mention "MRAC" and receive a 10% discount on all new memberships. Discount valid until January 31, 2012.
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Springboard for the Arts is offering placemaking workshops for St. Paul artists along the new LRT line on January 7, February 11, and March 3, 2012. If you're an artist of any discipline, background or level of experience who lives, works or has a personal investment in the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit route in Saint Paul who would like to do collaborative creative placemaking, sign up for a free workshop at www.springboardforthearts.org/community/placemaking-workshop-registration.
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The Forecast Public Art Toolkit is a step-by-step guide to the process of creating public art from idea development and location analysis to financing and artist selection to installation and conservation. Visit forecastpublicart.org/toolkit and check it out!
Interested in a non-MRAC training opportunity, but not sure that your organization can afford the fee? MRAC offers a training fund grant for management or administrative-related training opportunities that will strengthen your organization. Click here for more information on MRAC's Management Training Fund grant.
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Construction UpdatesThe Central Corridor LRT line is under construction along University Avenue. This will cause delays as traffic is re-routed and/or streets are closed. Please allow extra travel time when coming to visit our office.At times, access to the MRAC parking lots from University may be difficult due to the LRT construction. To get to our back entrance, use Myrtle St.--behind the MRAC building. You can access Myrtle from Raymond or Pelham. Click here to see a map to our back entrance.
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Forum of Regional Arts Councils Brochure
Are you outside our region? The Metropolitan Regional Arts Council is one of 11 Regional Arts Councils (or RACs) that along with the Minnesota State Arts Board shares the mandate to distribute the legislative allotment for the arts and a portion of the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund of the Legacy Amendment. For more information about the RAC system and contact information for all 11 Regional Arts Councils, download the Forum of Regional Arts Councils of Minnesota brochure. Back to top |
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interested in information about MRAC grant deadlines and awards,
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| MRAC's on Facebook
There is another way to find out what is happening at MRAC. Connect with us on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/MetropolitanRegionalArtsCouncil
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MRAC FY11 Summary
In FY 2011, MRAC received 1039 grant requests and awarded 508 grants totaling $3,330,010, including 34 grants awarded in the new MRAC Next Step Fund program for individual artists, funded by The McKnight Foundation, and a grant to fund VSA Minnesota's ADA Access Improvement Grants for Metro Arts Organizations. MRAC also provided 26 arts management workshops, the 9-month arts of leadership series for directors of arts councils and centers, 63 individual and peer coaching sessions, and 26 grant application workshops.
Photos for top ribbon provided by: FOCI Glass, Ballet Minnesota, Thursday Musical (© Virginia Padden), Caponi Arts Park (Photo of CAAM Chinese Dance Theater), Oratorio Society (© Kyrsten Gustafson), Masquers Theatre Company, and T.V. by Girls.
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