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 MRAC e-newsletter |
June, 2013
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Greetings!
With the exception of a generous grant from The McKnight Foundation for our Next Step Fund grant program for individual artists, all of MRAC's funding comes from the State of Minnesota, through a general fund appropriation and through the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. While the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund is generated by the sales tax implemented through the constitutional amendment that was passed in 2008, the Legislature is still responsible for appropriating the money as it sees fit. During the legislative session that concluded on May 20th, an increase in the proportion of Arts and Cultural Heritage Funds that goes to the Minnesota State Arts Board and Regional Arts Councils was passed, and so MRAC and all ten other Regional Arts Councils will have additional funding for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2013.
During June the MRAC staff and board will be developing the annual budget for FY 2014, so it's too soon to pinpoint how the increased funding will be allocated in our programs and services. Meanwhile, information on all of our grant programs can be found on our newly-redesigned website, www.mrac.org. Thank you to everyone who came to Advocacy Day in March, and/or contacted their legislator(s) during this legislative session! Grassroots advocacy works!
Sincerely,
Jeff Prauer
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Arts Learning Grant Awards
On May 28, 2013 MRAC awarded  200,144 to 22 organizations in the second round of its FY 2013 Arts Learning grant program. The Arts Learning projects chosen will provide high-quality, age-appropriate arts education for Minnesotans of all ages to develop knowledge, skills, and understanding of the arts. MRAC's goals for the Arts Learning grant program are to cultivate creativity and deepen knowledge of and/or through the arts for children, youth, and adults by engaging people in extended arts experiences and activities with clearly articulated learning objectives. The Arts Learning grant program is a direct result of the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund of the Legacy Amendment. All applications go through a competitive peer review panel process. The MRAC board of directors makes the final decisions on all panel recommendations.
Click here for a list of awarded projects sorted by the county of affiliation. Organization websites are included when available as a way to get more information about the groups and awarded projects.
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Arts Achievement Awards
MRAC is pleased to honor Rosemount Area Arts Council and Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association as this year's Arts Achievement Award recipients! The groups will be recognized at MRAC's annual meeting on July 23, 2013. Full write ups will be in the August newsletter.
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FY 2014 Arts Activities Support, Round 1 Grant Workshops
The FY 2014 Arts Activities Support, Round 1 grant application deadline is 4:30 PM on Monday, July 8, 2013 with an earliest project start date of September 25, 2013. Grant guidelines are available on the Arts Activities Support grant program page of the new MRAC website.
All applications must now be submitted using an online grant interface. The first portion of the workshops will cover the online application process. You may also watch tutorial videos on the online applications page of the MRAC website.
The following workshops are designed to help groups prepare MRAC Arts Activities Support grant applications. Participants will become familiar with the grant program, the online application process, and how to write effective MRAC grant proposals. The Arts Activities Support workshops will be held:
The workshops are free, but we ask that you register in advance. To register, click on the linked workshop date. The workshops will be held in the MRAC conference room at 2324 University Avenue West, St. Paul, MN 55114. Please contact us if you need special accommodations to attend an application workshop.
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Arts Activities Support Grant Panels
FY 2013 Arts Activities Support, Round 2 grant applications will be reviewed the week of June 17, 2013. 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 the day. June 17, 2013 June 18, 2013 June 19, 2013 June 20, 2013 June 21, 2013 The panel meetings are public, open meetings. 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. Back to top
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Next Step Fund Grant Panel Date Change
FY 2013 Next Step Fund finalist grant applications will be reviewed Monday, June 10, 2013. Please note that this date changed from the May newsletter. 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.
The panel meetings are public, open meetings. 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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FY 2014 Grant Deadlines
No more need to fight traffic to get your application to the MRAC office! All grant applications are now submitted online. For more information about our online applications visit the online application page on our website. Please note: the deadline time has changed to 4:30 p.m. for all grant deadlines (except for the Next Step Fund for individual artists) so that we can process the online entries.
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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: The Brainerd Public Library is requesting proposals for artistic lighting and hanging panels that will be placed in the library's entrance. A wide range of proposals are invited including, but not limited to: stained glass, stone, metal or transparent materials. The full RFP is available at www.krls.org/branches/docs/krls_docs_br_RFP_Bd_Art_Aware_FINAL_2013.pdf. Deadline: June 19, 2013.The Cultural Data Project (CDP) is offering a special CDP orientation session specifically for organizations with parents (organizations that are a part of a university, government entity, or larger non-arts organization) on June 24 and June 25. You can participate in this Web-based CDP training session from your office or home computer. Register for this session or a CDP New User or Reports Orientation at www.culturaldata.org/webinars. The Minnesota State Fair is accepting registrations for its 2013 Fine Arts Exhibition, one of the largest juried art competitions in the state. Details are available at www.mnstatefair.org/competition/fine_arts.html. Deadline: July 1, 2013.
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 on the link for more information on MRAC's Management Training Fund grant.
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MRAC Holiday Hours
MRAC will be closed July 4 for Independence Day.
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Please forward our e-newsletter to people who may be interested in information about MRAC grant deadlines and awards, workshops, training opportunities, resource updates, and other MRAC news. We do not share our e-mail subscriber list with others.
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MRAC FY 2012 Summary
In FY 2012, MRAC received 840 applications and awarded 419 grants totaling 2,738,936 to arts organizations and/or projects including a grant to VSA Minnesota for its regranting program, the ADA Access Improvement Grants for Metro Arts Organizations. These grants were funded by an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the State's general fund, and by the voters of Minnesota, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. MRAC also received 366 applications from individual artists in the Next Step Fund program and awarded 32 grants totaling 155,900 with funds from The McKnight Foundation. MRAC provided 32 arts management training sessions and 26 grant application workshops. Photos for top ribbon provided by: Caponi Art Park, Twin Cities Housing Development Corporation, Twin Cities Women's Choir, Weavers Guild of Minnesota, and the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.
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