Grants: Gifts with strings or amazing opportunities?

Grants: gifts with strings or amazing opportunities?

Well this year has already had amazing ups and downs.  While in my January panic, I applied for a few different opportunities.  I was awarded one of them the Wellness, Arts and the Military, Self Guided Arts Practice grant.

During COVID, Washington State took it upon itself to disburse some of the stimulus money to support the artistic community.  Did Covid effect your business? Apply here!  I was effected, I did apply and received not one but 2 different grants.  Keep your receipts, I was told.  Make sure you can show what you spent the money on.  I did that, I was pretty meticulous about it.

Fast forward to 2024 and now the grant process has gone back to being more involved.  I don’t mind because it has given me an amazing opportunity.  There is always a fly in the ointment (as it were) and I wanted to write this blog about what my bumps in the road ended up being.

The first one is writing the grant.  Bryan Bales was very clear about the guidelines and what were Washington States priorities. Paying attention to those, I not only wrote my proposal with a focus that way but also structured my goal to encompass the state’s priorities.  There were certain requirements that needed to be fulfilled and while they limited my time and my destinations, I didn’t find they hurt my end goal.  We had to show up to class was one.  Now, the requirement was to show up for the first and the last class. I took advantage of the education and showed up for every one.  I found it extremely helpful in getting the most out of this.  The second was we needed to spend the money In Washington.  Economic stimulus is very important.  Fine I was game.  The state has a lot of beauty so it was pretty easy to stick to this.  I have to have the money spent by June 30^th.  This is where things get a little sticky.

Grant funding, especially when dealing with governmental agencies; can take some time.  When all is said and done, time is short and I have only received the first half of the funds.  When applying for a grant, it is very important to consider that and time your expenditures in a way that you aren’t under a financial burden while waiting for the funds to come in.

Is the grant worth all of the hoops? Definitely! I would do this again in a heartbeat. Always remember thought, most grants are not a blank check and you have accountability.  Weigh the requirements carefully and pay attention.  This is going to be wonderful for my artistic development.  If I can do it again, I am already planning on what I am going to focus on.

Thank you Washington Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, trust me; I’m only giving information not complaining.