Arts Alive Grantee, Puppet Workshop
photo courtesy of Nowodworski Fdtn.
ARTSWESTCHESTER GRANTS PROGRAM
ArtsWestchester grants reach every part of the County and make possible an extraordinary array of cultural activities. Our grants help:
- Westchester’s cultural organizations grow and support individual artists in the creation of new work.
- Museums and galleries present exhibitions of regional significance.
- Concerts feature musicians of the first rank.
- Conservatories provide need-based financial aid, making instruction more accessible.
- Community choruses, theaters, and orchestras give hundreds of people the chance to perform.
- Local arts councils custom-fit programs for their communities.
- Artists explore and share their personal visions.
For more information please email grants@artswestchester.org
FUNDING CATEGORIES
ArtsWestchester offers grants in several categories, although funding may not be available in each category every year. Arts Alive Grants are made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant (SCR), a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the office of the Governor and the NYS Legislature and administered by ArtsWestchester. Basic Program Support, Project Support, Mount Vernon Arts Initiative, Arts for People with Special Needs, and Yonkers Arts Initiative are made possible with support of Westchester County.
ArtsWestchester accepts applications through an electronic portal, Submittable. Sample guidelines and applications are also available on our website. We encourage you to review the guidelines thoroughly before entering information into the application form. We also suggest that you write answers to the application in Word, then cut and paste into the application form.
GRANTS
- Artist Relief Fund
- Basic Program Support
- Project Support
- Arts Alive Grant Program (Westchester and Rockland)
- Arts Initiative Targeted Grants
- Art$WChallenge
- Restart the Arts
- Voices for Change
Become a Panelist
Panelists play a central role in reviewing applications for funding. We rely on panels composed of individuals who represent a broad range of artistic and cultural viewpoints, as well as wide geographic and ethnic diversity, to provide advice about the artistic excellence and artistic merit of proposals in a variety of funding categories. Our panels are composed of both arts professionals and knowledgeable laypersons. Most panelists are arts professionals who are qualified by their activities, training, skills, and/or experience in one or more art forms. Every panel also includes a layperson – someone knowledgeable about the arts but not engaged in the arts as a profession either full- or part-time.
Panel Process
ArtsWestchester convenes panels to review grant applications in a variety of categories. Panels consist of a diverse group of professionals with specific expertise. Panelists review applications and prepare recommendations for the appropriate committee of ArtsWestchester’s Board of Trustees. The committee prepares recommendations for the Board, which has fiduciary responsibility. Staff members are present at the panel meetings, but do not participate in the deliberations.
Panel Duties
Panelists will receive copies of the applications and related materials for funding, along with the guidelines, prior to the panel meeting. When the panel convenes, staff provides an overview of the funding category and criteria, as well as background about ArtsWestchester and Westchester County. At the meeting, the panel discusses each application in detail according to the criteria articulated in the guidelines. We require panelists to sign a conflict of interest statement and to recuse themselves from discussions concerning any application where there is a potential conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Panelist Nomination
ArtsWestchester maintains a bank of potential panelists, and invites county residents, as well as colleagues in the field, to recommend panelists.
For more information please contact grants@artswestchester.org
ArtsWestchester is committed to maintaining a balance of geographic, ethnic, and cultural diversity in its commitment to high standards of integrity and impartiality in its decision-making process. While every panelist nomination is considered, ArtsWestchester is not able to appoint every qualified nominee to a panel.
