Flexible Support

Deadlines for Tier 1: 1st of July, August, September, October, February, March
Deadlines for Tier 2 & 3: August 1st, 2025 & February 1st, 2026

The Flexible Support grant provides funding to help organizations/groups create and sustain Minnesotans’ access to the arts. Eligible projects include operations, and/or organizational capacity, and/or arts programming:

  • Activities that support the operations of an organization/group (such as paying staff salaries or rent on a space) to provide arts access to Minnesotans in the 9-county area of Blue Earth, Brown, Faribault, LeSueur, Martin, Nicollet, Sibley, Waseca, Watonwan.

  • Organizational capacity activities, meaning ​​a coordinated management effort that bolsters an organization/group’s ability to do its work (like rebranding, building a website, or overhauling financial tracking systems) to enhance Minnesotans’ access to the arts. This could also be the purchase of equipment and/or making facilities improvements to provide arts access.

  • Arts Programming activities in the 9-county region of Blue Earth, Brown, Faribault, LeSueur, Martin, Nicollet, Sibley, Waseca, or Watonwan, whether a single event (such as a theater production) or a series (such as a series of music workshops).

Grant Amounts:

  • Tier 1: Up to $5,000 grants for universities, government entities, and public libraries or arts organizations or projects with an operating budget of $0-74,999 annually or by project. 

  • Tier 2: Up to $10,000 grants for arts organizations or projects with an operating budget of $75,000-199,999 annually or by project.

  • Tier 3: Up to $15,000 grants for arts organizations or projects with an operating budget of $200,000+ annually or by project.

K-12 School Arts Projects

Deadline: 1st of month, Rolling

This program is for public and private non-parochial K-12 schools to fund residencies, live art performances, mini-workshops, or arts related field trips.

Grant Amount:

    • Up to $3,000 for a one-time project for a K-12 school.

Pilot Collaborative Support
(For Two Organizations)

Deadline: April 1st, 2026
Application coming soon.

The Pilot Collaborative Support program is a new grant to encourage and support collaboration between geographic and artistic spaces in our region.

  • Projects must include two 501(c)3s, government entities, or universities.

  • Applicants must be from two separate counties in the region.

  • Applicants must each apply separately for up to $12,500. The applications will be considered together and either both awarded or neither. Grant money will be issued to each applicant separately.

  • The award must be spent on the same project(s) within the 9-county region.

Grant Amount:

  1. $12,500 is granted to two organizations for a total of $25,000 and can be spent for one year after the award is dispersed.

Eligibility:

  1. Arts groups and organizations

    • Federally tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations whose missions are related to the arts.

  2. Cultural groups and organizations

    • Federally tax-exempt 501(c)(3) culturally-specific non profit organizations that provide arts and non-arts programming with annual arts programming expenses.

  3. Fiscally sponsored groups with arts projects.

    • A fiscally sponsored group must be composed of at least three people.

    • The group must have an advisory committee of at least three people that is responsible for oversight of project and grant funds.

    • Groups must have a fiscal sponsor. Fiscal sponsors must be registered with the IRS as a 501(c)3 nonprofit with a Minnesota address and have an active registration with the Minnesota Secretary of State as a nonprofit organization.

  4. Non-arts and non-cultural nonprofit organizations

    • Non-arts and non-cultural 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations with annual arts programming. 

      1. Non-arts and non-cultural nonprofit organizations must be able to isolate their arts programming revenues and expenses from non-arts and non-cultural financial activity.

    • A public entity such as a unit of state, local, or tribal government with arts expenses.

    • Community education units of a school district in the 9-county region with arts budgets of any size.

    • Eligible nonprofit, non-arts and non-cultural organizations must describe how this request will create access to the arts and ensure connection to audiences within the 9-county region.