Program Description for Capacity Building Opportunity 2022 (ARCHIVED)

With support from Arts Midwest, Racing Magpie staff are leading a creative process with selected organizations’ stakeholders with a primary focus on improving practices of including Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) artists in all aspects of organizational decision-making processes. From May 2022 through January 2023, four organizations from across South Dakota will be selected for participation in the program. The purpose of these consultations is to support ongoing processes or begin new ones to institutionalize new approaches and practices to engage with BIPOC artists and community members.

These consultations will be tailored to each organization's needs and are envisioned as regular (monthly or more often), virtual, and/or in-person meetings with organizational leadership, staff, community members, and community artists. Each selected organization will receive a grant of $12,500 to be utilized in a way that will further the goals of this program, to be determined through the shared process (see usage rules below).

The deadline for the application has passed.

** Also, we will be hosting two Zoom-based hangouts prior to the application deadline. These will be very informal virtual "office hours" where our staff will be available to answer questions and talk about the application and the program. These events will be held on Thursday, March 31, from 9:30-10:30 AM Mountain Time (register here), and Monday, April 11, from 1:30-2:30 PM (register here).

ORGANIZATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Successful applicants to this program include organizations and local arts councils:

  • Whose legal address is within South Dakota.

  • That have their own board of directors.

  • Whose annual operating budget is at least $20,000.

  • Applicants must be designated as federally tax-exempt under the IRS Section 501(c)(3), are permanently under the auspices of a qualified nonprofit organization or are units of government.

  • Whose mission statements clearly identify themselves as arts/cultural organizations.

USE OF GRANT FUNDS

The grant funds will be used to support the granted organization according to the allowable expenses listed below. The funds will be released at a mutually agreed upon time, and the funds will be disbursed directly from Arts Midwest to the participating organizations.

Allowable expenses include:

  • Salary support, full or partial, for one or more staff positions

  • Fees/stipends for artists and/or contractual personnel for specific activities in support of your organization’s general operations

  • Facilities costs such as mortgage principal, rent, and utilities

  • Costs associated with health and safety supplies for staff and/or visitors/audiences (e.g., personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, etc.)

  • Marketing and promotion costs

Unallowable expenses

  • Costs related to home offices

  • HVAC/ventilation system upgrades

  • Alcoholic beverages

  • Fundraising activities

  • Capital improvement costs

  • Bad debt write-offs

  • Decorative objects for private offices

  • Goods or services for personal use

  • Fines and penalties

  • First-class travel or non-US based airline travel. Memberships in airline travel clubs

  • Gifts, prizes, and awards

  • Lobbying

  • Memberships in civic, social, community organizations or country clubs

  • Costs related to advisory councils

PROJECT GOALS

  1. To strengthen South Dakota arts organizations and build their capacities and communication skills for work with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) artists and communities.

  2. To increase organizational awareness and capacity to begin to initiate procedural change towards deeper community engagement in South Dakota.

  3. To better position arts organizations in South Dakota to emerge from the pandemic ready to engage BIPOC artists and community in more active and inclusive ways to impact community evolution.

  4. To engage Native artists in creative processes with arts organizations around the state.

  5. Provide guidance and advocacy on matters of equity and inclusion.

APPLICATION TEMPLATE

  • To view screenshots of the different sections of the application, including questions, please download and view this document.