ARTS AND HUMANITIES GRANTS

The Arts and Humanities program assists organizations in Maine as they

investigate and present stories and cultural expressions of the state, its
communities and its people. These grants support projects and public programs
that include or combine both arts and humanities disciplines. The humanities
explore the nature and value of human experience through literature, history,
theology, philosophy and the disciplines of social and political science.
Community arts programs help build communities by helping them discover their
cultural assets and build communities through those.

The range of potential projects under the Arts and Humanities Grants is limited
only by the applicant’s imagination; however there must be both arts and
humanities content in the project. The funding partners are particularly
interested in projects that explore diverse cultures or that provide programming
to underserved or new audiences. Projects might include a local folk life festival,
a community performance of an historical play, a school-based historical mural
project or a project combining oral history and documentary photography.

 Deadline: Applications are accepted throughout the year, but must be

received by the Maine Arts Commission at least 60 days prior to the start date of
the initiative.
 Maximum grant amount: $1,000 (with a required match of 1:1)
 An organization may only receive one Arts and Humanities grant per calendar
year

Who is Eligible to Apply?

Any community organization that is:

 a nonprofit organization, legally established in the State of Maine, and

 has tax-exempt status 501(c)(3) from the Internal Revenue Service, or
 is a unit of local, county, state or tribal government; and
 has completed and filed all final reports required for previous Maine Arts
Commission and Maine Humanities Council grants.

An applicant must demonstrate a fiscal structure that allows them to legally and
responsibly utilize grant funds. An organization may serve as the sponsor for an
artist or a community organization that is not a registered nonprofit, but must
be responsible for the grant. All contact information should be that of the
legal applicant.

Examples of recent Arts and Humanities Grants

Review Process

Applications are reviewed approximately once a month by staff members of both

the Maine Arts Commission and Maine Humanities Council. In most cases,
decisions on applications are available a few weeks after the application is
received.

Review Criteria

All grant proposals are considered on a competitive basis using the following
criteria:

 Clarity of the proposal and project design.

 Humanities and artistic quality and content of the proposed project.
 Ability to reach a broad public audience.
 Realistic funding and implementation plans.

Projects should also, wherever appropriate, present a range of viewpoints on an

issue.
The strongest project proposals will:

 Include at least one public program.

 Provide a reasonable amount of time for planning, publicity and program
activities.
 Show evidence of cooperation between organizations or groups.
 Present a clear statement of the project, plan and budget showing how the
project will be completed.
 Specify which staff person or organization is responsible for each of the
various aspects of the project.
 If appropriate, indicate that the applicant has made provision for the
materials or findings generated by the project to be preserved for use after the
project ends through a library, historical society, local arts agency or other
resource.

Page 2
Required Application Materials

Preparing your documents for submission – All word documents must be

saved as .doc or .rtf files and follow the following naming convention:
lastname_firstname_TitleOfDocument.rtf (example: veilleux_lisa_resume.doc or
veilleux_lisa_narrative.rtf).

1. eGRANT Application
You will upload all supporting documents (with exception to video, audio, or
images) through eGRANT.
2. Application Budget Form and Detail (form below) providing evidence of
1:1 cash and/or in-kind match. No substitutions for the budget form are allowed.
3. Letters of Support from community members (up to three).
4. Resume(s) of those responsible for carrying out the project (up to three).
5. Application Narrative (form below)
Clear, specific responses to each of the project description statements,
addressed sequentially and numbered. Responses can not exceed five
pages. The project description is the central element of the grant request.
6. Assurance Form (form below) with original signature of an authorizing
official. Please mark with name of applicant.
7. Vendor Form (form below)
This is information used by the Treasury to generate a check if the grant is
awarded. Applicants should be sure to indicate the address the check
should be sendt to. You must mail the form with your signature to our
office. Faxed copies are not accepted.

Mail assurance form and vendor form to Maine Arts Commission, 193 State
Street, Augusta, Maine 04333-0025
STOP!
Each applicant is required to speak with Kathy Ann Shaw, Senior
Development Associate at the Maine Arts Commission at 207/287-2750,
toll-free 877/887-3878, TTY/NexTalk 877/887-3878 User ID kathy.shaw,
kathy.shaw@maine.gov and/or Martina Duncan, Assistant Director of the
Maine Humanities Council at 207/773-5051,
mduncan@mainehumanities.org about the project before submitting an
application.

How to Apply

Applicants are required to apply through the Maine Arts Commission e-

GRANT system. pplicants who are unable to apply through e-GRANT must
contact Kathy Ann Shaw at 207/287-2750, 877/887-3878 TTY/NexTalk User
ID: kathy.shaw or kathy.shaw@maine.gov to discuss an alternative prior to

Page 3
applying. Alternative submissions will not be accepted without prior
authorization.

The agency will not accept late or incomplete applications under any
circumstance.

Grant information is available in large print format by request. All Maine Arts
Commission programs are accessible to people with disabilities. All programs
funded by the Maine Arts Commission must also be accessible.

APPLY NOW!

Arts and Humanities Grant Program

Guidelines and Application Forms

Arts and Humanities Grant Program Application Forms

Application Assurances Budget Vendor Form (PDF) or
eGRANT
Narrative
(PDF) Form JPG

Page 4