Annual Grants Program

2023 Application Resources

TIMELINE

Application Release 
January 9, 2023

Draft Submission Deadline
February 3, 4:30 p.m.

Application Deadline
February 24, 2023, 4:30 p.m.

Public Panel Review
April 11 - 14, 2023

Support Period
Calendar year 2023 (January - December)

Award Notification
By May 19, 2023

GUIDELINES

Click here to view the 2023 Annual Grants Program Guidelines.

DRAFT DEADLINE

Applicants may submit a preliminary draft of their application for feedback from the Indy Arts Council grant services team. Please submit a draft by February 3, 2023 at 4:30 p.m.

WORKSHOPS

Register for a Zoom workshop:

View application resources:

OPEN OFFICE HOURS

Virtual:
We can answer questions during virtural office hours every other Tuesday from 11 a.m. to noon. Register here.

We are offering additional virtual office hours for Annual Grants Program applicants from 11 a.m. - noon on Jan. 17, Jan. 31, and Feb. 14, 2023. Register here.

In-person at Indy Arts Council:
Join us for in-person office hours from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Feb. 23, 2023. Applicants can use our WiFi, get assistance with uploading documents, and request any last minute support. No registration required.


2023 Annual Grants Panel Review
April 11-14 

A record 87 organizations applied for Annual Grants Program funding this year. A panel of national grant professionals will review applications from 1 to 5 p.m. April 11-14. 

FOR APPLICANTS:
If your organization applied for funding, please click on this document to:

  • Find out the time/date your organization's application is scheduled to be reviewed.
  • Register to attend your application review session. (All sessions are open to the public and will take place via Zoom.)
  • Learn more about the review process. 
  • Meet this year's panelists.
  • Note: Grant awardees will be notified in May. 

FOR THE PUBLIC:
The public can register to attend the 2023 Annual Grants Panel Review, taking place via Zoom webinar. Registration links are below and info about each panel can be found here. The panels will also be livestreamed via YouTube.

Panel A: 1 - 5 p.m. April 11 & 12 | Register
Panel B: 1 - 5 p.m. April 13 & 14 | Register


General Grant Information

Apply for one of our competitive grant programs and let us invest in your plans for the arts in Indianapolis.

Each year, the City of Indianapolis through the City-County Council allocates funding to the Arts Council to grant to Marion County arts organizations. The Arts Council’s Annual Grants Program is a three-tiered program of investment support for the arts in Indianapolis. Grants from the Arts Council will provide investments in the arts and cultural community, reflecting the changes of our growing city and ever-expanding arts community.

Grant applications are reviewed in a public process that removes conflicts of interest and assures fairness and professionalism.

Review Criteria

Each application will be reviewed and scored by a conflict-free online panel. The scores will be included as part of a funding formula that determines grant awards. Information submitted in the application will be reviewed according to the evaluation criteria below. The criteria center diversity, equity, inclusion, and access across three areas, with an emphasis on racial equity.

  • Community Impact (50%)
  • Artistic Merit (25%)
  • Organizational Capacity (25%)

Indy Arts Council is committed to working with the arts and cultural community to cultivate a sector that serves, celebrates, and values every resident of Indianapolis. We envision a city where engagement in the arts is not pre-determined by socio-economic status, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. We believe in a full creative life for all.

2022 Public Review Panel 

The public review process took place April 12-15. Panelists included Benjamen Douglas, former grants program manager for DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities; Dionne Griffiths, community leadership officer for the Indianapolis Foundation (a CICF affiliate); Laura Holland, managing director of the Quarry Theatre; Lasana D. Kazembe, assistant professor, IUPUI Africana Studies program; Anika Kwinana, director of social responsibility and inclusion at WESTAF; Stacia Murphy, director of equity, outreach & strategic partnerships at Indy Chamber; Tariana Navas-Nieves, director of cultural affairs for the City of Denver, and India Pierre-Ingram, racial equity initiatives and grant operations manager at Cuyahoga Arts and Culture in Cleveland, Ohio.

Organizations receiving 2022 Annual Grants Program funding (in alphabetical order) include:

American Pianists Association

$8,350

Arte Mexicano en Indiana

$8,000

ArtMix

$40,000

Arts for Lawrence (Partnerships for Lawrence)

$30,000

Arts for Learning Indiana

$35,000

Asante Art Institute of Indianapolis, Inc.

$45,000

Aurora PhotoCenter

$2,900

Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site

$2,000

Big Car Collaborative

$40,000

Brick Street Poetry, Inc.

$2,500

Buck Creek Players, Inc.

$2,000

Classical Music Indy (Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis)

$25,000

Claude McNeal's Musical Theatre Training Program, Inc.

$7,000

Dance Kaleidoscope

$20,000

Echoing Air, Inc.

$2,000

Ensemble Music Society of Indianapolis

$2,000

Festival Music Society

$2,000

Fonseca Theatre Company (River West Theatre)

$50,000

Footlite Musicals, Inc.

$4,000

Freetown Village

$8,450

Harrison Center for the Arts

$25,000

Heartland Film, Inc.

$5,000

Iibada Dancers, Inc.

$10,000

Indiana Fashion Foundation

$4,500

Indiana Historical Society

$2,500

Indiana Musical Education Association & Foundation

$2,500

Indiana Performing Arts Centre

$9,000

Indiana Repertory Theatre

$75,000

Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites

$75,000

Indiana State Symphony Society, Inc.

$75,000

Indiana Wind Symphony

$2,000

Indiana Writers Center

$5,500

Indianapolis Art Center

$11,400

Indianapolis Ballet, Inc.

$5,000

Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra

$10,000

Indianapolis Children's Choir

$7,650

Indianapolis Jazz Foundation, Inc.

$30,000

Indianapolis Men's Chorus, Inc.

$2,900

Indianapolis Movement Arts Collective

$2,900

Indianapolis Opera

$9,900

Indianapolis Shakespeare Company, Inc.

$3,500

Indianapolis Suzuki Company

$5,000

Indianapolis Symphonic Choir

$10,000

Indianapolis Women's Chorus

$2,900

Indianapolis Youth Orchestra, Inc.

$2,500

Indianapolis Zoo

$20,000

IndyBaroque Music, Inc.

$3,600

International Violin Competition of Indianapolis

$10,575

Kan-Kan Cinema (Indianapolis Film Project, Inc.)

$2,900

Kids Dance Outreach

$35,000

Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library

$22,805

Madame Walker Legacy Center, Inc.

$15,270

Music For All, Inc.

$2,900

Musical Family Tree

$2,900

Newfields (Indianapolis Museum of Art)

$75,000

PATTERN, Inc.

$6,500

Percussive Arts Society

$6,500

Philharmonic Orchestra of Indianapolis, Inc.

$5,000

Phoenix Theatre Cultural Center

$15,150

React (Young Actors Theatre)

$15,300

Storefront Theatre of Indianapolis

$4,000

Storytelling Arts of Indiana

$7,000

Summer Stock Stage

$6,500

Summit Performance Indianapolis, Inc.

$3,000

The Cabaret

$40,000

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

$75,000

The District Theatre

$6,500

The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art  

$75,000

The Indianapolis Fringe Theatre Festival

$15,000

The Indy Convergence, Inc.

$6,000

The New Harmony Project, Inc.

$45,000

The Performing Arts Conservatory

$8,500

The Philippines Cultural Community Center

$6,500

The Sapphire Theatre Company

$6,750

WFYI

$20,000

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Thank you to our funders

City of Indy logo
Lilly
Indiana Arts Commission
CICF
Clowes Charitable Foundation