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

January 13 at 11 a.m. | Watch the Recording
January 25 at 5 p.m.
February 7 at 9:30 a.m.
February 23 at 12 noon

View application resources:

Good Grants Support

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.

read our full equity statement

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