Creativity Grants for General Operating Support

General Operating Support Creativity Grants strengthen the vitality and sustainability of small organizations to maintain a strong and stable arts infrastructure in Maryland.

Intended to support overall operations, this option is available to organizations only. The Operating Support application is focused on the organization’s arts activities or programming for an entire season or fiscal year.

FY23 applications are now being accepted! Applications received on or after June 8, 2022 will be considered in the first review period of July FY23 (July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023).

The organization

  • must produce or present arts programs, services or projects that are relevant to its community and are available to the public. 

  • may not be in the Grants for Organizations (GFO) or County Arts Development (CAD) program, or an Arts & Entertainment District (A&E).

For full eligibility criteria, please review the Guidelines

How to apply webinar.

How to apply slidedeck.

The Creativity Grant for General Operating Support application for organizations represents one of two options for Creativity Grant funding - the other is for Project-Based Support (for Independent Artists or Organizations).

Applications are submitted through the SmartSimple system, linked above. Please refer to the Creativity Grant Application Scoring Rubric as you respond to the application questions.

MSAC utilizes a multi-disciplinary, statewide grant panel to electronically review, and approve or deny, Creativity Grant applications. Reviews are conducted on a monthly basis for grant requests over $2,000. Applications for grant requests of $2,000 or less are reviewed by MSAC program staff.

See the Grant Guidelines for detailed information.

Upon execution of the Creativity Grant agreement, payment will be processed for receipt in 6-8 weeks. Grantees are encouraged to keep records for the final report that will be required at the completion of the funded project. For detailed reporting requirements, please see the Grant Guidelines.

All MSAC grants are paid on the same timeline. To learn more, click here.

If awarded a Creativity Grant, the grantees are required to submit a final report through the MSAC's Smart Simple system by August 15, the end of the Fiscal Year in which the grantee was awarded.

See the Grant Guidelines for detailed information.

Resources

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