Support Grants
Support Grants
General operating support for Santa Cruz County nonprofit or fiscally-sponsored arts organizations of all budget sizes. Applications accepted once per year for grants up to $7,000.
Apply online in the grants portal September 18-October 23 at 5pm.
Sign up for our Grants newsletter at the bottom of this page to get notified about all of our grant offerings.
Please read the guidelines before beginning your application. Guidelines include important information about eligibility and review criteria.
Watch this recording of our Support grant orientation, which goes over the guidelines and how to apply.
Download the presentation slides from our Support grant orientation.
The Support Grant application is an online application. Download this Microsoft Word document to view the list of application questions.
Key Dates
Registration encouraged. The orientation will begin with a presentation by Tamara Liu, Grants Program Manager, covering everything you need to know about Support grants. There will be time for questions after the presentation. Zoom information will be emailed ahead of the event to those who register. Spanish interpretation is available if requested at least two weeks ahead of the orientation.
RegisterBegin working on your application in the grants portal.
Grants PortalOur Watsonville Grants Ambassadors at Arte del Corazón are offering workshops to take a deeper dive on a couple topics!
Location: Each workshop will be hybrid (in-person and virtual). The in-person workshop will take place at Arte del Corazón’s studio and cowork space, 80 Airport Blvd # 206, Freedom, CA 95019. The workshop can be joined virtually via Zoom via the links below.
No registration, but if you prefer Spanish please email grantsprogram@artscouncilsc.org at least 1 week ahead of time so we can plan to have a Spanish-speaking staff member present.
- Thursday, October 3, 1-2:30pm: Equity and Accessibility
- Thursday, October 10, 1-2:30pm: Planning for the Future - Setting and Managing Goals
No registration, but if you prefer Spanish please email grantsprogram@artscouncilsc.org several days ahead of time so we can plan to have a Spanish-speaking staff member present.
Click here to join the Zoom meeting
Meeting ID: 81346267392 / Passcode: 10wJAcfv
Office hours are informal times when you can get grant application support from Grants Program Manager Tamara Liu. You can drop in during any of the scheduled times, and since there isn’t a presentation, you don’t have to be there at the beginning or stay til the end. If lots of folks show up at once, we’ll use a learning circle approach, with each person sharing questions or ideas. If you’re the only one, you will get direct one-on-one support! No questions or situations are too simple or too complicated. Hope to see you there!
Can’t attend at this time, or want to request an in-person meeting? Click here to book a time or email grantsprogram@artscouncilsc.org.
Please plan to submit your application well before 5pm! Late applications due to technical difficulties or any other reason are not accepted. The grants portal is often slower to load as the deadline approaches.
Look for an email on this date, sent to the email you used to log into the grants portal. The email will be sent by administrator@grantinterface.com, so please make sure to add this address to your safe sender list.
Grant payments will be sent once you’ve signed your grant agreement.
When all funded activities/expenses must take place
Support Grant FAQs
The review criteria has changed slightly since last year. Please attend the orientation and see the Review Criteria section of the guidelines for more information.
The application has been reorganized and some questions have been reworded.
The final report for 2024 grantees is still part of the application, but it has been shortened.
The video recording, slides, and transcript from the grant orientation will be posted on this webpage (above). If you’d like to meet with Grants Program Manager Tamara Liu, book an appointment or email grantsprogram@artscouncilsc.org.
Book AppointmentYes! Download this document to see a few examples of responses that have received high scores in recent grant cycles.
Example Equity & Accessibility ResponsesGeneral FAQs are available at the bottom of our Apply for a Grant webpage.