Arts Challenge Grant (General Operating Support)

NOTE: The SDAC changed the order and language of narrative questions to better align with the purpose of this grant category and coordinate with a simplified scoring rubric. DO NOT simply submit an updated version of the narrative from your last application.

Purpose

Arts Challenge Grants provide general operating support, enabling arts organizations and institutions to build a strong and sustainable infrastructure and provide programs and services that will have the greatest impact on their communities. Awards are based on an arts organization’s commitment to arts development, artistic excellence, service to communities, and service to artists.

Arts organizations and institutions are challenged to:

  • Ensure access to the arts.
  • Support a robust arts economy.  
  • Enhance the quality of life through the arts.

Visit the Applicant Portal [linked here] to review grant guidelines, eligibility requirements, criteria, and the application procedure before beginning the application process.

All applicants must:

  • Must clearly identify themselves as an ARTS ORGANIZATION in their mission statement.
  • Have been operational for a minimum of 4 years.
  • Operate at a minimum eligible cash operating expense of $20,000, as verified on the financial statement submitted with the application and the Budget – Expense section of the application.
  • Have a board of directors.
  • Have diversified income from both private and public sources.
  • Host an arts series/season of at least four public programs per year.

Eligible Organizations

  • South Dakota-based* nonprofit, tax-exempt arts organizations and institutions**
  • Units of state or local government
  • Federally recognized tribal governments
  • Arts organizations and institutions that work permanently through the financial support and general guidance of an eligible organization. The financial records relating to SDAC grant activities are separately maintained and demonstrate the applicant’s financially independent status. The financial records relating to SDAC grant activities are separately maintained and demonstrate the applicant’s financially independent status.***

All ORGANIZATIONS must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) from the System for Award Management (SAM) to apply. Should a grant be made, organizations must maintain an active SAM registration throughout the grant cycle (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025). The Unique Entity ID is a 12-character alphanumeric ID assigned to an entity by SAM.gov. [https://sam.gov/content/duns-uei]

*South Dakota-based: Organizations must be physically located in the state of South Dakota or within the borders of the state’s nine federally recognized Tribal reservations and be registered and in good standing with the South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office. [https://sosenterprise.sd.gov/BusinessServices/Business/FilingSearch.aspx]

**Nonprofit, tax exempt: Organizations must have tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. [https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/]

***Work through an eligible organization: This includes the following examples, a city department focusing on arts programming, a university-affiliated theater company operating autonomously, a 501c3 nonprofit foundation/“friends of” organization directly affiliated with arts programming organization, etc.

Ineligible (CANNOT APPLY)

  • Schools, colleges/universities***, and historical museums not eligible for Arts Challenge Grant support. They may, however, apply for Project Grants in support of arts programming.
  • Art Challenge Grant recipients are not eligible to apply for Project Grants.
  • ALL Funding Restrictions pertain to Arts Challenge applicants.

***Exceptions may be made for university-affiliated programs that operate autonomously for the purposes of carrying out arts-related missions/programming, e.g., theater companies, art museums, etc. (if uncertain, check with SDAC staff before starting application
[Staff list linked here]).

Resources

Guidelines and sample application for this category of support can be found online. [Guidelines PDF linked hereNOTE for Arts Challenge Applicants: The SDAC changed the order and language of narrative questions to better align with the purpose of this grant category and coordinate with a simplified scoring rubric. DO NOT simply submit an updated version of the narrative from your last application. [Use the Sample Application linked here]

Grant Review

Arts Challenge Grant applications are reviewed based on their annual operating budget.

  • Category #1: Organizations with annual budgets of $140,000 or more
  • Category #2: Organizations with annual budgets between $20,000 and $139,999

SDAC staff review applications for eligibility and will contact applicants if issues arise.

Separate grant review panels evaluate applications and assign points based on the artistic merit and artistic excellence of each proposal. Panels consists of in-state and out-of-state professionals, with arts knowledge and experience, and are facilitated by an Arts Council Board and SDAC staff member. Service on panels is limited to two years.

Grant review panels evaluate applications and assign points based on the artistic merit and artistic excellence of each proposal. Arts Challenge Grants carry a maximum of 130 points.

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