Applicant Portal

The South Dakota Arts Council makes quality arts accessible throughout the state by providing grants to South Dakota nonprofit organizations and South Dakota artists with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the State of South Dakota.

These resources are for the upcoming application cycle (funding July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025). Application available online at https://sdac.gosmart.org

DEADLINE: March 1, 2024, at 11:59 pm Central.

“ASK THE ARTS COUNCIL” Watercooler Chats: SDAC staff hosts bi-weekly conversations to answer applicant questions and provide tips about what makes a good grant application, including examples of strong grant applications. Attendees can join us at 3 pm central on Feb 29 via ZOOM (linked here).

WEBINARS: Arts South Dakota hosted SDAC staff to discuss grants avallable to individual artists and organizations. Recordings of all of the sessions are posted online at https://artssouthdakota.org/webinars/.

APPLICANT RESOURCES

ALL APPLICANTS must submit the State of South Dakota Substitute W-9 at the time of application. Instructructions and links will be posted as soon as staff is able.

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] (instructions linked here) (PDF Instructions).

GRANT GUIDELINES: ALL APPLICANTS, read the guidelines prior to applying for ANY SDAC grant. Applicants that do not meet the eligibility requirements will not be reviewed. Contact SDAC staff with any questions regarding eligibility [PDF linked here].

Traditional Arts Apprentice Grants: Guidelines and sample application for this category of support can be found online [Guidelines PDF linked here] [Sample Application linked here].

Arts Challenge Grants: Guidelines and sample application for this category of support can be found online. [Guidelines PDF linked here] NOTE 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]

ALL APPLICATIONS must be submitted ONLINE at https://sdac.gosmart.org/. Applicants must have a GoSmart account to apply. Follow these instructions for setting up/updating your GoSmart profile. [User guide - Artists linked here] [User guide - Organizations linked here]

Sample Applications: Provide all of the required fields, so you know what information is needed in order to complete the online application. Please use this template to organize information before completing and submitting the online application. This document cannot be submitted as an application. The application is available online at https://sdac.gosmart.org/. Direct links to PDF Samples included below.

Narrative Templates: WORD documents provide all of the required narrative questions. Applicants can build their narrative and upload the document into the application.

Artist Career Development PDF Sample | Narrative Template WORD

Artist Collaboration PDF Sample | Narrative Template WORD

Artist Fellowship PDF Sample | Narrative Template WORD

Project Grant applicants will not upload a narrative document but will respond to a series of narrative questions. Use the narrative template to compose your responses offline to ensure accurate spelling and grammar. You can then COPY and PASTE your written responses into the online application. Direct links to download Word documents included below. Space is limited, so be sure you’ve answered the questions provided.

Project Grant (Artists and Organizations) PDF Sample | Narrative Template WORD

How to use our online Grant System to apply (video): GoSmart (the SDAC’s online grant system) provides step-by-step instructions through a stable of instructional videos online [linked here].

Understand our priorities, goals, and strategies and craft a better narrative by reviewing the SDAC Strategic Plan online at https://artscouncil.sd.gov/NEAFY18/index.aspx

 

STAFF SUPPORT & ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Contact SDAC Staff to ask questions and discuss potential applications. Staff are available Monday through Friday between 8 am and 5 pm Central Time.

WEBINARS Interested to learn more about the South Dakota Arts Council's spring grants opportunities? Arts South Dakota hosted SDAC staff to discuss grants avallable to individual artists and organizations. Recordings of all of the sessions are posted online at https://artssouthdakota.org/webinars/.

“ASK THE ARTS COUNCIL” Watercooler Chats: SDAC staff hosts bi-weekly conversations to answer applicant questions and provide tips about what makes a good grant application, including examples of strong grant applications. Online chats take place online at 3 pm Central Time, Thursday Jan. 11 and 25, Feb. 8, 22, and 29. Attendees can join us at 3 pm central on Feb 29 via ZOOM (linked here).

SDAC Grant Applicant Facebook Group: Join the SDAC Grant Applicant Facebook group to pose questions to staff and other grant applicants – online at https://www.facebook.com/groups/486354835191552/members/


GENERAL RESOURCES

Work of Art: Business Skills for Artists, developed by Springboard for the Arts, is a professional development curriculum designed to teach business skills to artists in all disciplines. The handbook and other valuable resources are available FREE for download from https://springboardforthearts.org/. Springboard for the Arts hosts online walkthroughs of this curriculum and toolkit, for FREE online, a full list of upcoming events is posted online [linked here].

The Handbook for Artists Working in Community, developed by Springboard for the Arts and made possible through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts through the Our Town Knowledge Building grant, supports artists extending their artistic practice into working with their community. The handbook and other valuable resources are available FREE for download from https://springboardforthearts.org/.

Arts South Dakota, a non-partisan and non-profit service organization, advances the arts for South Dakotans and our visitors by connecting, advocating, and educating. For information on arts opportunities and events from around the state, subscribe to Arts South Dakota's newsletter [linked here] online at https://artssouthdakota.org/.

 

ANNUAL FISCAL NOTICES

FISCAL SPONSOR NOTICE - Fiscal Agents for regranting to/on behalf of organizations that do not have 501(c)(3) status are not eligible.

INDIRECT COSTS NOTICE – Applicants with a federally negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement may want to recover the Indirect Costs (or a portion of them) that are incurred because of implementing and meeting the goals of their proposal. Organizations must identify and report “Overhead and Administrative Costs” as a line item under “B. Remaining Operating Expenses.” Applicants cannot use “Overhead and Administrative Costs” as part of their match. Applicants should calculate actual indirect costs associated with the proposal and not simply use a percentage of their project budget. Be sure that you are not “double dipping,” costs must be consistently charged as either indirect or direct costs, not charged as both. Grantees must be able to easily document the specific expenses that fit within this line item on their final report.