United Arts will award $5,000 to schools with innovative and creative projects that enhance and strengthen arts education for K-12 students in Wake County. Each arts-focused project must take place during the school year with the majority of the activities occurring in the school environment during the school day.
Competitive projects will include most of the following goals:
- Include professional teaching artists
- Center around a unifying theme
- Emphasize arts integration
- Integrate students’ diverse cultures
- Occur over an extended period of time
- Support collaboration among teachers
- Focus on process, not product
- Encourage community connections
- Incorporate the entire school community
Eligibility Requirements
Applicants in the School Project category must be an accredited K-12 public, private, or charter school located in Wake County or a PTA that supports one of these schools and be in Good Standing as defined in General Grant Policies (previous recipients only). Projects must take place between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021.
Grant Award
Five schools each will receive $5,000 to support their School Projects.
There is no matching requirement. School Projects may not be supported by other United Arts grants, including Artists in Schools grants. School Project grants are not intended to substitute for a school's arts education program. Funds cannot be used for permanent personnel positions.
Information Sessions
Optional information sessions to learn more about the new guidelines will be held in January at the United Arts Council. Please register in advance by emailing [email protected].
- Thursday, January 9, 2020, 5:00 pm
- Saturday, January 18, 2020, 10:00 am
How to Apply
To apply for a School Project Grant for the 2020-21 school year, submit a letter of intent that includes:
- A one-page letter on school’s letterhead
- A brief description of your idea/project
- Why and how your project is innovative
- Signatures of school principal and primary contact
The Letter of intent must be received by March 5, 2020. Please submit letter of intent by email to [email protected] or by mail addressed to United Arts Council, Attn: Ragen Carlile, 410 Glenwood Ave Suite 170, Raleigh NC 27603.
A panel comprised of United Arts staff and education professionals will invite five schools move forward in the application process. A full application from each of these schools will be due May 4, 2020.
Evaluation Criteria
Projects will be evaluated on several criteria, including:
- Creativity and innovation
- Overall educational experience
- Level of student involvement
- Realistic objectives
Timeline
- January 2020: Information sessions
- March 5, 2020: Letter of Intent due
- March 2020: Notifications will be sent late March; five schools will be selected to move forward and submit a full application
- May 4, 2020: Full application due
- June 2020: Award notifications sent
- July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021: Awarded projects take place