Accessibility improvement grants available to metro arts groups
ADA Access Improvement Grants for Metro Arts Organizations are now available in the Twin Cities seven-county area. The focus of these grants, up to $15,000 each, is to help make arts programming, activities and facilities more accessible to people with disabilities.
Made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, which voters approved in 2008, the grant program is administered by VSA Minnesota for the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102686922251&s=1457&e=001cw4qhkFrbPq69QLp2o2NqwpJ4krEeJZldq0oFxEYlGpO-d3CM1fMKl_BAi2sc4jOr_goaRZP1_BEzxq5HnwPzxsoON4mkRd5GP-N0SZ88JA=> (MRAC). Over the past two years $440,785 was awarded to 36 Twin Cities organizations. In 2012 approximately $180,000 is available to be awarded over two rounds, with application deadlines on February 17 and May 11, 2012. A series of information meetings will be announced shortly.
The project grants are not intended for one-time activities such as a sign language interpreter or a Braille program for one play, but to have the potential for significant or long-term impact in involving more people with disabilities as participants or patrons in arts programs.
Minnesota nonprofit arts organizations in Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington counties are eligible if their annual budget is under $4,460,000.
Download 2012 grant guidelines and application at http://www.vsamn.org/forms.html#adagrant. Or contact VSA Minnesota at 612-332-3888 voice/tty or access@vsamn.org.
The mission of VSA Minnesota, a statewide nonprofit organization, is to create a community where people with disabilities can learn through, participate in and access the arts. Its programs include school and community artist residencies, professional development training, and accessibility assistance (on how the Americans with Disabilities Act affects arts organizations and artists) and funding for arts organizations and artists. Located in Cowles Center for Dance & Performing Arts in Minneapolis, it is an affiliate of VSA and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
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