Letters of Intent Due for $50,000 Community Building Grant

The deadline for letters of intent for the Maine Arts Commission’s Creative Communities = Economic Development (CCED) Grant is February 22, 2013. The full application deadline is October 4, 2013 upon invitation.

This grant supports communities that are poised for growth and engaged in economic and community planning as well as development using other funding sources. They will include an active network of involved citizens including youth, elected leaders and business leaders in a comprehensive revitalization effort.

This program encourages cultural, economic and governmental sectors to work together to effect community revitalization. This consortium grant will be delivered to two or more nonprofit cultural organizations within a geographic community or region. Applications will be considered from communities/regions with a strong commitment to inter-sector collaboration that seeks to strengthen the cultural assets of their community.

Recent successful communities have included Waterville Maine Street (The grant supported Waterville's Converge & Create brand through asset based marketing, incentives for artist and creative business attraction and new cooperative programming.) and Waterfall Arts (This grant supported the Belfast Creative Coalition: bringing together arts, cultural partners, economic partners to unite, brand and market the greater Belfast community as a vibrant arts, cultural and local foods destination.).

The grant has a maximum award of $50,000 (Organizations must show a cash or in-kind match) and the project must take place between December 19, 2013 and December 18, 2014. Funding will be available after December 29, 2013.

Full details of this grant program are available on MaineArts.com.

Apply Now for the Downtown Waterville Public Art Mini-Grant Program

Waterville Main Street is thrilled, delighted, and wildly happy to announce its inaugural round of public art mini-grants. Thanks to a Creative Communities = Economic Development Grant from the Maine Arts Commission, they can now support artists who want to invest some of their creative energy into downtown Waterville.

Is there a whimsical installation that you think would make people stop and wonder at an empty storefront? Have you dreamt of projecting historical, strange or thought-provoking images on that giant empty wall? Are we crazy or would Castonguay Square be a perfect outdoor performance space for your experimental dance troupe? Do you walk around downtown and envision murals gracing every free square inch?

If you even come close to answering yes to any of these questions, then keep reading and get your project proposal in before the April 30 deadline.

Details & Requirements

• Media/disciplines: Their doors are open to all types of art and creators. Sculptors, dancers, wood-workers, painters, potters…. All are invited to apply!

• Amounts: They are offering a range of $500 to $3500. Be specific about how you will use the money. At this point, they are not requiring matching funds but if you have any, let them know so they can understand how exactly you would accomplish the proposed project.

• Residency: While local artists meeting all other criteria will be given preference, central Maine residency is not required. Instead they ask that in your narrative you demonstrate why your project belongs in and makes sense for Waterville.

• Community piece: They are asking all recipients to offer an educational opportunity related to the piece of art they create using the grant money. This could consist of a short workshop or lecture. The grant committee will assist you in setting this up and attracting a crowd.

• Residency: While local artists meeting all other criteria will be given preference, central Maine residency is not required. Instead they ask that in your narrative you demonstrate why your project belongs in and makes sense for Waterville.
The full materials are available online at www.watervillemainstreet.org/news

WERU Radio to Air CCED Discussion

The agency Policy and Program Director will join a conversation today on WERU radio that will discuss the agency's CCED grant. This is our major $50,000 community development grant which has a letter of intent deadline next week. Listen at 10:00 am this morning to learn more: http://weru.org/listen/live-streaming

Communities Encouraged to Apply for Economic Development Grant

The Maine Arts Commission announces that letters of interest for their $50,000 Creative Communities = Economic Development (CCED) grant are due February 24, 2012.

The CCED grant encourages cultural, economic and governmental sectors to work together to effect community revitalization. This consortium grant is delivered to two or more nonprofit cultural organizations within a geographic community or region. Applications will be considered from communities/regions with a strong commitment to inter-sector collaboration that seeks to strengthen the cultural assets of their community. Two $50,000 grants are awarded annually.

This call follows two successful years of the CCED grant that has seen funding awarded to the communities of Biddeford and Eastport in 2011, and Belfast and Waterville in 2012. Samples of these successful grant applications as well as all other information regarding the CCED grant can be found at MaineArts.com.

The Maine Arts Commission offers the CCED grant in order to highlight Maine’s quality of place as an economic asset. The CCED grant is designed to function locally to meaningfully support dialogue and partnership between municipalities, business and the cultural sector regarding the economic development of their communities. CCED provides the cultural sector with significant funds to contribute to mutually agreed upon plans and initiatives that stimulate the local economy, strengthen the role of arts and culture, and enhance their community’s quality of place.

Successful applications will come from communities that have vibrant cultural nonprofits. The communities must be poised for growth and engaged in economic and community planning as well as development using other funding sources. They will include an active network of involved citizens including youth and elected and business leaders in a comprehensive revitalization effort.

Two Maine Communities Receive $50,000 Creative Community Development Grants

The cities of Belfast and Waterville will each receive grants of $50,000 in order to effect community revitalization in their region.

The grants, designed to support dialogue and partnership http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifbetween municipalities, business and the cultural sector regarding economic development, have been awarded through the Maine Arts Commission’s Creative Communities = Economic Development Grant (CCED).

The Belfast Creative Coalition will use the grant funding to to bring together arts, cultural partners and economic partners to brand and market the greater Belfast community as a place to be for vibrant arts, culture and local foods.

The coalition seeks to hire an administrative coordinator who will be responsible for centralizing community resources and maximizing the synergy within the region in order to strategically allocate resources. The administrator will work on developing a regional cultural events calendar, an interactive website, the coordination of programming and events, consistent regional marketing and branding, fundraising, and a whole host of additional tasks to ensure cultural and economic vibrancy in the area.

In Waterville the CCED Grant will support the citys new Converge & Create brand through asset based marketing, incentives for artist, creative business attraction, and new cooperative programming. Waterville Main Street, working together with the City of Waterville, the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce, the Colby College Museum of Art, the Waterville Public Library, and the Waterville Arts Council have come together to oversee the design and implementation of a brand-integrated, comprehensive,coordinated marketing strategy for Waterville’s community-wide arts and cultural assets.

Projects in Waterville will include the marketing of existing cultural assets, the development of a pilot cooperative downtown arts venue and the devlopment of incentives for recruiting artists and creative businesses to Downtown Waterville.
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The Maine Arts Commission’s CCED Grants are awarded annually and delivered to two or more nonprofit cultural organizations within a geographic community or region. Applications are sought from communities/regions with a strong commitment to cross-sector collaboration that seeks to strengthen the cultural assets of their community. Full details of this and other grant programs and services that serve Maine’s communities can be found on the web pages of MaineArts.com. The full press release can also be found with the agency press section.

CCED Grant Letter of Intent Reminder

The Maine Arts Commission is reminding communities in Maine that the deadline for the letter of intent for the Creative Communities = Economic Development (CCED) Grant is March 8, 2011.

The CCED Grant has a maximum award of $50,000 and supports cultural and economic development efforts that will lead to real change in Maine’s communities.

Two $50,000 CCED grants were delivered to consortia of arts organizations in Biddeford and Eastport in 2010. Details can be found on this blog.

You can read the CCED Grant guidelines on MaineArts.com.

Maine Communities Receive $50,000 Creative Community Development Grants

The Maine Arts Commission has announced the names of the two communities who will receive grants of $50,000 in order to effect community revitalization in their region.
The grants, designed to support dialogue and partnership between municipalities, business and the cultural sector regarding economic development, are the first to be awarded through the Maine Arts Commission’s new Creative Communities = Economic Development Grant (CCED). The grants have been delivered to consortia of arts organizations in Biddeford and Eastport.
The City Theater, Engine, Heart of Biddeford, and University of New England will use the CCED funding for the promotion of economic development centered on the arts in downtown Biddeford. Specific goals include property development for artist live/work areas, establishment of an arts district, promotion of artists as creative economy workers, historic preservation with the projected outcomes of arts related programming and web presence, an increase in overall livability, growth in arts and tourism, an increased tax base, local economic development and a significant amount of collaboration with city government.
The collaborating parties charged with implementing economic revitalization in the Eastport region include Tides Institute and Museum of Art, the City of Eastport, Eastport Historic Review Board, Eastport Downtown Committee, Sunrise County Economic Council, Shead High School, Peavey Library, Waponahki Museum committee, Eastport Arts Center, Border Historical Society, and Eastport Area Chamber of Commerce.

As these municipal and cultural partners strengthen their inter-connectedness they will use the grant funding to focus on many issues that include cross border work with Canada, the establishment of a cultural council, the creation of a brand for Eastport, the expansion of public art in the town, and the promotion of an art boat and creative workspaces.

The CCED grant provides the cultural sector with significant funds to contribute to mutually agreed upon plans and initiatives that stimulate the local economy, provide jobs, strengthen the role of arts and culture, and enhance a community’s quality of place.

Two grants are awarded annually and delivered to two or more nonprofit cultural organizations within a geographic community or region. Applications are sought from communities/regions with a strong commitment to cross-sector collaboration that seeks to strengthen the cultural assets of their community. Full details of the CCED grant and other grant programs and services that serve Maine’s communities can be found on the web pages of MaineArts.com.

Maine Arts Commission Announces New Community Arts Grant

The Maine Arts Commission aims to develop stronger ties between cultural, business and governmental sectors with the launch of a new Community Arts grant.

The Creative Communities = Economic Development Grant has a maximum award of $50,000 and is poised to support cultural and economic development efforts that will lead to real change in Maine’s communities.

Two $50,000 CCED grants will be awarded to Maine communities in the fall of 2010. The grant requires a letter of interest by March 8, 2010, with the full application deadline on October 7 of that same year.

The press release or guidelines for this grant can be found on MaineArts.com.

If you want to hear more about this grant, listen in to All Things Considered tonight at 5:30 pm on MPBN when Alison Ferris will be speaking with Frank Ferrel.