-Individual artists; must be 18 years old or older

-Legal resident of the United States or otherwise authorized to work in the United States

-Live in the Fort Collins Growth Management Area

-Must be an active artist

-Art or creative work negatively impacted by Covid-19

-Cannot have received ARPA funding from the City through Small Business Recovery Grants or the Capital Projects Business Liaison Program

The grant is $3,000. The grantee will receive $2,500 upon completion of a W9 and signed contract. The remaining $500 will be disbursed after grantee presents proof of a marketed public presentation free to the Fort Collins community.

A free public showcase of your work available and marketed to the community in Fort Collins.

No, this is a grant for individuals.

No, this is a grant for individuals.

An active artist is someone who is showcasing and/or selling their work to the community. This does not mean you have to be a professional artist, it means that you are actively making effort to show or perform your work in front of audiences. 

Examples include:

-Documentation that indicates public or private performances, readings, showings, or other presentation of creative work for an audience (including event flyers, official online promotional materials or posts, event recordings, or other similar forms of documentation) and/or...

-Official tax documents that indicate recent financial earnings from creative/artistic work within the Fort Collins community (such as a W-2, W- 9, documentation of payment for commissioned work or performances, or other similar documentation) and/or...

-References for at least three creative organizations within the Growth Management Area who can attest to active participation in the community’s creative sector, with contact names/titles, email addresses, and daytime phone numbers and/or...

-Other documentation that reasonably satisfies this criterion

This is flexible and depends on your art form. It can be a studio tour, newsletter, free zine, website experience, public performances or readings, gallery time open to the public, live physical or virtual demonstrations of creative craft, or other way to make creative work available for community members to view or experience.

If you are selected for a grant, the program administrator will have resources for spaces and opportunities to support public presentations.

Give the program manager notice about changes. Changes are understandable and can be accommodated for.

-Financial statements that indicate loss of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic and/or...

-Proof of either temporary or permanent closure of gallery, performance hall, or other creative space where the applicant conducted creative work and/or...

-Proof of loss of creative employment or reduction in hours for creative endeavor and/or...

-Compelling written description of impact of COVID-19 by applicant and/or...

-Other documentation that reasonably satisfies this criterion

You can reapply in 2024 if you were not selected in 2023. If you were selected in 2023, you are ineligible to reapply for 2024.

There are 22 grants given out each year in 2023 and 2024.

Two grantees will be selected from each of eight categories of art in a lottery drawing system. The remaining six will be selected through a lottery of the remaining applicants.

You will receive an email if you are selected, or not selected, by early February.

If you are selected, you will receive and email from the program manager. You will be asked to provide a W-9 and sign a contract. The program manager will help with any needs regarding your public performance.

The intention of the grant is to provide support for artists to have time and space for their creative work.

You are still eligible to apply as long as you currently reside in Fort Collins or the Growth Management Area at the time of application.