Community Arts Grants
Grant Program Background
The Community Arts Regranting Program of the Wisconsin Arts Board encourages local cooperation and expansion of arts opportunities throughout the state. The Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin is the recipient of a state grant through the Wisconsin Arts Board. Those funds are supplemented with a grant from the Community Foundation's Wausau•Marathon County Fund, and the B.A. and Esther Greenheck Foundation. They are being invested back into the community for local agencies to implement quality arts programming.
Complete listings of grants awarded in the past several years can be downloaded to the right.
Grant Guidelines
Application deadline is April 15. We will consider proposals from established arts organizations or any nonprofit group with an innovative arts program that will benefit our area. Proposals are scored by the review panel in the following categories:
- Quality and Artistic Merit of the project
- Uniqueness of the Arts Experience - provides for expansion of the arts; not a duplication of services
- Community Need, Outreach, and Impact of the project
All applicants will be invited to attend the Open Meeting Panel Review in May.
The following criteria must be met:
- The project must be an arts or art-related activity, defined broadly
- There must be a public component to the program
- The sponsoring organization must be a nonprofit entity
- Each organization is allowed to submit one application annually
- The grant request cannot exceed 50% of the total project costs
- Maximum grant awards are $5,000
- Projects must be completed by June 30, 2020
The Wisconsin Arts Board, the B.A .& Esther Greenheck Foundation, and the Community Foundation must be recognized in all publicity if a project is funded. Failure to do so could jeopardize funding received. Grant recipients are also required to submit a final grant report within one year of the grant award or 60 days of completion of the project.
Further assistance in the application process is available by contacting Sue Nelson (sue@cfoncw.org), Program Manager, at the Community Foundation office.
Upcoming Community Arts Grants Events
Center Stage Band & Show Choir: $3,500
Annual production at the Grand Theater, September 28-30, 2017
Central Wisconsin Children's Theatre: $3,500
"Mulan: Families and Folktales," site and date to be determined (February 2018)
Community Ballet: $1,500
Student performance at DCE Senior High Auditorium, May 3, 2018
D.C. Everest Area School Districts: $3,500
Cabaret format performance by students and instructors in the DCE Senior High Auditorium, July 20, 2017
Edgar School District: $1,500
"Cinderella" ... Missoula Children's Theatre, performance March 9, 2018, at the Edgar School Auditorium
Hmong American Center: $3,500
First Annual Hmong Wausau Festival, July 29-30, 2017, at the Eastbay Sports Complex
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum: $3,500
Mary Fons residency at the Museum, January 19-21, 2018, featuring contemporary American quilting
Madison Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps: $3,500
Northwoods Encore Drum & Bugle Corps Show at DCE's Stiehm Stadium on July 6, at 7 p.m.
Mosinee Community Theatre: $3,500
"The Drowsy Chaperone," Creske Auditorium, July 26-29, 2017
Opera for the Young: $1,500
"Rusalka: A Mermaid's Tale," performed at two area elementary schools; dates to be determined
Performing Arts Foundation: $3,500
Public performances throughout the 2017-18 season, October 2017 - May 2018
Proud Theatre: $1,550
Season Finale Show - best of the season - June 1-2, 2018
River Valley Jazz: $2,000
Summer Jazz Festival at Bull Falls Brewery, July 28-29, 2017
School District of Marathon: $3,500
Navy Brass Quintet and Wisconsin Singers performances at Marathon High School; dates and times to be determined
South Beach Chamber Ensemble: $785
"South Beach Up North" chamber concerts performed at various venues and times, July 19-29, 2018
UW-Marathon County: $3,500
"Spring Awakening," performed in the UWMC Theater, April of 2018
VSA Wisconsin: $2,500
Vet's Art Studio - date, time, and location to be determined
Wausau Community Theatre: $2,520
"1776" performances at the Grand Theater, November 2-4, 2017
Wausau Conservatory of Music: $785
2018 Music Summer Camps
Wausau Festival of Arts: $3,500
Annual visual and performing arts festival in downtown Wausau, September 9-10, 2017
Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art: $3,500
Alyssa Monks residency and juried art exhibition, October 4-6, 2017, at the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art
Wausau River District: $3,000
Development of mural art in downtown Wausau for public viewing
Wausau West High School: $785
Wisconsin Singers residency and public performance, November 18, 2017