Grassroots Arts Program

Janie Wilson
Arts in Communities Director
janie.wilson@ncdcr.gov
(919) 807-6508

Background

In 1977, the North Carolina General Assembly established the Grassroots Arts Program to ensure that every citizen had access to quality arts experiences. The program distributes funds for the arts, primarily through local arts councils, to all 100 counties using a per capita based formula. The creation of the Grassroots Arts Program increased the state's already growing number of local arts councils and helped establish North Carolina as a leader in the national community arts movement. Today we have one of the largest networks of local arts agencies in the country, including the nation's oldest arts council in Winston-Salem. Grassroots funds support hundreds of arts activities.

A complete Designated County Partner guidebook is available for download:

Download the DCP guidebook (pdf)

How Grassroots County Allotments are Determined

Each year the North Carolina General Assembly allocates a portion of the state budget for grassroots funds. Twenty percent of the total grassroots budget is distributed in equal amounts to all 100 counties, and the remaining 80-percent is distributed using a per capital formula. A schedule of county allotments using the most recent population estimates is available online.

Included in the allotment schedule is the combined number, and percentage, of the county's populations of African America, Asian, Latino, and Native American residents. A representative portion of each county's Grassroots allotments must be spent in support of arts programs that reflect the county's racial and cultural diversity. For example, if the county's multicultural population is 29-percent of the total population, then at least 29-percent of the grassroots funds should be spent for multicultural programming.

How Funds are Distributed

Grassroots funds are distributed by county by the following three types of Grassroots partners:

• Designated County Partners
  In most counties, local arts councils have been nominated by their county governments and approved by the N.C. Arts Council as Designated County Partners to manage the Grassroots allotment.
• Provisional County Partners
  In counties without DCPs, the N.C. Arts Council has selected an organization to serve as the provisional partner to oversee the distribution and management of Grassroots funds on a temporary (year-to-year) basis.
• Regional Arts Partners
  Regional Arts Partners are DCPs that are responsible for overseeing the distribution of Grassroots funds in neighboring rural counties.

Approved Uses of Grassroots Arts Funds

The three primary funding uses of Grassroots funds are to:

1. Provide Operating Support to Designated County Partners
   Designated County Partners may use up to 50-percent of their grassroots grant funds for general operating support. These funds may be used to support administrative costs associated with the organization's operations including salaries, benefits, space rental, equipment rental, contract personnel fees, utilities, insurance, telephone, postage, office supplies, and marketing fees.
2. Through subgrants, provide program or operating support to arts organizations that do not have access to operating support from the N. C. Arts Council.
   DCPs located in counties with 50,000 or more residents are required to sub-grant 50-percent of their Grassroots allocation to other organizations in their county to conduct arts programs. DCPs located in counties with less than 50,000 residents must use 50-percent of their funds for arts programs that they conduct OR for subgrants to other organizations for arts programs utilizing qualified artists. In either case, DCPs are expected to provide support to qualified arts organizations in their counties that consistently present quality arts programs and that do not receive operating support from the N.C. Arts Council. For complete information on subgranting, visit section IV on page 15.
3. Support quality arts programs that reach and impact a broad cross-section of the county's citizens and youth.
   Through arts programs that DCPs conduct, or through programs funded through sub-grants to other arts organization, quality arts programs and experiences are delivered to diverse communities in the DCP's county. In most cases, qualified artists are required for projects that receive Grassroots funding.

Examples of arts programs that are commonly funded with Grassroots funds include:

Matching Requirements

Annual Grassroots Arts Program county funds must be matched dollar for dollar with cash from local sources spent for the arts during the applicable fiscal year. This matching requirement was designed to assure that citizens in each county committed at least as much money for the arts each year as did the state. Therefore, the Grassroots program allows any arts expenditures made with money raised within the county to be identified as a match.

Grassroots partners may match the entire county allotment from within its own budget, it may use subgrantees' cash match to fulfill the requirement, and, if necessary, it may ask another organization in the county to allow its arts expenditures to be designated as a match.

Neither the Grassroots money nor the matching funds may be used to match any other N. C. Arts Council grant.

Grassroots On Hand

N. C. Arts Council staff have developed several quality arts programs that can be purchased with Grassroots funds. Options include offerings in public art, touring, and folklife. An added benefit of utilizing Grassroots on Hand programs is that N.C. Arts Council staff manages the projects. Program cost range from $2,500-$10,000. Click here for more information.

Meeting the Racial and Cultural Diversity Requirement

To ensure that Grassroots arts programs reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of our state, each DCP is required to spend a percentage of its annual county allotment on multicultural programming that reflects African American, Asian American, Latino and Native American cultures. The exact amount is provided on an allocation chart (available online) by county and is noted in the DCP's grant.

The requirement can be met in three ways:

1. The Grassroots Arts Program partner can conduct or present programs in which the majority of the artists involved belong to one of the above groups.
2. The partner can award subgrants to African American, Asian American, Latino, or Native American organizations. The organization does not have to be an arts organization, but the funds must be used for arts programming.
3. The partner can award subgrants to other organizations to conduct programs in which the majority of the artists involved belong to one of the above groups.

The racial and cultural diversity requirement cannot be reached by counting or estimating the number of people of color at performances, classes, exhibits, etc.

Note that tribal organizations must represent state or federally recognized tribes in order to receive Grassroots funds.