SDAC grant deadline is March 1

Grant applications for the South Dakota Arts Council’s FY20 funding cycle are being accepted through March 1, 2019 and this year SDAC staff has designed an Applicant Portal with an array of helpful resources to assist applicants in writing the best possible grant.

The South Dakota Arts Council carefully considered the grant application process to include all of the common questions and challenges we hear about from grant applicants. These resources include everything from help with technical issues related to the online grants system to explaining what panelists frequently notice when reviewing applications to ensuring you’re providing the best possible support documentation.

South Dakota Arts Council grants support a wide range of activities throughout the state connecting people and the arts, including artist residencies. Photos on this page are from residencies conducted by visual artist Marlee Hayes.

The portal is linked directly from the front page of our website at www.artscouncil.sd.gov, and even with the deadline looming, it’s still possible to write a great grant if you use the resources in this portal. Just follow the simple steps at right:

How to use the SDAC Applicant Portal

■ Start with the Grants Quick Start Guide and print off the checklist on page two. Use it to ensure you’re including all required material.

■ Next, download the complete Guide to Grants. This document takes you through the process and explains each grant category. In this guide, you will also find information about what types of projects the South Dakota Arts Council is looking to fund, an explanation of each grant category, eligibility requirements and an overview of the peer review panel process. This is the main document to guide you through your application.

■ Read the SDAC strategic plan to help you better understand our agency goals so you can tie your grant narrative to those goals. Be sure to draw clear connections for panelists.

■ Join our Grants Support Facebook group. This is a public group monitored by SDAC staff. Members can post questions to our staff or seek advice from other members to help improve grant applications.

■ Watch the webinars we have archived in the Applicant Portal. If you need more information about using the online grants system, we have a full webinar for that. There’s also a webinar for individuals applying for artist grants and another for those applying on behalf of an organization. These grants webinars include Frequently Asked Questions, Top 5 panelist concerns, an explanation of Review Criteria and Scoring Criteria and sample applications that received top scores from panelists in the past.

■ Review the application worksheets and budget worksheets for the grant for which you will be applying. Use these worksheets to help you prepare your information.