National Endowment for the Arts  
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  Folk & Traditional Arts Infrastructure Initiative  
 

Grant Program Description

For more than 25 years, the Arts Endowment has helped to create and support a network of folk & traditional arts programs. Many of these programs are housed in state arts agencies (SAAs), in multi-state regional organizations (RAOs), and in other organizations that work in partnership with state arts agencies. This initiative advances the Arts Endowment's goal to preserve our nation's diverse cultural heritage by strengthening the state and regional infrastructure of support for the folk & traditional arts. For the purposes of these guidelines, the term infrastructure refers to stable, professionally-directed programs that are responsive to a diverse folk & traditional arts heritage.

Priority will be given to those projects that 1) are highly effective in expanding or strengthening a state or region's infrastructure of support for the folk & traditional arts, and 2) have the potential to make a long-term artistic contribution.

Projects might include but are not limited to:

  • Professional folk arts positions in support of the folk & traditional arts. Such positions should have the potential to become self-sustaining within three years.
  • The creation of long-term organizational and community partnerships that are based in the folk & traditional arts.
  • Discovery research to identify and document underserved folk & traditional artists and arts.
  • Apprenticeship programs.
  • Technical assistance to traditional artists and folk arts organizations.
  • Festivals, exhibitions, new technology, and other presentations of folk & traditional artists and their work.

New, expanded, or existing projects are eligible.

Intended Outcomes

The Arts Endowment, along with other federal agencies, collects information on the projects it funds in order to track the results - or outcomes - of its activities. This information is compiled and reported to Congress and the public. The outcome the Arts Endowment intends to achieve through the Folk & Traditional Arts Infrastructure Initiative category is:

Artistic works and cultural traditions are preserved.

Within the context of this outcome, we ask all applicants to define what they would like to achieve, how they will assess the degree to which it is achieved, and, upon completion of the project, what they have learned from their successes and failures. This need not entail large-scale or expensive evaluation. Applicants should do what is feasible and appropriate for their organization and project. When a grant is completed, grantees must submit a final report and answer questions on their achievements and how they were gauged.

Additional information about outcome-based evaluation may be found on our Web site.

Deadline Date

Complete application packages must be postmarked (or show other proof of mailing) no later than October 1, 2004.

 
     
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