Creative Work Fund Grant Application Workshops for Literary or Traditional Artists

The Creative Work Fund (CWF) is inviting artists and nonprofit organizations to apply for grants for collaborative projects featuring literary or traditional artists. Letters of inquiry are due by December 2, 2016. Up to $600,000 will be available for grants that may range in size from $10,000 to $40,000. To assist individuals and organizations interested in applying, CWF will host a series of seminars and webinars in September and October, including one at the Community Foundation for Santa Cruz County in Aptos, California on Wednesday, September 7 from 3:30 - 4:45 p.m.

A second seminar, presented by the Arts Council Santa Cruz County will follow at the same venue from 5:00-6:15 p.m. The Council will introduce its Create, Develop and Support grants for Santa Cruz County-based artists and nonprofit organizations. The deadline for all three Arts Council programs is September 21, 2016. For further information, visit: http://www.artscouncilsc.org/grants/for-grant-seekers/.

Launched in 1994, the Creative Work Fund is a program of the Walter and Elise Haas Fund that is also supported by a generous grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Since its inception, CWF has contributed more than $11 million to advance art-making by Northern California artists in a variety of disciplines. Grants are awarded to genuine, creative partnerships between artists and nonprofit organizations. Each year, CWF focuses on projects from different disciplines; the 2017 grants will fund collaborative projects that feature literary or traditional artists.

“We see these grants as paying artists to practice their disciplines and hone their skills as collaborators. Through creative working partnerships, local artists and nonprofits can achieve excellence, connect with members of the public who are new to their work, and draw attention to communities’ needs,” said CWF Program Director Frances Phillips.

Letters of inquiry, now invited, may culminate in any form, but for the December 2016 deadline they must feature a lead artist with a strong track record as a literary artist or traditional artist and involve a collaboration between that artist and a nonprofit organization. The Creative Work Fund uses the following definitions in determining eligibility:

• Literary artists write, publish, or perform poetry, spoken word poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. (Playwrights apply with performing artists, who will be invited in a future year.)

• Traditional artists create in art forms learned as part of the cultural life of a group of people whose members have a common ethnic heritage, language, religion, occupation, or region. These expressions are deeply rooted in and reflect a community’s shared standards of beauty, values, or life experiences. Often they are learned orally or by emulation. Traditional artists may excel as individual artists, work as a group, or work collectively. They may produce works in a variety of forms -- oral traditions, performances, crafts, multidisciplinary works, and others.

The CWF grant program emphasizes the creation of new work -- not distribution or productions of work already developed. To be eligible to apply, the principal collaborating artists and organizations must live or be located in, for at least two years, the Northern California counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano or Sonoma.

Artists and organizations should plan projects and prepare letters of inquiry together. Letters of inquiry are due by December 2, 2016. By February 3, 2017, The Creative Work Fund will invite approximately 50 detailed proposals from among those who have submitted letters. Completed applications (from those who are invited) are due April 21, 2017. The grant awards will be announced August 1, 2017. Grants are highly competitive and recommended to CWF by committees of accomplished panelists.

Seminars and Webinars

The CWF offers several optional seminars and webinars for potential applicants. While these are not required, they are highly recommended, especially if the applicant is not familiar with the Fund. To attend a seminar, you may reserve a space online at creativeworkfund.org/applicant-seminars (preferred method) or by calling 415-402-2793.

The Aptos seminars will take place on Wednesday, September 7, 2016 from 3:30 - 4:45 p.m. at the Community Foundation for Santa Cruz County, 7807 Soquel Drive, Aptos. (Presented in partnership with the Arts Council Santa Cruz County. Another workshop presented by the council will follow at the same venue from 5:00-6:15 p.m.)
Webinars

Webinars are produced in conjunction with The Foundation Center. Interested individuals can sign up for any one of the webinars at http://grantspace.org/Classroom/Training-Calendar

Monday, September 12, 2016, noon - 1 p.m.
Tuesday, September 27, 2016, 6 - 7 p.m.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016, 6 - 7 p.m.
Monday, October 31, 2016, noon - 1 p.m.


About the Creative Work Fund
The Creative Work Fund is a program of the Walter and Elise Haas Fund that also is supported by generous grant from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. For further information, please call Jean Wong, Creative Work Fund Coordinator, or Frances Phillips, Creative Work Fund Director, at 415-402-2793 or visit http://creativeworkfund.org, which includes descriptions of previously funded projects.