Learn How to Write A Grant Proposal and More

If you have thought about applying for a grant as an individual artist, you may have discovered there are few resources available to show you how. Foundations that give to individuals have highly specific criteria, and this makes it hard to create a comprehensive “how-to” guide.

You can learn about this subject by watching a presentation by Lisa Tuttle, Public Art Program Education and Outreach Coordinator, Fulton County Arts Council. She discusses how to write a well-developed, clear and organized public art proposal. GrantSpace offers insight into the proposal writing and commission selection process. Visit:  http://grantspace.org/tools/multimedia/video/Public-Art-Project-Proposal-Writing-2009-10-20

Application Components

Grant committees will want to see your work, so make sure that your online art portfolio is in great shape. Use a website builder that offers a variety of chic themes and gives you a free trial, so you can see if the site fits your needs.

They’ll also need your artist statement, so ensure that yours is as clear and concise as possible, and up-to-date with all the information about your practice. (Here are some tips on how to write an artist statement.)

Once your portfolio and artist statement are done, you can bone up on how to write better artist grant applications here. (source: Format)

For more information about how to write an artist statement, check out
FreshArts: Writing About Your Work.

How do I find grants?

Grantseeking Basics for Individuals in the Arts is a free course that will show you how to identify funders supporting individuals working in the arts, as well as touch on grantmaker motivations, and the variety of support options available.

Texas.Grantwatch is a site for seeking Texas art grants & culture grants all throughout. The grants that you can find are for artists, performing arts, music, dance, visual, arts programs, local arts events, arts education, graphic arts programming and more.

Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) – TCA’s mission is to advance our state economically and culturally by investing in a creative Texas. TCA supports a diverse and innovative arts community in Texas, throughout the nation and internationally by providing resources to enhance economic development, arts education, cultural tourism and artist sustainability initiatives.

Houston Arts Alliance (HAA) is a local arts and culture organization main work is to implement the City of Houston’s vision, values, and goals for its arts grantmaking and civic art investments.

Other Grant Writing Resources

Grantwriting for Artists: Perfecting Your Proposal – Gigi Rosenberg, author of The Artist’s Guide to Grant Writing (available for checkout in Foundation Center’s eBook collection), discusses how to enlist colleagues and friends to help write a successful proposal, get organized, persuade the right funders, and emulate the attitudes of successful grant recipients.

20 Effective Grant Writing Tips For Artists/Fine Art Photographer – Steve Giovinvi is a photographer that has won within 18 months, three grants and two artist residencies. In this article, you will be able to find how he was able to achieve these awards one after another with 20 tips.