City Awards $1.2M in Opportunity Fund Grants

Published on June 20, 2024

The City of Charlotte Arts and Culture Advisory Board is distributing nearly $1.2 million to local artists and arts and cultural groups via Opportunity Fund grants, bringing the total of the Opportunity Fund's investments to more than $2.7 million in the last two years.

The Opportunity Fund offers support for near-term projects and initiatives that align with the recently approved Charlotte Arts and Culture Plan. The grants fund projects, programs and initiatives that advance strategies in the plan.

"These grants signify the first action to implement the Charlotte Arts and Culture Plan, investing over $1 million while advancing five priorities of the plan," said Priya Sircar, the city's arts and culture officer. "It is inspiring to see the creativity and ambition that fuels our arts and culture ecosystem and is so critical to vibrancy and character of our city and region. The volumen and variety of proposals demonstrates the breadth of incredible work being done around the Queen City."

The 2024 grantees, organized alphabetically within the plan priority the project supports, are:

The Opportunity Fund is a flexible and innovative mechanism of the Infusion Fund, a public-private partnership of the city, Foundation For The Carolinas and private donors to stabilize the Charlotte-Mecklenburg arts and culture sector for the fiscal years 2022 to 2024 (ending June 30, 2024).

In keeping with strategies in the Arts and Culture Plan to strengthen the capacity and skills of artists and groups and to enhance reach and visibility through partnerships, the grant recipients will receive additional support in the form of:

• Guidance and assistance from UNC Charlotte with measurement and evaluation of their Opportunity Grant-funded projects.
• Marketing support from the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority.

Over 300 individuals and groups submitted applications requesting up to $40,000 each, totaling nearly $10 million. Applicants who met the eligibility requirements then submitted full proposals. A unique addition to this grant cycle was the provision of support by grant writing coaches at no cost to applicants, helping applicants develop the strongest proposals possible and build skills that would serve them in future fundraising endeavors.

Of the awardees, two-thirds are nonprofits and one-third are individual artists and other groups. The funded projects will advance 13 strategies across five priorities of the Arts and Culture Plan, including ensuring sustainable and reliable funding; providing access to affordable space; eliminating barriers to arts and culture creation and participation; fostering collaboration and cooperation; and expanding arts education experiences.

Another priority of the plan is equitable and inclusive support and funding. Reflecting this, half the awardees indicated their mission is to serve ALAANA communities (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab and Native American ethnic or racial background); over one-third serve communities in the Corridors of Opportunity and people with different abilities or disabilities; and nearly one-third serve people of the LGBTQ+ community, with some overlap in these missions.

Grants will be distributed in July. Learn more about the investment in arts and culture in Charlotte, including the historic $11 million dedication in the recently passed fiscal year 2025 budget.