Forsyth County ARPA Funding
About the Program
In March 2022, the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners earmarked $4.5 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to be managed by Arts Council of Winston-Salem & Forsyth County. In January 2023, Arts Council received a contract from Forsyth County Government and began making allocations to provide aid to the local arts and cultural sector, including arts and cultural organizations and artist small businesses. The funding supports recovery, new revitalization and expansion of community-based arts programming, arts workforce development programs, and technical assistance. Between January and September 2023, Arts Council’s Public Support and Community Engagement Committee reviewed hundreds of requests totaling more than was available through these once-in-a-lifetime ARPA funds. The below summarizes projects approved by Arts Council’s Public Support and Community Engagement Committee thus far. At this time, we are not accepting new requests for ARPA funding.
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Committee members: Jake Wharton, Chair, Jim DeCristo, Kenneth Pettigrew, and Talitha Vickers. Arts Council staff oversight: Chase Law, Rebecca Bender, Shannon Stokes, and Cécile Boynton.
Forsyth County ARPA Awards/Allocations
Award Recipient | Project Description | Amount Awarded/Allocated | Populations Served |
|---|---|---|---|
Cheryl Ann Lipstreu | Venuz Vendz will make vending a form of Art. Venuz Vendz is a custom created interactive arts sculpture vending machine that features healthy products. | $50,000 | 27101, 27103, 27104 |
Christina Parrish Art | Support of mural project at Glenn High School that will provide engagement with staff, students, parents, and community partners. | $16,000 | 27284 |
Coach Elevate Her | Support of Business Marketing Course for Creatives facilitated by Tamika Wells, founder of Coach Elevate Her. | $914 | 27101 |
Community Music School, University of North Carolina School of the Arts | Support of a satellite location for instruction in band instruments in the East Ward, near the convergence of East, North, Northeast, Northwest, and South wards. | $117,356 | 27101, 27105, 27103 |
Comunidad Mujer Valiosa (Rebeca Segbre Ministries) | Mujer Valiosa is a nonprofit organization focused on providing workshops and programming related to writing for healing and culture in English and Spanish. | $80,000 | 27101, 27127 |
Courtney Feliz | Samba in the Triad is a samba class series focused on beginner’s samba and samba technique. Focus on understanding the roots and essence of Brazilian samba. | $20,350 | 27101 |
Creative Center of North Carolina (CCNC) | Suppport of programmatic personnel and artistic fees for Project 411 space (formerly Canteen). | $80,000 | 27101 |
Dana Johnson | Support of a book with characters that inspire friendship and community as well as encouragement to overcome fears together. | $30,000 | 27105 |
Eliza Geer | Support of professional development for Eliza Geer, an active oboist and performer based in Winston-Salem, NC, studying at UNCSA. | $5,000 | 27101 |
Endia Beal | Support of Endia Beal's Artistic Introspective Workshop 2.0. Workshops offer an innovative, engaging, and relatable approach to DE&I training. | $30,000 | 27105, 27127 |
Experiment in Self-Reliance (ESR) | Inclusive Public Art Project. Funds to be utilized for a bronze pulic art feature that centers community engagement around ESR's history and the civil rights movement. | $125,000 | 27105 |
Forsyth County Library Artist In Residence | Forsyth County Library Artist In Residence supports six month residency for two artists. Artists will engage the community through creativ and interactive projects. | $30,000 | Library locations which are located throughout Forsyth County in the following zip codes: 27101 (2 locations), 27105, 27106, 27012, 27023, 27045, 27051, 27127 and 27284 |
Timeline
Application Deadline: As of June 2023, we are not accepting any new applications.
Please Note: All applications and required supporting documents must be submitted via the Submittable Grants Portal.
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Review of Application: Applications will be reviewed by Arts Council Public Support and Community Engagement Committee on the 3rd Wednesday of every month. To be considered at the monthly review meeting, applications must be submitted by the 5th of the month.
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Award Notification: By the end of each month the application was submitted.
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Project Period: All projects must be completed by December 31, 2024
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Reporting: Monthly reporting will be required as outlined in the Eligibility Documents below.
Eligibility Criteria
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Must be an organization, business entity or individual artist that resides and/or produce most of their program and services in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County.
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ARPA contract recipients must acknowledge the receipt of eligibility documents for the ARPA Fund Application, and agree to comply to all guidelines, procedure and policies of this contract award process​
Evaluation
​Arts Council staff will review all applications to ensure their eligibility. All eligible applications are evaluated by Arts Council Public Support and Community Engagement Committee on the 3rd Wednesday of every month.
Applications will be reviewed and evaluated based on the following guidelines:
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BUDGET: Is the budget clear with detailed expenses? Does the project budget align with the project narrative?
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SUSTAINABILITY: Is the sustainability plan for this project clear and feasible?
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COMMUNITY IMPACT: Is it clear as to the constituency being served in this project? How does this align with Arts Council strategic visioning roadmap.
Note: At least 50% of the ARPA Funds must serve project initiatives in disproportionately impacted communities, and provide initiatives in areas that are at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty level. More information about the Federal Poverty level can be found in our resource drive below.
For ARPA Contract Recipients
Please note that part of ARPA compliance is that Contractors will give proper credit to Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County and Forsyth County Government with use of logos in all publicity, including on flyers or advertisements and will use the following tagline acknowledgement:
“The Project Name is a sponsored project of the Arts Council of Winston-Salem & Forsyth County and funded through ARPA supported by the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners.”
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You can share all project marketing and/or promotional information with our CMO and VP, Development, Katie Hall, khall@intothearts.org.
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Requirements
Contact
General Questions:
Shannon Stokes
Vice President of Strategy and Community Impact
(336) 747-1416
To Schedule a Call with Grants Team:
Cécile Boynton
Community Grants and Services Manager
(336) 747-1412