Community Grant Program

Community Grant Program is sponsored by Think Iowa City. The Iowa City Area Community Grant Program supports events open to the general public that are cultural, educational, literary, recreational, or artistic and improve the quality of life for residents or attract visitors to the area.

Iowa City area community grant program launches after a pause in 2020 After taking a pause in 2020, Think Iowa City's annual community grant program is back Isaac Hamlet Iowa City Press-Citizen March 4, 2021, 9:32 a. m. CT Applications are due April 15.

Events, typically new to the area, must occur between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022. Due to the ongoing pandemic, events that blend in-person and online elements will be considered, but exclusively online events will not.

Think Iowa City announced this week that grant applications are open for a community grant program that funds area events that could help attract visitors to the area or improve the quality of life for area residents.

"Organizations planning special events that will occur from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, are encouraged to apply for grant funding from Think Iowa City, the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau," reads a Tuesday news release. "Potential grant projects can be cultural, educational, literary, recreational or artistic. Each recipient may be awarded up to $5,000 for an approved event."

Applications for the grant must be submitted by noon on April 15. Funds from the grant must be used to advertise the respective events. According to Nick Pfeiffer, vice president of communication at Think Iowa City, a typical year sees 15 to 20 applicants, with roughly half receiving some form of funding.

Past recipients have included the likes of the North Liberty Blues & BBQ Festival , the Iowa City Latino Festival , Iowa City's Russian Guitar Festival and more. The grant, offered since 2016, was paused in 2020 due to the then-emerging COVID-19 pandemic. Pfeiffer said the grant process typically favors events that are new to the area.

With COVID-19 remaining a concern for at least the immediate future, he's not yet certain how that will affect the number of applications for new events. "The overall intent is (to encourage) events that will bring people to the area — what that means this year is different than it was two years ago," he said. "But especially if it’s a new event, we can provide some seed money to so they can get their feet wet.

” While many entertainment venues and festival organizers are still figuring out how festivities will proceed this summer and onward, Pfeiffer said that — due to the aim of the grant — exclusively online events likely won't be considered. However, events that blend in-person and online elements will be considered. More information, including application forms, can be found on Think Iowa City's website, at ThinkIowaCity.

com/about-us/community-grant-program . Isaac Hamlet covers arts, entertainment and culture at the Press-Citizen. Reach him at ihamlet@press-citizen.

com or (319)-688-4247, follow him on Twitter @IsaacHamlet .