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State-Local Partners is sponsored by CA Arts Council. The State-Local Partners (SLP) program provides general operating support and technical assistance for county-designated local arts agencies. The purpose of the program is to foster cultural development on the local level through a partnership between the State and the counties of California.
A local arts agency is defined as the official county-designated organization that supports arts and cultural activity in service to individuals and communities throughout an entire county. Local arts agencies provide financial support, services, and/or other programming to a variety of arts organizations, individual artists, and the community. A local arts agency can be a unit of local government or a nonprofit organization.
The CAC’s Strategic Framework, adopted in 2019, indicates two aspirational areas regarding the agency’s relationship with its SLPs, both of which have been addressed by Council action in the last year and are furthered in these program guidelines: State-Local Partner Funding Conduct a review to determine a timeline and process for increasing the amount of funding granted to the SLPs.
This timeline should include a detailed process for assessment, capacity building, bolstered support, and compliance checks, as well as a plan for establishing participation by and benefits for all 58 counties. State-Local Partner Capacity Building Increase technical assistance and training to SLPs that meets the unique needs of each organization, as identified by research and evaluation.
Ensure that SLP contracts are written to require adherence to key CAC policies and expectations, clearly outlining the role of the state-county partnership. Develop strategies to align SLP priorities with the priorities of the CAC, while allowing for flexibility and self-determination. Support the development and implementation of local plans that result in consistent quality and equity of service across counties.
In 2023, the Council voted to increase the annual maximum request amount for the SLP grant to $75,000, in recognition of the outcomes of the SLP Equity Impact Assessment and the need for increased ongoing funding to support SLP work.
State-Local Partners serve as Poetry Out Loud partners and will receive financial support of $5,000 through this grant program (also included in the maximum request amount) to facilitate an annual Poetry Out Loud program throughout their county, either through direct programming or in partnership with another local organization/agency. Poetry Out Loud funds will not be based on panel ranking.
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General Operating Support - California Arts Council General Operating Support Before applying, please review the full program guidelines for detailed information on program requirements and eligibility.
Application Deadline: May 12, 2026, 11:59 PM Grant Request Amount: Up to $30,000 Grant Activity Period: October 1, 2026 — September 30, 2027 Estimated Arrival of Funds: January — March 2027 The California Arts Council’s Strategic Framework prioritizes racial equity and broad geographic reach into communities of all sizes and needs.
Recent data and community input demonstrate the need for greater access to general operations funding in support of maintaining California arts and cultural organizations during times of uncertain economic growth. The General Operating Support grant program provides direct funding to arts and cultural organizations in support of ongoing operations.
Arts organizations defined : An arts and cultural organization is defined as an entity with a primary purpose of providing arts, creative, or cultural programming/services. Assessed by CAC staff, this purpose is determined by the organization’s mission, purpose statement, and/or by its summary of core organizational programs and services.
Organizations eligible to apply include : Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), California organizations Units of municipal, county or Tribal governments Fiscally sponsored organizations Arts service/network organizations with total revenue of $5 million or below Arts producing or presenting organizations with total revenue (TR) of $1.
5 million or below Organizations who apply for the 2026 State-Local Partners grant are not eligible to apply for the General Operating Support grant. Arts service/network organizations can only apply if they have a total revenue (TR) of $5 million or below .
Arts service/network organization defined: An organization with the primary purpose of providing practical services for artists, creators, culture bearers, and/or arts and cultural organizations (ex. professional association, coalition, etc). Arts producing or presenting organizations can only apply if they have a total revenue of $1.
5 million or below . Arts producing or presenting organization defined: An organization with the primary purpose of creating or exhibiting artistic or cultural work and/or cultivating arts learning (ex. theatre, gallery, music studio, etc).
Virtual office sessions are available to provide technical assistance for the General Operating Support grant. Join Arts Program Specialist Arielle Rubin as she answers general questions regarding this program. Office hours are structured to be a ”drop–in” format.
Audience members are welcome to join and exit as needed; advanced registration is required to participate. The schedule for office hours is listed below: Monday, March 30, 2026, 12-1pm – Register Here Tuesday, April 14, 2026, 10-11am – Register Here Tuesday, April 28, 2026, 9-10am – Register Here Online Application Portal: calartscouncil. smartsimple.
com Frequently Asked Questions Grant Review Panel Process 2025-26 Grantee Information: Application Opens March 17, 2026 Application Deadline May 12, 2026, 11:59 P. M. Panel Review Approx.
June — July 2026 Funding Decision August 14, 2026 Funding Notification Approx. August 2026 Grant Activity Start October 1, 2026 Estimated Arrival of Funds Approx. January — March 2027 Grant Activity End September 30, 2027 Final Report Deadline October 30, 2027 Before contacting staff, check FAQs to see if application questions can be answered.
If staff assistance is still required for guidance or clarification, email is the best way to contact Program Specialists. We recommend that you contact staff well in advance of the deadline to ensure you can be accommodated. Please note: Staff assistance is not available after 5:00 p.
m. on the day of a grant deadline. People who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deaf Blind, or have difficulty speaking may dial 711 to reach the California Relay Service (CRS).
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Based on current listing details, eligibility includes: Nonprofit; Public Agency; Tribal Government. This opportunity is currently open to one organization who has finished the State-Local Partner Mentorship Programs and is currently eligible to become a State-Local Partner. Applicant organization must be designated by their County Board of Supervisors to serve as the State-Local Partner in the county. Applicants should confirm final requirements in the official notice before submission.
Current published award information indicates Dependant on number of submissions received, application process, etc. Always verify allowable costs, matching requirements, and funding caps directly in the sponsor documentation.
The current target date is May 12, 2026. Build your timeline backwards from this date to cover registrations, approvals, attachments, and final submission checks.
Federal grant success rates typically range from 10-30%, varying by agency and program. Build a strong proposal with clear objectives, measurable outcomes, and a well-justified budget to improve your chances.
Requirements vary by sponsor, but typically include a project narrative, budget justification, organizational capability statement, and key personnel CVs. Check the official notice for the complete list of required attachments.
Yes — AI tools like Granted can help research funders, draft proposal sections, and check compliance. However, always review and customize AI-generated content to reflect your organization's unique strengths and the specific requirements of the solicitation.
Review timelines vary by funder. Federal agencies typically take 3-6 months from submission to award notification. Foundation grants may be faster, often 1-3 months. Check the program's timeline in the official solicitation for specific dates.
Many federal programs offer multi-year funding or allow competitive renewals. Check the official solicitation for continuation and renewal policies. Non-competing continuation applications are common for multi-year awards.
Impact Projects is sponsored by CA Arts Council. The purpose is to support collaborative projects that center artists and artistic practice in responding to issues experienced by historically and systemically under-resourced communities, including but not limited to, social, political, and economic inequalities. This program prioritizes California-based artists and forms of arts and cultural expression that are unique to, and/or historically rooted in, the specific communities to be served. Impact Projects supports arts organizations for collaborations between California-based artist(s) and community members to address a community-defined need. Projects must use artistic practices to impact social issues affecting their communities, including but not limited to systemic marginalization, incarceration/justice systems, arts learning, poverty/economic disparity, health disparities, accessibility for people with disabilities, housing insecurity, violence, food insecurity, cultural/social justice, intergenerational/multigenerational learning, veterans’ issues, immigrant/refugee/asylum seeker/migrant issues, LGBTQIA+ issues, environmental sustainability, and climate change/natural disasters/climate refugee issues. Previous applicants to Reentry Through the Arts and Veterans in the Arts are encouraged to apply through this program. Applicants focused on arts education for youth should apply for the Arts & Youth program. Program Goals Heal, stabilize, uplift, and transform communities Fund artistic projects that foster creative social change in the areas of equity and access Provide crucial opportunities for sustaining strong, healthy, vibrant, safe, and resilient communities in a region Strengthen community collaboration Support artistic practice and the creative expression of artists Project Requirements Applicant must develop and complete a project addressing the program goals within the Grant Activity Period. Projects must be collaboratively developed between California-based artist(s) and community members to address a community-defined need. Projects must use artistic practices to positively impact social issues affecting a community. Lead artist(s) must be California-based. Project planning, implementation, and measures of success/evaluation (if applicable) must include and represent the communities to be served. All aspects of the project must be free to community participants/audiences or affordable/accessible. Rates of pay for artists and arts workers supported by this grant must be appropriate to experience and comparable to fees for other local skilled workers. Individuals to be paid by this grant may not be full-time students in a degree program if they are receiving compensation/credit for this project. All CAC-funded programs, services, information, and facilities where funded activities take place, including online spaces, must be accessible for individuals with disabilities, including but not limited to individuals who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deaf-Blind, have difficulty speaking, have a physical disability, visual disability, developmental disability, learning disability, mental illness, or chronic illness.
General Operating Support is sponsored by CA Arts Council. The General Operating Support grant program provides direct funding to arts and cultural organizations in support of ongoing operations. An arts and cultural organization is defined as an entity with a primary purpose of providing arts, creative, or cultural programming/services. Assessed by CAC staff, this purpose is determined by the organization’s mission, purpose statement, and/or by its summary of core organizational programs and services. This grant supports the well-being of California’s cultural vitality by helping sustain a robust and diverse arts workforce and infrastructure. Funds may be used to support any eligible expenses associated with the general operations of an arts or cultural organization, including but not limited to rent, utilities, and staff salaries. Applying for this grant does not restrict an organization from applying for other CAC project-based grants. General Operating grants are intended to support the applicant organization in carrying out its mission. Funding is not intended to support a specific project. Organizations eligible to apply include: Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), California organizations Units of municipal, county or Tribal governments Fiscally sponsored organizations Arts service/network organizations with total revenue of $5 million or below Arts producing or presenting organizations with total revenue (TR) of $1.5 million or below Applicant organizations and fiscal sponsors must meet the requirements below: Have a principal place of business in California and a California address. Have a minimum two-year history of consistent arts programming and/or services prior to the application deadline. Demonstrate proof of nonprofit status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or section 23701d of the California Revenue and Taxation Code. Eligible applicant organizations without non-profit status, please see Fiscal Sponsor Requirements in the 2026 Grants Manual. Have “active status” with the California Secretary of State (SOS) showing evidence of “good standing” at the time of application. Eligible Request Amounts Applicant organizations can request up to $30,000 for a one-year funding cycle Funding Restrictions: Organizations who have applied for the 2026 cycle of State-Local Partners are not eligible for General Operating Support. The CAC’s definition of Total Revenue is the total cash inflow from your organization’s most recently completed fiscal year. Cash inflow/income includes all earned income (ex: ticket sales) and contributed income (ex: grants, donations/contributions, one-time organizational funding, operational grants). Regranting, pass-through, and restricted capital improvement funding are excluded from the organization’s total revenue calculation. Matching Funds A one-to-one match is required for this grant for organizations with a total revenue above $250k. See the 2026 Grants Manual for clarification on eligible match sources. 2026/27 Funding Priorities: Every eligible application will be adjudicated by peer review panels and receive a final rank (see 2026 Grants Manual). All applications that receive final ranks of 6 through panel adjudication will be funded regardless of whether they meet any of the funding priorities. Applications receiving ranks of 4 and above through the adjudication process will then receive added weighting for meeting the priorities as outlined in the Guidelines. Allocations for final ranks below 6 will be made in order of weighted ranks as funding availability permits.
State-Local Partner Mentorship is sponsored by CA Arts Council. The State-Local Partner Mentorship (SLP-M) program is intended to support the establishment of a county-designated local arts agency in each of the three counties in which no such agency has currently been identified (Glenn and Kings). Grant funds will go to four existing State-Local Partners (SLP) to foster the development of new SLPs in these counties. A local arts agency is defined as the official county-designated organization that supports arts and cultural activity in service to individuals and communities throughout an entire county. Local arts agencies provide financial support, services, and/or other programming to a variety of arts organizations, individual artists, and the community as a whole. A local arts agency can be an agency of local government, a nonprofit organization, or a hybrid of the two. The CAC’s Strategic Framework, adopted in 2019, indicates aspirational areas that will be directly addressed by this grant program: State-Local Partner Capacity Building Increase technical assistance and training to SLPs that meets the unique needs of each organization, as identified by research and evaluation. Ensure that SLP contracts are written to require adherence to key CAC policies and expectations, clearly outlining the role of the state-county partnership. Develop strategies to align SLP priorities with the priorities of the CAC, while allowing for flexibility and self-determination. Support the development and implementation of local plans that result in consistent quality and equity of services across counties. Geographic Equity Explore how to best address grantmaking equity for the disparate regions of the state. Utilize data analysis to assess present-day regional disparities among CAC grantees. Seek guidance from existing funding models that address how to identify and give preference to disadvantaged communities. The CAC expects that an active SLP will be established in the identified county within 2-3 years, either as a unit of County government or an independent 501(c)(3), and that the SLP-M will mentor them through their first two years of arts programming and services, after which the mentee organization could qualify for an SLP grant independently. SLP-M grantees may reapply for 2nd and 3rd year funding through this program in order to fully implement this work.