Metro Regional Arts Council Flexible Support

Flexible Support

MRAC Fiscal Year 2025 (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025 )

Application opens in Submittable Monday, August 26th 2024

Deadline: Monday, October 21, 2024 at 11:59 PM CST

Program Directors:

Mirella Espino
651-523-6380| mirella@mrac.org

Sagirah Shahid
651-523-6381| sagirah@mrac.org

Flexible Support Overview

The Flexible Support grant provides funding to help organizations/groups create and sustain Minnesotans’ access to the arts. Eligible projects include operations, and/or organizational capacity, and/or arts programming:

Activities that support the operations of an organization/group (such as paying staff salaries or rent on a space) to provide arts access to Minnesotans.
Organizational capacity activities, meaning a coordinated management effort that bolsters an organization/group’s ability to do its work (like rebranding, building a website, or overhauling financial tracking systems) to enhance Minnesotans’ access to the arts. This could also be the purchase of equipment and/or making facilities improvements to provide arts access.
Arts Programming activities in Minnesota, whether a single event (such as a theater production) or a series (such as a series of music workshops).

There is approximately $4 million available in funding for this year’s Flexible Support program.

MRAC has set aside a portion specifically for groups whose Leadership is majority people who identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC); and/or disabled people/people with disabilities; and/or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual/Agender, Two-Spirit (LGBTQIA2+). These groups may request up to $25,000. Other eligible groups may request up to $15,000. Refer to our guidelines ( page 17 ) to learn more.

Important Dates

July 15 & 24th 2024: Guidelines and Grant Information Webinar published.
August 26, 2024: Application opens in Submittable, assistance from Program Directors is available via email, phone, or virtual meetings.
September 10, 2024, 1:00 to 2:00 PM Central Standard Time (CST): Program Directors will host an Online Question & Answer Session. Register at https://bit.ly/3QOMP5r
October 10, 2024, 6:00 to 7:00 PM CST: Program Directors will host an Online Question & Answer Session. Register at https://bit.ly/44OAbcq
October 21, 2024 at 5:00 PM CST: Staff assistance ends. Inquiries received after this time will not be answered before the deadline.
October 21, 2024 at 11:59 PM CST is the deadline. Applications must be received by this time. MRAC does not accept late applications. Applicants may not edit or change their submissions after the deadline.
Starting October 22, 2024: Eligibility review by MRAC staff. Applicants should check their email regularly, as Program Directors may reach out with questions or request additional information.
March to April 2025: Panel of peer reviewers will score applications.
April 2025: MRAC Board of Directors review funding recommendations and make funding decisions.
May 1, 2025: Staff send out grant notifications via email to applicants.
May 6, 2025, 1:00 to 2:00 PM CST: Program Directors will host an optional online event “You received an MRAC grant, now what?” which will also be recorded. Register at bit.ly/3V0xKA7
May 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026: Eligible Funding Period. (For grantees, final reports are due two months after the Proposal End Date listed in the submission.)

Online Question & Answer Sessions

Do you have more questions after reviewing the guidelines and/or viewing the webinar? MRAC program directors will host informal drop-in Zoom sessions to answer brief questions in a large group setting. Please note, this is not a grant information webinar. We recommend viewing the webinar and/or reading the guidelines in advance of attending a Q & A Session, as many frequently asked questions can be found there. These sessions are not recorded.

Session 1: September 10, 2024, 1:00 to 2:00 PM Central Standard Time (CST): Program Directors will host an Online Question & Answer Session. Register at https://bit.ly/3QOMP5r
Session 2: October 10, 2024, 6:00 to 7:00 PM CST: Program Directors will host an Online Question & Answer Session. Register at https://bit.ly/44OAbcq

Registration for the Online Q&A sessions is required.

Grant Guidelines

All applicants must read the guidelines:

Grant Information Webinar

Captions can be translated into multiple languages; you may play the video at various speeds.

Flexible Support Grant Information Webinar Slides – PDF

Flexible Support Grant Information Webinar Slides – Text only RTF

Flexible Support Grant Information Webinar Slides – Text only (with page breaks)

Flexible Support Grant Information Webinar Slides – Text only (with no page breaks)

Submit

MRAC is using Submittable (https://mrac.submittable.com/submit) for the FY2025 Flexible Support application process. Submissions for this grant program open up on Aug 26th, 2024. To learn how to navigate Submittable for grant applications, view this tutorial created by Submittable.

Assistance from MRAC

MRAC staff encourage you to connect with us for help navigating the process. You may request one-on-one support to discuss organization/group eligibility and project eligibility. Please use the application assistance request form to request these services.

Additional Online Resources

Visit the Welcome to MRAC page (https://mrac.org/grants) to learn about the MRAC grant application process, an overview of all our grant programs, and more resources related to seeking and receiving MRAC funding.

Language & Disability Accessibility

Applicants are encouraged to apply in their preferred language. With advance notice, MRAC can contract an interpreter and/or translator to assist during the application process. Contact a Program Director at least one week prior to the deadline for assistance.

Applicants with disabilities are encouraged to request what enables you to apply. Applicants with disabilities facing barriers to our typical processes can work with MRAC staff to ensure you have equal opportunity to submit an application. To begin a conversation about how we can help, please contact the Flexible Support Program Directors before the deadline, ideally at least one week prior, for assistance.

MRAC is using Submittable for the FY2025 Flexible Support application process. The Submittable platform has been certified to meet the needs of people with blindness, low-vision, deafness and hearing loss, learning disabilities, cognitive limitations, limited movement, speech disabilities, photosensitivity, and combinations of these. Submittable follows Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (2.0) and meets Level AA Accessibility to ensure people using assistive technologies can easily navigate Submittable’s pages and forms. To begin a conversation about how we can help, contact a Program Director at least one week prior to the deadline for assistance.

MRAC works to ensure that grant guidelines, workshop presentations, and any other written materials are created with accessibility principles in mind. Additionally, we are happy to provide materials in Braille, Large Print, or other formats with advanced notice that varies according to format, from one week to on-demand, but even if the notice timeline has elapsed, we may still be able to accommodate the request.

On each grant webpage there will be a link to the guidelines in a text format that is friendly to screen readers and text resizing.

FY2023 Flexible Support grantees

Your final report was due by August 30, 2024. Log onto the MRAC Organizational Grant Interface to complete and submit your final report. Please be aware that your organization is not eligible to apply for MRAC grants until the final report has been approved. Contact Flexible Support Program Directors if you have any questions.