Intercultural Collaboration Seed Grant Deadline: Letter of Intent

The Rhode Island Expansion Arts Program (RIEAP) is excited to open the 2019-2020 funding opportunity for seed grants to promote intercultural collaboration. RIEAP offers funding and organizational assistance to community-based, culturally diverse arts and cultural organizations. It is supported by a collaboration between the Rhode Island Foundation, Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA), and Rhode Island Council for the Humanities.

Description of opportunity RIEAP seeks proposals from current and alumni grantees of RIEAP for projects, programs, or planning that bring together people and organizations across cultures to share cultural ideas, traditions, and heritages. RIEAP Intercultural Collaboration Seed Grants support creative and innovative partnerships and collaborations that strengthen our state’s cultural ecosystem, create sustainable connections between cultural organizations, and come from Rhode Island’s diverse communities. By investing in connections, this opportunity has the potential to highlight the state’s cultural assets, challenge assumptions, and bring communities together across differences. RIEAP will distribute a total of $30,000 and will offer awards between $5,000 and $10,000. Projects must include at least one partner organization, in addition to the lead applicant, who is a current RIEAP cohort member or grantee alumni. Additional partners from other cultural or cross-sector (e.g. focused on health, environment, etc.) organizations can participate in the projects. Projects may begin after October 16, 2019, and must be completed by August 31, 2020.

Eligible lead applicants include:

• Current RIEAP cohort (see list below)
• Culturally specific organizations that are RIEAP alumni (see list below)

The application must include as a partner:

• At least one current RIEAP cohort member or grantee alumni (see list below)

The application may include as additional partners:

• Culturally specific organizations that have not received an RIEAP grant before
• Mainstream organizations (organizations that are not culturally specific)
• Cross-sector organizations (e.g. health, environment, social service)
• Scholars or individual artists

Eligible projects include:

• Events that foster commonalities and connections across the communities of the organizations involved, their cultural practices, heritages, histories, and their audiences
• Research and development of new intercultural performances or other cultural products
• Projects and planning that set the stage for attracting larger funding opportunities and resources
• Projects that focus on the development of the next generation of participants and leaders in cultural organizations
• Projects that support intergenerational exchange

Application Process and Dates:

• Letter of Intent Form due: Friday, 8/2/2019
• Notification of Approval of Letter of Intent: Friday, 8/16/19
• Full Applications due: Friday, 9/27/19
• Notification of Approval of Full Application: Wednesday, 10/16/19
• Project Timeframe: Projects may begin after October 16, 2019 and must complete by August 31, 2020.

Where to find and submit applications: All applications must be submitted online through the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities’ grants portal. The first step in the process is completing the brief letter of intent form within the online portal by Friday, August 2, 2019.

For questions, please contact: Logan Hinderliter, Associate Director, Grants and Partnerships RI Council for the Humanities logan@rihumanities.org 401.273.2250

List of Eligible Lead Applicants:

Current RIEAP Cohort

• Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading
• EcoArts USA
• Sankofa Community Connection
• Korean American Association of Rhode Island

RIEAP Alumni Grantees

• Art and Culture of the Americas
• Columbian American Cultural Society
• India Association
• Laotian Community Center
• RI Cape Verde Heritage Committee
• Cambodian Society of RI
• Eastern Medicine Singers
• ECAS Theater
• Hispanic Cultural Arts Committee of RI
• Hmong United Association of RI
• Oasis International
• Progreso Latino
• Puerto Rican Institute for the Arts and Advocacy
• Quisqueya in Action
• RI Black Heritage Society
• RI Black Storytellers
• RI Latino Arts
• RI Indian Council
• Rites and Reason Theatre
• RPM Voices of RI
• Tomaquag Museum

Click here for a PDF version of the Request for Proposals (RFP). Click here for a PDF version of the Letter of Intent (LOI) form, which must be submitted via the grants portal by Friday, August 2, 2019.

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About the RI Expansion Arts Program: The Rhode Island Expansion Arts Program (RIEAP) offers funding and organizational assistance to community-based, culturally diverse arts and cultural organizations. It is supported by a collaboration between the Rhode Island Foundation, Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA), and Rhode Island Council for the Humanities.

The Rhode Island Expansion Arts Program supports small organizations whose programs and missions center on the cultural practices and traditions of Rhode Island’s diverse peoples. RIEAP provides the skills and tools these organizations need to grow as equal partners in the Rhode Island arts and cultural community. Priority is given to newly-emerging groups and those with little history of grant funding. In seeking to build the capacity of these organizations, the RIEAP recognizes the broader role they play in strengthening their communities including cultural preservation, education, and youth development.

Funding from RIEAP focuses on developing resilient organizations, including governance, financial management, fundraising, marketing, documentation, evaluation, leadership, strategic collaborations, and partnerships. RIEAP fosters greater connections across the arts and humanities, while providing leadership and professional development for a broader network of RI Expansion Arts Program- eligible arts and cultural organizations.