2024 Creative Impact Fund

Applications Now Closed

Submission Deadline: Friday, May 31, 2024 at 11:59 pm.

Applications are currently in review.

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About

Artists and creatives positively affect our lives and our region every day. Their work has the power to transcend barriers and unite people, to promote healing, and to highlight social injustices leading to just and equitable change.  

Introducing the 2024 Creative Impact Fund (CIF), an unrestricted grant designed to support the growth of an artist’s creative practice and advance their impact on our region. The CIF will award seventeen (17) artists and creatives with $10,000 in unrestricted funds in addition to business development support.

Forward-thinking artists who have been creating impactful and inventive artistic work for three or more years in the disciplines of craft, dance, design, film, interdisciplinary work, media, music, theatre & performance, traditional/folk arts, visual art, and writing/literary art are encouraged to apply. This funding opportunity is open to artists and creatives who live and work in Cuyahoga County.   

Awarded Artists Receive:   

  • $10,000 in unrestricted funds  
  • Business and professional development support opportunities, including marketing  
  • Dedicated support from Assembly staff including advise on achieving creative goals for the grant year  
  • Networking opportunities, including connections to institutional partners, thought partners or potential collaborators  
  • Promotion of the as a Creative Impact Fund awardee on Assembly’s website, social media 
  • Special access to opportunities as they arise throughout the year  
  • An Assembly for the Arts membership  

Questions?   

Please contact grants@assemblycle.org.  

Cuyahoga Arts and Culture

The Creative Impact Fund is supported by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.

MANY THANKS TO OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS

America SCORES Cleveland

Art House, Inc

Art Therapy Studio

BAYarts

Beck Center for the Arts

BorderLight Theatre Festival

Breakthrough Sounds LLC

CAN Journal

CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra

Cleveland 48 Hour Film Project

Cleveland Association of Black Storytellers

Cleveland Institute of Art

Cleveland Rocks: Past, Present and Future

Greater Cleveland Partnership and COSE (Council of Smaller Enterprises)

Duffy Liturgical Dance Ensemble

ENCORE Chamber Music Institute

Future Ink Graphics (FIG)

Get The Bag.

Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival

Grog Shop

Ingenuity Cleveland

Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center

Larchmere Arts

LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland

Maelstrom Collaborative Arts

Morgan Conservatory

MorrisonDance

Plexus LGBT + Allied Chamber of Commerce

Spread the Love Foundation

The Music Settlement

Valley Art Center

Zygote Press

by Assembly for the Arts

ASSEMBLY FOR THE ARTS TO SUPPORT DOZENS OF CREATIVES WITH $500,000 GRANT FROM CUYAHOGA ARTS & CULTURE

CLEVELAND, March 7, 2024 — Assembly for the Arts has announced the details of its 2024 artist support programs, funded by a $500,000 grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. The programs will provide unrestricted funds and project grants to between 66 and 78 artists. Awardees will benefit from professional development, institutional connections, access to dedicated workspace, performance and exhibition opportunities and more. 

Assembly will disseminate the awards directly and via partnerships with Cleveland Public Theatre, Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center, Karamu House, and SPACES. Cleveland Public Theatre, Karamu House and SPACES will use additional outside funds to expand their programs. 

Assembly and the partners designed the 2024 programs in response to the creative community, which advocated for: 

  • Prioritizing unrestricted funds and increasing the award amounts for individual artists 
  • Simplifying and streamlining grant application processes to reduce administrative burdens 
  • Encouraging applicants from historically underrepresented or marginalized artists 
  • Creating a central virtual space to find grant opportunities, deadlines, and resources 

Jeremy V. Johnson, president and CEO of Assembly for the Arts, said the 2024 Support for Artist program reflects feedback from artist surveys and listening sessions. “We took to heart the concerns of creatives. We made the application process easier, expanded unrestricted funds, and broadened the reach to more disciplines,” he said. ”We are ensuring our outreach efforts include increasing awareness of these opportunities to artists of all creative disciplines.” 

The 2024 programs are as follows: 

For full details about these programs, please visit https://assemblycle.org/artistfunding/ 

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Assembly for the Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a focus on advocacy, cultural policy, racial equity initiatives, research, marketing that elevates the region, and services for nonprofits, artists, and creative businesses. It is governed by a volunteer board with a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. Assembly by design operates in close partnership with Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, a government agency, and Assembly for Action, a 501(c)4 political action nonprofit to serve the entire creative sector. Assembly is supported through major funding from: The Cleveland Foundation, The George Gund Foundation, The Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, Ohio Arts Council, Huntington, KeyBank, The George W. Codrington Charitable Foundation, and Fred & Laura Ruth Bidwell. www.assemblycle.org

MEDIA CONTACT:

Malissa Bodmann
malissa@compellingcommunicationsllc.com
216-536-7517

by Assembly for the Arts