ARTS EDUCATION GRANTS AND MODEL PROGRAMS

Community Arts Programs Grants: Grants for Community Organizations Partnering with Artists
These grants support community organizations that partner with regional artists in the visual, performing, media or literary arts to develop projects that promote their organizational missions and enrich their important work in the community.

The goals of Community Arts Programs (CAP) grants are to:

• Support hands-on learning in the arts disciplines
• Encourage self-discovery, creativity and expression through the arts
• Support personal growth, healing and communication through the arts
• Celebrate culturally specific, contemporary and traditional artistic expression
• Build connections and community.
• Build partnerships between established artists and community organizations
• Provide more opportunities in the arts for underserved populations

Projects should be designed to further the mission of the community organization and to improve the lives of its constituents.

Who Can Apply: Nonprofit, non-arts community organizations partnering with artists.
How Much: Grants are up to $15,000 with matching funds.
Deadline: 2007 application is now closed.

Please check back for information about the next CAP grant cycle.

2007 Community Arts Programs Grantees:
Bread of Life
Catholic Social Service of Sacramento
Roberts Family Development Center
Sacramento Lao Family Community, Inc.
South Sacramento Coalition for Future Leaders
Visions Unlimited

Model Arts School District Programs
Since 2005 the Arts Commission has been working in a systematic way with school districts to develop model arts programs that offer arts standards-based instruction in visual arts and performing arts, taught by trained teaching artists, to enhance language and literacy skills. There is abundant evidence that arts, both in their own right and when integrated into a content area in which other subjects are taught, significantly enhance learning.

The Arts Commission is currently supporting two school district model arts programs in the Robla School District, and the Rio Linda Union School District, both in north Sacramento. The Arts Commission hires teaching artist consultants through a Request for Proposal process to work in collaboration with Arts Commission staff to develop the curriculum and teach the arts programs. There are no current openings for teaching artists. Check back in the summer of 2008 for announcements about possible openings.

Robla School District Program
This is the third year of the program in the Robla School District, involving all five elementary schools and every student in the district. All students receive sequential lessons in both visual arts and theatre integrated into their language arts curriculum.

Rio Linda Union School District Program
This is the first year of the program in the Rio Linda Unified School District, made possible in part by a grant from the California Arts Council. Sixteen Kindergarten classes in four schools are receiving 36 in depth lessons in visual arts and either dance or theatre, taught by experienced teaching artists. The Kindergarten teachers are also offered hands on workshops in the arts disciplines their students are learning. The arts instruction strengthens school readiness and literacy skills in addition to provided sequential, standards-based instruction in the arts for students attending a full-day Kindergarten.

Other Model Programs
The Arts Commission is committed to developing model programs in many more school districts in the County. We welcome inquiries from school districts interested in replicating any of our current programs or developing new projects.

To learn more please email Erika Kraft , or call the Arts Education staff at 916.566.3983.