KDA Creative Corps Application Requirements
About the KDA Creative Corps
Kern Dance Alliance (KDA) was awarded $4,223,447 by the California Arts Council (CAC) to administer the California Creative Corps program throughout the Central Valley and Eastern Sierra region of the state.
The California Creative Corps is a pilot program designed to promote community and civic engagement, spread awareness about water and energy conservation, climate change, emergency preparedness, relief and recovery through the arts. Fourteen organizations, including KDA, were selected statewide to regrant funds in their region to arts and social service organizations, individual artists, and cultural workers.
The KDA Creative Corps (KDACC) will regrant funds to arts and social service organizations, individual artists, and cultural workers throughout fourteen counties in the Central Valley and Eastern Central region of the state.
From south to north, they include Kern, Kings, Tulare, Inyo, Fresno, Madera, Mono, Merced, Mariposa, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, San Joaquin, Calaveras and Amador counties.
Who Can Apply for the KDA Creative Corps?
KDACC seeks applications from arts and social service organizations, as well as individual artists and culture bearers to create projects aligned with four focus areas:
- Public health awareness messages to stop the spread of COVID-19
- Public awareness related to water and energy conservation, climate mitigation, and emergency preparedness, relief, and recovery
- Civic engagement, including election participation
- Social justice and community engagement
KDACC serves the Central Valley and Eastern Sierras regions, composed of fourteen counties including Kern, Kings, Tulare, Inyo, Fresno, Madera, Mono, Merced, Mariposa, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, San Joaquin, Calaveras and Amador.
Funded organizations, artists and cultural workers must demonstrate strong, ongoing relationships with communities that fall within the lowest quartile of the California Healthy Places Index and will support meaningful engagements with those communities through this grant.
The KDACC will award funding to arts and social service organizations, individual artists, and cultural workers. While you can apply for funding from multiple California Creative Corps Administering Organization (AO), you can only receive funding from ONE AO.
What Are the Application Requirements?
Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:
Location Requirements for all Applicants
The grantee must live, work, and/or serve one of the following California Central Valley or Eastern Sierra counties, as follows:
- Kern
- Kings
- Tulare
- Inyo
- Fresno
- Madera
- Mono
- Merced
- Mariposa
- Stanislaus
- Tuolumne
- San Joaquin
- Calaveras
- Amador
Requirements for Individual Artists
- 18 years or older
- Letter of recommendation – Individual artists must provide at least one letter of recommendation citing the artists qualifications and/or artistic work history.
- Artistic evidence – Individual artists must submit work samples of past artistic projects.
Note: Do you live in Stanislaus, Merced and Tuolumne Counties? Click HERE to access the application through the United Way of Merced.
Requirements for Organizations
- 501(c)(3) organization as applicant or fiscal sponsor – Nongovernmental applicant organizations must 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.
- Local government – A unit of municipal or county government; or a tribal government.
- Applicant organizations using fiscal sponsors – An applicant organization that is without nonprofit status must use a California-based fiscal sponsor with a federal 501(c)(3) designation to apply for funding. For-profit businesses and individuals may not use a fiscal sponsor to apply to KDACC organizational grants. Types of applicant organizations eligible to apply using a fiscal sponsor include, but are not limited to artist collectives, guilds, and 501(c)(6) organizations.
Additional Requirements for All Applicants
All applications must include the following with their application in order to be reviewed, ranked, and considered for funding.
- California-based – Documentation as being a California-based artist or nonprofit arts/cultural organization; an arts-based unit of municipal or county government; or a tribal government, or nonprofit social service organization with regular ongoing arts programming and/or services and a principal place of business in California
- Financial documentation – Organization applicants must provide a minimum of two years of basic financial information via the Budget Snapshot
- Certificate of good standing – Nonprofit organizations must have “active status” with the California Secretary of State (SOS) showing evidence of “good standing” at the time of application. You can verify your organization’s status by conducting a search using the SOS online Business Search tool. An indication of “active” (versus “suspended,” “dissolved,” “canceled,” etc.) confirms that your nonprofit corporation exists, is authorized to conduct business in the State of California, has met all licensing and corporation requirements, and has not received a suspension from the Franchise Tax Board
- Signatures on required attachments – Letters and other attachments requiring signatures must include completed digital or scanned signatures in order to be considered for funding. A blank signature field will not be accepted
How much funding is available?
Individual artists may request up to $150,000, and organizations may request up to $300,000 for the grant period.
- You may use up to twenty percent (20%) of the grant award for administrative costs and costs associated with program design and implementation.
- Eighty percent (80%) of funds must either be granted directly to individuals or used to hire individual artists.
Funding Restrictions
Applying for the KDACC grant does not restrict you from applying for other California Arts Council or KDA grants.
Matching Funds
This program does not require matching funds.
What we do not fund
The KDA Creative Corps is aligned with state guidelines with respect to funding projects. Please consult the What We Do Not Fund document for items that may NOT be funded.
