Equity in Arts Learning for Colorado Youth
Equity in Arts Learning is a collaborative grantmaking program that seeks to increase access to arts education for historically marginalized youth in Colorado. The program is administered by Think 360 Arts for Learning.
Equity in Arts Learning for Colorado Youth (EAL) seeks to increase access to arts education for historically marginalized youth. Grants of $10,000-$25,000 are available to support projects that bring professional artists and culture bearers into educational settings to lead programming with youth ages 4-21. Projects supported by EAL will exemplify the value of arts education, encouraging ongoing community support.
This newly launched annual collaborative grantmaking initiative is funded by Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, Colorado Creative Industries, Denver Arts & Venues, Gates Family Foundation and The Denver Foundation, and is administered by Think 360 Arts for Learning. Equity in Arts Learning seeks to increase access to arts education for historically marginalized Colorado youth ages 4-21. The goal of the initiative is to dismantle the systemic barriers that have long prevented marginalized youth from experiencing the life-altering benefits of arts learning. Through this fund, partners hope to strengthen regional efforts to improve sustained access to arts education for historically marginalized and minoritized youth; provide opportunities for youth to work with professional artists and culture bearers; and heighten awareness of the impact of arts education, so that resources both financial and curricular increase state-wide, leading to more equitable access to arts education for youth. If you are a current grantee of the Foundation, you are welcome to apply to Equity in Arts Learning in addition to your Foundation request.
Applicant must be a Colorado-based nonprofit organization, or a PK-12 school.
- School applicants must engage an artist or arts organization as a partner.
- Organizational applicants must:
- Be engaged with a school partner or have a strong history of working with youth
- Be registered with Colorado Secretary of State with an address in Colorado
- Have a Colorado-based staff person who will be actively engaged in the project
Funded projects may take place at schools (during the school day or after school), community centers, libraries, nonprofit arts sites, and other locations that are highly accessible to youth.
For more information and to access the application, please visit Think 360 Arts for Learning https://think360arts.org/grant-opportunities/
- Letters of Intent accepted September 26, 2024 – November 22, 2024
- Invitations to Apply – Sent by January 20, 2025
- Full Application Due – February 21, 2025
- Award Notifications – Mid/Late April, 2025
- Projects Take Place – July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026
Projects may involve any arts & culture discipline or genre, such as theater, dance, music, visual arts, media arts, literary arts, folk and traditional arts, or interdisciplinary art forms. Arts integration projects (connecting an art form with another subject area) are encouraged. Projects should:
- Take place over a period of time that allows for depth of learning and relationship building. Ideally, projects take place over the course of six weeks or longer.
- Center the identities and needs of youth. Youth should be consulted in the project’s design and be able to influence the project’s evolution along the way.
- Fill a clear gap in the school or community. The rationale for the project should be informed by the stated needs of the students and community.
- Engage experienced artists and culture bearers. Teaching artists should have a successful record of working with youth, and whose identities reflect the youth participants.
- Be highly accessible to youth participants. A fee may not be charged for participation, and it must take place in a setting that youth are able to easily get to.
- Allow for time and resources to measure and communicate the project’s value and impact. Evaluation results will be collectively shared.
If you are planning to use a fiscal sponsor to receive grants, we encourage you to review these guidelines and template for a fiscal sponsor agreement.
With our funding we seek to
We work in partnership with grantees, other funders, community leaders and others engaged in the creative economy.
Grants Awarded
Make your Application online using the link to our portal below.
Applications close.
A panel will review your application and a decision will be made.
Program director, Chrissy Deal, welcomes your questions at chrissy@bonfils-stanton.org or 303.825.3774.
Individuals can nominate up to three candidates.
At the close of the nomination period, the Foundation will notify eligible candidates of their nomination and share a copy of each nomination and endorsement received on their behalf. Nominees, outside of self-nominations, will be able to provide additional information they feel may be relevant to their candidacy. Responses will be entirely optional and not required in order to advance in the selection process. For this reason, nominators may wish to notify the candidate in advance of recommending them for the fellowship.
The fellowship is quite competitive, so it is not unusual for individuals to be nominated several times over the years.
Yes
Eligible candidates must be leading a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, or Jefferson county. Bonfils-Stanton Foundation’s leadership decided to focus solely on arts and culture and leadership for deeper impact in 2012. In recent years, the Foundation has taken steps to gradually align the Livingston Fellowship Program’s geographic area more closely with that of our grantmaking portfolio which focuses on the city of Denver.
Nominees will be updated of their status in the selection process via email by early November 2022. The Board of Trustees of the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation will approve the 2023 class of Livingston Fellows in early 2023.
Visit our website for additional information about the history of the Livingston Fellowship program, stories from fellows and their fellowship activities.
Absolutely! If you can’t find what you’re looking for on our website, please reach out to Chrissy for more information.
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