Grants for Creative Businesses
Creative businesses can range from art studios to handcrafted-jewelry stores to auto body paint shops to glass-blowing studios. Creative businesses owners can technically apply for the same startup capital options, such as seed capital from angel investors or bank loans, as regular businesses. However, since creative businesses are typically less profit-driven--because they often exist to bring highly individual, handmade, sometimes one-of-a-kind products to a limited market--they are not likely investment choices for those hoping for high returns. As such, business owners affiliated with creative businesses have specific options such as cash grants, residencies, internships, free or low-cost work space, or in-kind grants that can help an artistic endeavor launch and succeed.
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Cash Grants
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Cash grants for creative businesses can fund the owner’s attendance at a trade show or can simply be used at the business owner’s discretion if their business shows promise. You can find grants through inquiring at your local Chamber of Commerce or arts departments of your local university; online postings or notices at information centers at these locations will often have information about grants. Seek advice from successful professionals in your business’s area of work to find out what grant resources they may have used when starting out.
The Lannan Foundation is an example of a foundation dedicated to cultural freedom, diversity and creativity through providing support to exceptional contemporary artists and writers. Candidates for awards are chosen through an anonymous nomination process and approved by the Board of Directors.
Lannan Foundation
313 Read Street
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501-2628
505-986-8160
www.lannan.org
Workspace Grants
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Workspace grants can help you eliminate overhead costs by providing you with free studio or display space from which to operate your business or develop the creative items you plan to market. Larger universities often offer fellowship programs for up-and-coming artists that provide no cash but do guarantee artists a place to work for a set amount of time. These may be termed as residencies or fellowships. An example of one such program is the California Arts Council Artist-in-Residence Program, which sponsors California artists in schools, artists in communities, and artists serving special constituency programs. The program also provides three- to 11-month residencies along with a monthly salary.
The Beltway Poetry Quarterly web site offers a comprehensive database of residency programs grouped according to your area of current or desired residency.
California Arts Council Artist-in-Residence Program
1300 I St., Suite 930
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-322-6555 or 800-201-6201
www.cac.ca.gov
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Travel Grants
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If your business could benefit from being marketed in a larger geographic area than its current level of exposure, a travel grant for artists could be used to take you to workshops or conferences where you could increase your knowledge of your trade while also gaining useful contacts and broadening your network. The College Art Association offers one such program to support artists affiliated with graduate student programs or for international artists.
The College Art Association
275 Seventh Avenue, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10001
212-691-1051
www.collegeart.org
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References
- Artbusiness.com: How to Apply for Art and Artist Grants, Residencies, Funding, Aid and Other Opportunities for Assistance
- College Art Association: Travel Grants
- Arts, Culture and Creative Economy: Creative Industry Workforce Grants
- California Arts Council Artist in Residence Program
- Lannan Foundation: About Lannan Foundation
Resources
- Photo Credit handmade necklaces image by timur1970 from Fotolia.com
