ARTS EXPERIENCES FUND

Thank you for your interest in our Arts Experiences Fund. All grant funding for SY 25-26 has been allocated and we are no longer accepting applications for the current school year. We encourage you to follow us and sign up for our newsletter to find out when the Fund will open again for the next school year!

Want to check if your school has already received a grant?

Schools may only receive arts experience funding from AED through one grant during any given school year.

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Preview Application Before Applying

About this Grant

Baltimore City Public Schools are eligible to apply for funding to support school-day arts experiences, including field trips, performances, and teaching artist residencies. Through a streamlined application and review timeline, this grant aims to provide accessible funding for arts experiences and empower school-based staff to facilitate experiences that will best serve their student populations.

New for SY26/27, schools can choose to apply for one of two types of funding:

Up to $2,500 to fund school-day arts experiences such as performances/ assemblies, field trips, and workshops.

Performance/Assembly: Program where students watch a performance. There may or may not be some interactive elements.
Workshop: Program where a partner provides a hands-on session for students/educators.
Arts/Cultural Institution Tour: Program where students/educators explore an arts/cultural institution.

Up to $5,000 to fund school-day arts residencies.

Residency: Program where students/educators experience multiple hands-on sessions that build knowledge over time. May or may not involve a culminating experience.**Note: Residencies are not contractual service providers intended to replace instruction from certified fine arts teachers. Arts Every Day grant funding may not be used to replace instruction from certified fine arts teachers.

Benefits to Schools

School grantees can apply for up to $2,500 in arts/arts integrated experiences. Applicants should review the Arts Every Day Arts Directory for approved partners and programs. Once accepted, grantees will be given login credentials to access and book programs through the Directory. AED will process payments directly to Arts and Cultural Partners.

Arts Every Day’s Arts Directory includes a variety of programs and experiences from a breadth of Arts and Cultural Partners, including:

- Off-site performances, such as theater, dance, and music performances at theaters throughout Maryland
- Off-site programs, such as museum and cultural institution visits.
- Transportation to and from any off-site experience in the Arts Directory.
- School-based programs and performances, including assemblies, residencies, workshops, and more.

Please note that all Arts and Cultural Partners listed in the Arts Every Day Arts Directory have agreed to work in compliance with Baltimore City Public Schools’ fingerprinting and background check processes as well as in alignment with Arts Every Day’s mission and vision. If you would like to book with a Provider who is not listed in the Directory but you think meets the criteria, please contact Sam Green at sam@artseveryday.org to discuss eligibility.

Eligibility

Schools may only receive arts experience funding from AED through one grant during any given school year, therefore your school is ineligible for this grant if:

- Your school has already been awarded an Arts Experience Grant this school year. The grant page will be updated regularly throughout the year to reflect awarded grants.
- Your school is one of our 11 School Partners
- Your school is one of the district’s 5 separate public day schools. You have guaranteed access to our Arts Accessibility Fund instead of this broader grant.

Timeline

Applications will be reviewed on Thursdays throughout the above application windows. Applications received after 9am Thursday will be reviewed the following Thursday. Schools will be notified of application status within 7 days. Notification emails will be sent on Fridays. This timeline may be subject to change based on holidays.

NOTE: Due to the high demand for these grants, we encourage schools to apply early within the grant windows. Because applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, all funding for each Application Window may be allocated before the dates listed above, depending on the volume of applications.

Application Review Considerations

Arts Every Day will review grant applications against the following criteria:

- Projected impact on student learning and experience
- Demonstration of need as evidenced by the concentration of poverty rates reported by MSDE
- Geographic Location
  – AED aims to ensure funding is spread equitably across the district instead of concentrating in certain areas.
- School Type
  – AED aims to ensure funding is equitably accessible to a variety of public schools throughout the district, including traditional schools as well as charter, contract, separate public day, and others.

Notification of Award and Access to Funding

Grantees will receive notification of application status via email.

If awarded, schools must review, complete, and return the Grant Agreement to confirm their acceptance of grant funds.
Upon AED’s receipt of a completed Grant Agreement, the school’s grant account will be created in our Arts Directory. Arts Every Day will email the grantee login credentials to use the Arts Directory to request to book programs using grant funding.
Grantees can reference the Booking Guide for help with the booking process.
Grantees must submit documentation of arts experiences through a post-experience survey submitted within 2 weeks of completion of the funded program(s).

NOTE: Application to this program does not guarantee funding. Do not book with a provider prior to award notification and receipt of login credentials.

Use of Grant Funding

Accepted grantees receive funding of:

- up to $2,500 for performances/assemblies, field trips, and workshops, or
- up to $5,000 for residencies

Please review the following guidelines for use of AED frant funding:

- Student programs must occur during the regular school day during the current school year, with the following exception:
  - Up to 30% of funding can be used towards programming at family and community engagement events occuring outside of the regular school day (ie, booking a teaching artist to lead a workshop at Family Literacy Night).
This grant cannot fund arts materials, food, or other supplies. for financial support in purchasing arts equipment, please see our Arts Equipment Fund.

Transportation Guidelines:
- - This grant can be used to fund transportation to and from any experience in the arts directory.
  - This grant cannot be used to fund trips outside the state of Maryland.
  - Arts Every Day-funded traspportation must be booked through Woodlawn Motorcoach using the process outlined in our Booking Guide. In the event that Woodlawn does not have buses available for a given trip, AED will support the school in connecting with an alternative vendor.
Grantees are expected to request only those programs that were specified in their grant application approved by Arts Every Day. If a substitution or change is necessary, please contact Arts Every Day prior to submitting a booking request for any program not originally included in your approved application.
- For example: If a school applies and is approved for tickets and transportation to a theater show with a total estimated cost of $1500, the school will be approved for a $1,500 grant and given login credentials to request tickets and transportation. The school may not request additional programming event though their total approved amount was under the $2,500 grant limit.
  - - To avoid this scenario, schools are encouraged to collaborate among staff on the application to maximize programming within the total grant availability. For example, the application could include:
      - Theater tickets and transportation for one grade level (~$1,500)
        
        An assembly for another grade level (~$1,000)
Invoices for all programs must be received by Arts Every Day by May 14th of the current school year, though programs may continue to take place through the end of the school year.

Applicants are responsible for communicating effectively with Arts and Culture Partners about all bookings. In general, this means responding to email communications about bookings within 72 hours.
- - If a school needs help reaching a partner, please contact Sam Green at sam@artseveryday.org for support.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to request programs at least two weeks in advance. This allows adequate time for AED to receive and process documentation for payment to our partners.

Booking requests must be made in the Arts Directroy within 4 weeks of receipt of login credentials. Failure to do so will result in the forfeiture of funds.
- - If no booking requests have been made within 2 weeks, AED will send a reminder email.
  - If no booking requests have been made by week 4, AED will send notification of grant forfeiture.

ARTS DIRECTORY

Preview Application Before Applying

Frequently Asked Questions

Why am I being asked to share student numbers and projected impact in the grant application?

Collecting data on the number of students served and impact of AED-funded programs helps AED to better understand and share the impact of our work. This not only helps us improve our offerings in the future, but also supports our ongoing work to secure more funding for more programming.

Can my school submit more than one application?

Applications are reviewed and approved on a first come, first served basis. We can only approve one grant per school. We strongly encourage staff to communicate with others at their school before submitting an application.

If my bookings do not total the whole $2,500, can I add additional programs to my application after it has been approved?

No. Applications are approved just for the programs listed on the application. Please carefully review estimated costs for programs listed in the Directory before submitting your application.

Why am I required to submit a Grant Agreement?

The Grant Agreement ensures that both the applicant and their school admin are aware of the protocols, requirements, and possible consequences for not following/meeting these requirements.

I have already talked with a provider about a booking; do I still need to use AED’s booking system after my grant application is approved?

Yes! Following the steps outlined in our Booking Guide to input bookings into our Directory system makes sure that we have all of the documentation we need to ensure timely and accurate payment to partners.

Will my school be responsible for paying partners for programs?

No. If your grant application is approved, you will receive log in credentials to make booking requests through our Arts Directory system. This system allows partners to upload invoices and schools to review and approve invoices. Arts Every Day pays invoices directly to partners after they are approved by schools.

Can I use AED funding to book with a partner who is not in the Directory?

Maybe! We are always looking to expand our Directory. If you know of an artist or organization that is not in our Directory but who is doing meaningful work with students, email sam@artseveryday.org. We will follow up with the prospective partner directly to determine eligibility to be in the Directory. All Arts Experience Funding must be spent through the Directory; do not make booking arrangements with providers not in the Directory until they have been approved by Arts Every Day.

Can I use Arts Experience Grant Funding to book transportation?

Yes! Arts Experience Grant Funding can be used to book transportation to and from any experience listed in our Directory. If you would like to fund transportation through your grant, please just be sure to include this in your grant application. You can view our AED-Funded Transportation listing in the Directory to learn more about the process of booking buses with AED funding.

What does the required post-survey look like?

You can preview the post-survey here

Why do I have to submit photos in my grant post-survey?

All AED grants are funded by donations. Donors love to know where their donations are going. Photos of experiences help us to secure more funding to support future programming. Please be mindful to only submit photos that are in alignment with your school’s student photograph policy.

Can I request a program that costs more than the $2,500 allocation and bill the remaining cost to my school?

No, any programs booked through this grant must be paid in full through the grant. Splitting invoices with schools has often resulted in delays in payment to partners; this guideline is firmly in place to ensure partners receive payment promptly.