Claudia Mitchell Arts Fund

2024 Guidelines and Application

RAAC’S Mitchell Arts Fund awards grants in support of the arts in Rappahannock County, VA. We give grants to emerging and established artists of all ages, arts organizations, art programs within community-based organizations, collaborative projects, and more. We especially encourage programs with a community focus and those that are aimed at children.

2024 Application is due by email on March 15, 2024 and is available in Word and as a pdf.

Areas of Giving

• Grants are made in the visual arts, music, writing, theater, dance, and media/film/video, as well as projects combining more than one type of media.
• Grants are awarded to artists who reside in Rappahannock County and to non-resident artists and organizations involved in projects in the county. Past grants generally range from $100 to $7,000 and have provided support for individual artists, school programs, community performances, and continuing education. You can find a complete list of past grantees and their projects here.
• The Fund does not support political or religious activities.
• We do not give grants to projects that have been already completed or will take place before June 2024.
• We consider marketing and promotion to be lower priority for funding. However, we are open to funding website development to support an artist’s ability to sell their work.

Review Process

• The Mitchell Arts Fund Committee, consisting of RAAC Board and community members, reviews grant applications once a year in the spring.
• We receive many more applications than we can award. Our review process is careful, deliberative, and confidential, but please be aware that not all proposals will be funded, and some may be partially funded.
• No member of the RAAC Board or Mitchell Fund committee, or members of their immediate family or household, may benefit financially from a Mitchell Fund grant. RAAC’s definition of immediate family includes parents, spouses/partners, children, siblings, or any other individual living in the same household.
• Members of RAAC’s Mitchell Fund committee and RAAC Board recuse themselves from the review of any grant if they identify any conflict of interest with the applicant or project.
• Grant recommendations made by the Mitchell Arts Fund committee are submitted to the RAAC Board for review and approval.

Grants Timetable

• The deadline for applications is March 15, 2024.
• All grant applicants will be notified of RAAC’s decision by email in early May.
• Grantees must return their signed grant agreement by May 15.
• Grant checks will be presented at a special event in June.
• Awards will be published in the Rappahannock News and MadRapp, in RAAC’s newsletter, and on RAAC’s website in June.

Funding Criteria

• Quality of work
• Impact on the community
• The benefit to artist’s or organization’s development

How To Apply

• Use the application linked above to apply and email to: mitchellfund@raac.org
• Please review these application guidelines carefully and provide all required information on the application form, plus all supporting materials. Incomplete applications will not be considered for review.
• All applications must be submitted digitally. While our strong preference is for typed applications, we will accept handwritten ones that are completely legible and have been scanned and sent by email attachment as pdfs. Rappahannock Public Library’s computers are available during regular library hours; staff and volunteers are available for limited assistance to applicants. Call the library at 675-3780.
• Work samples and all supporting materials should be in compressed format — JPEG for images and MP3 for audio —and identified with the applicant’s name.
• Current or past Mitchell Fund grantees must have their final (or interim) reports on file before applying for a new grant.
• Occasionally the RAAC Board and Mitchell Arts Fund committee may consider out-of-cycle grant requests to respond to unique, time-sensitive opportunities, as well as to initiate special projects.

Grantee Requirements

• It is expected that projects will be completed in one year from the date of grant. Projects requiring multi-year funding must submit new applications for subsequent years.
• Each grantee will be assigned a liaison from the Committee or RAAC Board who will be their point of contact for the grant year. Any questions or changes in a project should be addressed to the grantee’s liaison who will consult with the committee for a response.
• Once a grant is awarded, any substantial changes must be approved by the Committee before proceeding with the funded project.
• Grantees must credit RAAC’s Mitchell Arts Fund support in all written materials (programs, articles, etc.) and public announcements about their project, i.e. “This program was made possible by a grant from RAAC’s Mitchell Arts Fund”.
• Grantees must submit a report in January of 2024. If they have already completed their project by that time, this will be a final report. If the project isn’t complete, they should file a progress report. In any case, final reports will be due at the completion of the grant’s project.
• At the end of the project, grantees must submit a final report summarizing the project: how the grant money was spent, what was accomplished, what was learned, and how the grantee and the community benefited.  Please submit photographs, programs, and other relevant materials for possible use by RAAC in our newsletter or website.

Tips for writing a strong proposal

• Before starting the application process, read our guidelines and website information very carefully. Also, have a look at past grantees for the kinds of projects that have been funded.
• In your application, be sure to tell us your story and the impact you are hoping for in a concise, compelling way. We want to hear why this is important and exciting to you. If your project is aimed at community benefit, describe what you hope to achieve.
• If your project contains multiple independent components, please prioritize those parts and provide a separate budget for each. We may not be able to provide full funding for your project, so it’s important to tell us your priorities.
• Make your budget clear. Simple is fine. But include details of both expenses and potential income. Think about all elements that your project will need to succeed, including price quotes for significant components. This adds specificity and helps us evaluate your project.
• COVID-19 guidelines.  We hope that Covid will be a thing of the past by the time you present your work, but just in case — if your work involves a public gathering (classes, workshops, events, etc), RAAC will follow Virginia guidelines for Covid. If those guidelines aren’t clear, please discuss how to proceed with your liaison.
  
• If a unique and/or time-sensitive project arises outside our regular grants cycle, RAAC will consider out-of-cycle grant requests and special initiatives.
• If you have any additional questions, please email us at mitchellfund@raac.org.

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