Grant Opportunities
The St. Mary's County Arts Council, through support from the Maryland State Arts Council, provides funding support for community arts development through our grants program.
We award approximately $50,000 annually to local organizations and schools for the presentation of arts activities in our community.
Past recipients have included: Carolyn E. Parker Foundation (Kennedy Center Project 2023) COSMIC Symphony Lexington Park United Methodist Church/ Sing Joy Community Concert 2022 Music from Poplar Hill Newtowne Players River Concert Series Sanford Concert Series SoMar Drummers Sotterley Foundation Southern Maryland Film Festival Southern Maryland Youth Orchestra St. Mary’s College of Maryland Foundation - Through the Lens Photography Program St. Mary’s County Recreation & Parks (Summerstock) St. Mary's River Watershed Association TEDxGreatMills Town of Leonardtown (Arts & Entertainment District) Unified Committee for Afro-American Contributions and many more!
We also offer sponsorships and special scholarships to individuals. Please email us at info@smcart.org for more information.
Before applying for grants, please be sure to read the Grant Guidelines.
All necessary forms may be downloaded below.
Grant Information
The SMCAC strives to provide funding to all qualified applicants. Grants are awarded throughout the fiscal year, which runs from July 1 – June 30. Grants for Non-Profit Organizations, Arts in Education Grants and Sponsorships will be accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year. Organizations may apply for a grant at any time during the fiscal year or in the first quarter of the next fiscal year in order to accommodate summer events. We encourage applicants to apply as early as possible so that if denied, reapplication is possible for the next window.
If the grant requests exceed our funding, we will refer to a rubric for evaluating applications and make awards to the top-scoring applications. Applications will be reviewed on the schedule shown below. Requests will be evaluated at SMCAC public board meetings, held on the second Tuesday of the month at 5 pm. Approved grant processing will be initiated within 14 days of approval. Initial payments of 75% of the total grant amount will be dispensed upon contract execution. The remaining 25% will be awarded upon review of a final report after the program’s completion. The SMCAC caps awards to any single recipient at a maximum of $5000 per fiscal year, across award categories.
Grant Review Schedule
Applications received by:
August 31 will be reviewed in September
October 31 will be reviewed in November
December 31 will be reviewed in January
April 30 will be reviewed in May
*Grant disbursement may be impacted by the timing of our annual MSAC grant delivery. Every effort will be made to disburse approved grant funding as close to approval as possible.
Grants for Non-Profit Organizations
This grant opportunity is for registered nonprofit organizations presenting arts programs or projects in St. Mary's County or for the benefit of St. Mary's County citizens. All funded programs and projects must be open to the public and must meet specific eligibility criteria.
Qualified non-profit organizations are eligible to receive up to $5000 per fiscal year.
Arts in Education Grant
The Arts In Education Grant opportunity is designed to support quality programs and performances provided by visiting performers, artists, authors, poets, master teachers and professionals in the areas of music, visual art, drama, dance, and literature for the educational enhancement of St. Mary’s County residents. Programming must be above and beyond typical curriculum of a school, senior center or library.
Qualified applicants are eligible to receive up to $3000 per fiscal year.
Sponsorships
This grant opportunity is intended to help individual artists and groups from St. Mary’s County who present their art or performance publicly, but are not part of a nonprofit organization or educational institution. Qualified sponsorships are eligible to receive up to $1000 per fiscal year. For more information and to request an application, please email Susie Glauner: director@smcart.org.
Scholarships for High School Seniors
The St. Mary’s County Arts Council provides annual scholarships to support high school seniors who desire to continue with their studies of The Arts following graduation.
The SMCAC has established these awards to recognize, encourage, and support individuals who demonstrate excellence and a high level of interest in one or more of the following categories: Visual Arts, the Performing Arts, and Theater Arts.
The Arts Council will present awards up to $1000 each to graduating seniors from any of the public or private St. Mary’s County schools. Home schooled students are also eligible to apply.
The scholarship period for 2023 is now closed. Please check back in March 2024 for updates about the next round of scholarships.
