The Arts & Social Cohesion (A&SC) Grant Program is a funding initiative of the Vermont Community Foundation (VCF) made possible through a donor-advised fund aligned with the Foundation’s Health & Wellbeing impact area under the Opportunity Gap framework. This program supports projects in the visual, performing, literary, and musical arts that create meaningful opportunities for community engagement, collaboration, and social connection across the state of Vermont.

The goal of the A&SC Grant Program is to foster a deeper sense of belonging and strengthen community cohesion through the arts, particularly at a time marked by social fragmentation and division. The program prioritizes projects that offer safe, inclusive spaces for creative expression, especially for historically marginalized groups, and that actively involve participants as co-creators or co-designers.

Examples of eligible projects include participatory murals, artist residencies with community design components, interactive performances, new choral collaborations, free public classes, and hands-on workshops. Projects that are interactive and invite broad public participation are strongly encouraged. Funds may be used for artist salaries, contracted services, materials, equipment, and reasonable overhead costs directly related to project implementation.

Ineligible uses include capital expenses, general operations, scholarship-only efforts, debt reduction, and projects without interactive or participatory elements. Individual artists are not eligible to apply unless doing so through an eligible organization or fiscal sponsor. Eligible applicants include nonprofits, schools, municipalities, and community groups with fiscal sponsorship, provided their primary service area is within Vermont.

Letters of Interest (LOIs) will be accepted from April 3 to May 8, 2025, and must be received by 5 PM EST on May 8 to be considered. Selected LOI applicants will be invited to submit a full application by late June, with grant decisions announced in early August. The maximum grant award is $12,000, with the average award expected to be around $7,500. Projects must take place within one year of the award date and must not include retroactive funding for completed activities.

For more information, applicants are encouraged to contact Andy Barker at the Vermont Community Foundation by phone at 802-388-3355 ext. 382 or via email.