The Arts Council of Carteret County is offering grants to Carteret County local groups to support arts and cultural programming. These grants will be used to financially assist groups in providing quality arts programming to the citizens of Carteret County. Grassroots grants are intended to fund particular arts projects that will be completed by June 30, 2009. Programs can focus on theatre, music, dance, writing, folk-life, or the visual arts. The Arts Council of Carteret County and the North Carolina Arts Council Grassroots Arts Program support the program; additional funding is received from the National Endowment for the Arts.

“The Grassroots Arts Program is one of the best ways to support organizations who are supporting the arts,” says Pam Cooper, president of the Arts Council of Carteret County. Applicants may be either arts organizations or community service organizations that develop arts projects for the general public or for traditionally underserved audiences. Applicants must be nonprofit organizations that have federal 501(c) tax-exempt status or units of local government, civic clubs, churches, schools, theatre groups, arts festivals, boys and girls clubs, libraries, senior citizens’ centers, parks and recreation departments, and other community-based groups.

A grants panel consisting of Carteret County residents will read and select grants to be funded. Awards are decided by assessing the overall impact of the program to be funded to the citizens of Carteret County, the overall excellence of the program, and its practicality.

Grants applications are due no later than June 1, 2009. For more information or to obtain an application, please call The Arts Council of Carteret County at 252-726-9156 or e-mail the Arts Council at pcooper@ec.rr.com.

CONTACT: Pam Cooper 726-8669 or 726-8669