Folklife & Traditional Arts Project Grants

About This Grant

Important program update

The South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC) will not be accepting new applications for FY26 Folklife and Traditional Arts Project grants. We are revising the grant guidelines to relaunch in the spring of 2026 for FY27.

• These guidelines will change and remain only as general information.
• All dates listed within these informational guidelines are tentative.

If you represent an organization and would like to be notified when Folklife and Traditional Arts Project grants re-open, please contact us.

Purpose

Traditional arts are expressions of shared identity that are learned as a part of the cultural life of a particular group. This shared identity may be rooted in family, geographic, tribal, occupational, religious, or ethnic connections, among others. As expressions of a living culture, traditional arts have been handed down from one generation to the next and reflect the shared experience, aesthetics, and values of a group. Traditional arts are dynamic, reflecting change and individual innovation over generations of practitioners.

This grant ensures that South Carolina’s many living traditions remain vibrant, visible parts of community life and supports nonprofit organizations and units of government that seek to promote and sustain the traditional arts practiced across the state. South Carolina’s cultural landscape encompasses diverse artistic traditions and practitioners, including indigenous, and longstanding, and more recently arrived art forms and communities.

Please Note

Grant guidelines are subject to change until the application opens.

Applicant Coaching

TBA

• Eligibility

  1. Applicants must be one of the following:
     • A unit of state or local government
     • A college or university
     • A nonprofit organization
       • currently registered as a charity with the S.C. Secretary of State’s Office
         Note: Applicants who are exempt from this registration must upload their registration exemption approval.
       • reflecting S.C. as the primary address on all current official organizational documents
       • with federal tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service
         OR
         applying through a tax-exempt fiscal agent/receiver organization
         Note: Applicants who are applying through a fiscal agent/receiver must submit a letter outlining the working relationship and responsibilities of both parties.
  2. Have a valid Unique Entity ID
     • In accordance with federal government policy, all organizations – including (but not limited to) private schools, public school districts, government entities, and nonprofit organizations – must provide a valid UEI number* to receive an SCAC grant award. *Learn about the Unique Entity ID (UEI) Note: If an applicant organization is using a fiscal agent/receiver, separate UEI numbers must be provided for both the applicant organization and the fiscal agent/receiver. Exceptions to separate UEI numbers are organizations run by a local government or a school district.

• Restrictions

  • Applicants may only submit one (1) Folklife & Traditional Arts Project Grant application per fiscal year.
  • College and university departments are eligible, but only one (1) application per department will be accepted.

• Use of Funds

  The Folklife & Traditional Arts Project Grant funds projects that may include (but are not limited to):

  • Presentation of traditional artists through workshops, concerts, festivals, exhibitions, radio programs, recordings, etc.
  • Documentation of traditional arts and/or folklife of South Carolina (note: the project must result in a public presentation, whether through programming or access to archived materials.)
  • Cultural Survey: fieldwork done to identify traditions and traditional artists
  • Production, documentation and/or distribution of a traditional artist’s work (for example, the production of publicity materials)
  • Acquisition of difficult-to-obtain materials or equipment needed to create traditional art
  • Projects that preserve a traditional art form, e.g. apprenticeships or classes.

  The Folklife & Traditional Arts Project Grant does not fund:

  • Interpretations of traditional art (as opposed to the practice of an actual traditional art form)
  • Revivals of traditions that have ceased to exist within the originating culture
  • General oral history projects
  • Projects that are limited to a historical focus
  • Projects that present historical re-creations of past lifestyles

• Additional Requirements of this Grant

  None.

• Priority

  Applicants who have received funding for the past two consecutive fiscal years will not be a funding priority.

  Priority will be given to individuals or organizations that have projects in SCAC’s Opportunity Initiative Counties at the time of application.

• Grant Criteria

  Are you wondering what makes for a strong application?

  The SCAC recommends using the FY25 Folklife & Traditional Arts Project Grant Evaluation Rubric as a guide when preparing for your application interview. Panelists will score your application based on the criteria within that rubric.

  Traditionality and Cultural Significance – 50%
  	0-3	4-8	9-12	13-15
  Cultural Community	The project does not represent a cultural community(ies) or group.	The project somewhat represents a cultural community(ies) or group	The project represents a cultural community(ies) or group.	The project clearly represents a cultural community(ies) or group.
  	0		10
  Traditionality	The artists and art forms involved in the project are not traditional.		The artists and art forms involved in the project are traditional.
  	0-3	4-8	9-12	13-15
  Cultural Significance	The artists involved and art forms featured in the project are not significant and valued in their community.	The artists involved and art forms featured in the project are somewhat significant and valued in their community.	The artists involved and art forms featured in the project are significant and valued in their community.	The artists involved and art forms featured in the project are exceptionally significant and valued in their community.
  	0-2	3-5	6-8	9-10
  Practitioner Experience	The artist(s) involved in the project are not recognized as experienced practitioners of their traditional art forms.	The artist(s) involved in the project are recognized as somewhat experienced practitioners of their traditional art forms.	The artist(s) involved in the project are recognized as experienced practitioners of their traditional art forms.	The artist(s) involved in the project are recognized as highly experienced practitioners of their traditional art forms.
  Project Impact – 30%
  	0	1-2	3-4	5
  Project Activities	The project activity details, timeline, and location are not clear nor aligned with its objectives.	The project activity details, timeline, and location are somewhat clear and aligned with its objectives.	The project activity details, timeline, and location are extremely clear and aligned with its objectives.	The project activity details, timeline, and location are extremely clear and aligned with its objectives.
  	0	1-2	3-4	5
  Project Objectives	The Project objectives are not relevant and impactful.	The Project objectives are somewhat relevant and impactful.	The Project objectives are relevant and impactful.	The Project objectives are extremely relevant and impactful.
  	0	1-2	3-4	5
  Audience	The audience/ community being served has not been identified.	The audience/ community being served has been somewhat identified.	The audience/ community being served has been identified.	The audience/ community being served has been clearly identified.
  	0	1-2	3-4	5
  Need for Project	The need for the project is not demonstrated.	The need for the project is somewhat demonstrated.	The need for the project is demonstrated.	The need for the project is extremely well demonstrated.
  	0	1-2	3-4	5
  Educational Value	The project does not have potential to promote a broader understanding of traditional arts.	The project has some potential to promote a broader understanding of traditional arts.	The project has potential to promote a broader understanding of traditional arts.	The project has substantial potential to promote a broader understanding of traditional arts.
  	0	1-2	3-4	5
  Project Evaluation	The project evaluation methods are not clear, appropriate, and/or effective.	The project evaluation methods are somewhat clear, appropriate, and/or effective.	The project evaluation methods are clear, appropriate, and/or effective.	The project evaluation methods are extremely clear, appropriate, and/or effective.
  Project Management – 20%
  	0-1	2-3	4-5	6-7
  Project Personnel	The project does not involve personnel with relevant cultural expertise, and/or knowledge of folklife/ traditional arts programming methods.	The project involves personnel with some relevant cultural expertise, and/or knowledge of folklife/ traditional arts programming methods.	The project involves personnel with relevant cultural expertise, and/or knowledge of folklife/ traditional arts programming methods.	The project involves personnel with extensive, relevant cultural expertise and/or knowledge of folklife/traditional arts programming methods.
  	0-1	2-3	4-5	6
  Project Feasibility	The project activities are not appropriate and achievable.	The project activities are appropriate and achievable.	The project activities are appropriate and achievable.	The project activities are appropriate and highly achievable.
  	0-1	2-3	4-5	6-7
  Project Budget	The project budget is not appropriate and/or infeasible.	The project budget is somewhat appropriate and feasible.	The project budget is appropriate and feasible.	The project budget is very appropriate and feasible.

How to Apply

Applications are accepted through our grants portal, which uses the Foundant platform.

New to Foundant? For frequently asked questions, registration instructions, and other helpful information, we highly recommend visiting the Grants Portal FAQ, before you begin working in the system.

Please note:

1. Before applying for a Folklife & Traditional Arts Project Grant, you are strongly advised to discuss your project with the program director, to determine if your project meets the guidelines.
2. You may request a review of your draft application up to two (2) weeks before the application deadline for feedback.

• Your Grants Portal Account

  The applicant must have an active account in our Grants Portal.

  • If you have previously used Submittable to apply for other SCAC grants or programs, please note that the grants portal is a different system. Your Submittable credentials will not work; you will need a grants portal account to apply for this grant.
  • If you have used the grants portal as both an artist and as a contact for a school or organization, be sure you log on with the correct account to apply for this grant.

• Work Samples & Support Materials

  Work Samples

  Work samples are a required part of your application. Work samples should represent the artists and traditions featured in your project, as well as your organization. Work samples help the review panel assess the quality of your proposed program, its potential impact on the tradition(s) and community(ies) involved, and your organization’s capacity to complete the project.

  We encourage you to be selective when choosing your work samples. Work samples should:

  1. Demonstrate traditionality and cultural significance as understood by the community in which the traditional art forms are practiced.
  2. Represent the traditional art forms featured in your project.
  3. Be current (less than five years old).

  Choosing Your Work Samples

  • You must submit at least five (5) items; you may submit up to 10 items.
  • Panelists will review no more than 20 minutes of audio and/or video work.

  The art forms in your project will determine which work sample format(s) work best. You may submit a maximum of each type of item, as specified below

  • Video: 3 samples
    • Maximum length of each sample: 3 minutes
    • Accepted file types: .flv, .mov, .mpg, .webm, .wmv,
    • OR provide URL/link
  • Audio: 3 samples
    • Maximum length of each sample: 3 minutes
    • Accepted file types: mp3, wav
    • OR provide URL/link
  • Images: 10
    • Acceptable file types: .gif, .jpg/.jpeg, .png, .tif/.tiff, .svg
    • OR a .pdf file with images
  • Documents: 3
    • Typeface must be legible, no less than 12 pt.
    • Acceptable file types: .doc/.docx, .pdf, .rtf., .txt
  • Websites: 3
    • Provide the URL/link(s) for websites that are relevant to your proposed project.
    • All URL work samples must be public facing or viewable to those who have the link, meaning panelists and staff must be able to view the work sample without needing to create an account.

  Preparing Your Work Samples

  We strongly encourage you to prepare these work samples before you visit the grants portal and begin your application.

  You may need to create new electronic files (documents, video files, etc.) to submit work samples that meet the length, content, and formatting requirements. Alternately, where audio or video files are longer than three (3) minutes, please include instructions as to which 3-minute segment panelists should sample, e.g. “please watch/listen from 04:23 to 07:18,” etc.

  You must provide the following information for each work sample:

  • Name of artist(s) or key individuals involved; please identify all project-relevant artists or individuals in the work samples
  • Title of work/image/activity
  • Date of work/image/activity completed
  • Location (if known)
  • For audio and video, the length of the sample, beginning and ending time codes for the section(s) you want panelists to view. (i.e. “please watch/listen from 04:23 to 07:18,” etc.)
  • A sentence describing the work and its relationship to the project

  For each sample, you may either

  • Upload one of the accepted file types, or
  • Provide a URL/ link to a website (including social media sites or YouTube videos) where the work sample can be viewed.
    • Be sure the work sample(s) can be accessed without login credentials for that platform. Do not include social media or websites for which a password is required (e.g., If you link to a Facebook video, make sure it’s a public link, as panelists may not have a Facebook account.)

  If you are uncertain what to submit, visit our Support Materials web page, and/or consult the program director (information below).

  Support Materials

  In addition to your Work Samples, you may submit up to five (5) items of support materials to assist the panel in understanding the following:

  • Participating artists’ skill levels and appropriateness to the project,
  • Participating artists’ and applicant’s involvement in the community,
  • Cultural expertise in planning the project, and/or
  • The likelihood that the project will be successful.

  Support materials may include, but are not limited to:

  • Letters of support
  • Samples of media coverage (e.g., newspaper or magazine articles)
  • Programs or other ephemera from previous similar projects
  • Brief publications or publication excerpts

  Support materials may be uploaded (accepted file types: .doc/.docx, .pdf, .ppt/.pptx, .rtf., .txt) and/or you may provide a link to the support material online.