Festivals Program Grants

About This Grant

Purpose

To provide support for a broad range of arts activities at festivals* that take place in—and have an impact on—S.C. communities, increasing opportunities for public engagement and participation in arts and culture.

*A festival is a day or period of celebration or gathering of people that:

• Happens in a condensed period of time (i.e. an annual celebration or anniversary or an organized series of concerts, plays, movies, or performances held in the same place).
• Has an easily identifiable or unifying theme or specified focus.

Please Note

Grant guidelines are subject to change until the application opens.

• Eligibility

  1. The applicant must be
     • a unit of state or local government, OR
     • a nonprofit organization
       1. 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.
       2. reflecting S.C. as the primary address on all current official organizational documents
       3. 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.
       4. AND NOT receiving General Operating Support or Operating Support for Small Organizations grants from the S.C. Arts Commission within the same fiscal year.

  2. 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.

  3. Individual artists and colleges and universities are ineligible to apply.
  4. Commissioners and staff of the S.C. Arts Commission and members of their immediate families are not eligible to apply for any individual SCAC programs, grants, fellowships, or services that provide financial support or career recognition.

  If you are planning to apply through a nonprofit foundation, please contact the Grants Team (803.734.8695 | grants@arts.sc.gov) before applying.

• Restrictions

  • The festival cannot span the duration of more than two (2) consecutive weekends (no more than 14 consecutive days).
  • Seasonal series of presented works, as well as freestanding installations, productions or exhibitions, are ineligible activities for this program.

  Requirements

  • The festival must be held in South Carolina.
  • The festival must have identifiable arts activities (visual, media, performing, literary, and/or folk and traditional arts).
  • The festival must compensate visual, media, performing, literary, and/or folk and traditional artists.
  • The festival must be open to the public and include some aspect of free arts programming.

• Use of Funds

  Allowable activities are limited to:

  • Arts programming, temporary art installations/exhibitions, commissions, or licensing fees for original works.
  • Artistic, administrative, technical, marketing salary support and/or contractual fees paid to artists, musicians, curators, programmers, and/or arts presenters/performers including travel and lodging.
  • Event production costs for equipment/venue rentals and operation; sound, lighting, stage rigging, visual/digital components, and insurance for the arts programming only.
  • Marketing including but not limited to graphic design services, advertising space, digital/print promotional materials, website, social media, printing, or publications.
  • Items or services ensuring program accessibility as mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which includes captioning, translation, visual enhancements, interpreters, and listening guides.
  • Festival activities can include juried processes (e.g. visual or performing arts competitions, exhibitions or juried shows).

  Unallowable activities include but are not limited to:

  • Non-arts activities.
  • Food and beverages, including alcohol.
  • Festivals organized for or by political parties.
  • Trade fairs, events of a commercial nature, and consumer shows.
  • Events that are produced solely as fundraisers, or that contribute to endowments.
  • Organization’s season or a seasonal series of presented or produced programs.
  • Competitions and award ceremonies.
  • Cash prizes, purchases/awards, plaques.
  • Re-granting.
  • Sports and recreation activities and related events.
  • Scholarship programs, pageants, conferences, symposiums, standalone award ceremonies, seminars, showcases or recitals for individual schools— including fairs, bazaars, fetes, or open house events.
  • Events that are restricted to private or exclusive participation (by invitation and/or purchase requirements that exceed the cost of a typical, standard ticket to an event/performance).

  Note: No more than 10% of the total grant funds may be used for indirect costs (general overhead expenses not directly tied to the project). The remaining 90% must go toward direct costs, which are necessary to carry out the funded project.

  • Examples of direct costs: Artist fees, program supplies, travel for project activities, and venue rental.
  • Examples of indirect costs: Administrative salaries not directly working on the project, office rent, utilities, and general office supplies.

  This ensures that most of the funding directly benefits the project while allowing some flexibility for necessary overhead costs.

• Additional Requirements of this Grant

  Primary Contact Requirement

  The primary contact listed in the grant application must be the main point of contact throughout the application process and, if awarded, during the grant period.

  For organizations, the primary contact must be an employee or active volunteer of the organization applying for the grant. Intermediaries, such as hired consultants or external representatives, are not permitted to serve as the primary point of contact. The primary contact will be responsible for all communications with the SCAC, including responding to inquiries, providing updates, and submitting required documentation. Failure to adhere to this requirement may result in disqualification from the grant process or revocation of awarded funds.

• Priority

  Special consideration will be given to festivals in underserved communities; those communities in which people lack arts programs, services, or resources due to geography, economic conditions, cultural background, socio-political circumstances, disability, age or other demonstrable factors. The term “community” can refer to a group of people with a common heritage or characteristics, whether they live in the same location or not.

  Priority will be given to applicants that have projects in SCAC’s Opportunity Initiative Counties:
  

  • Allendale
  • Bamberg
  • Calhoun
  • Cherokee
  • Clarendon
  • Dillon
  • Edgefield
  • Hampton
  • Jasper
  • Laurens
  • Lee
  • Marion
  • Marlboro
  • Saluda
  • Williamsburg

• Deadline & Grant Period

  Deadline

  April 30, 2025
  

  Applications may be submitted until 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) on the deadline date. However, please be aware that staff members will not be available to assist you with questions or technical difficulties after SCAC closes at 5 p.m. that day.

  Grant Period

  August 1, 2025 – May 31, 2026

• Funding & Match

  FUNDING

  Up to $7,500

  MATCHING REQUIREMENTS

  1:1 (grantee:SCAC)

  • Up to 50% of the grantee’s match may be through an in-kind donation of materials and/or contracted services.
  • An example of “in-kind” is a contracted fee that is waived or discounted as a donation to your project.
  • Another SCAC grant and/or federal funds may not be used to match your award.

• Grant Criteria

  Are you wondering what makes for a strong application?

  The SCAC recommends using the rubric in this section as a guide when writing your application. Grant panelists will score your application responses based on the criteria within this rubric.

  FY26 Festivals Program Grant Application Evaluation Rubric
  Project Details: 30% of Total Score
  Festival History	0 points: No, Applicant did not describe the history of the festival.		5 points: Yes, the applicant gave the history or indicated that this is a new festival.
  Festival Purpose and Goals	0-2 points: The festival's purpose and goals are not thorough or attainable.	3-4 points: The festival's purpose and goals are minimally thorough and possibly attainable.	5-7 points: The festival's purpose and goals are thorough and attainable.	8-10 points: the festival's purpose and goals are very thorough and highly attainable.
  Activity Details	0-3 points: The festival’s arts activities, timeline, and location are not aligned with its purpose and goals.	4-7 points: The festival’s arts activities, timeline, and location are somewhat aligned with its purpose and goals.	8-11 points: The festival’s arts activities, timeline, and location are aligned with its purpose and goals.	12-15 points: The festival’s arts activities, timeline, and location are very much aligned with its purpose and goals.
  Project Implementation: 35% of Total Score
  Administrative Personnel	0-1 point: Personnel are not qualified to deliver the program(s) and lead the project.	2-3 points: Personnel are somewhat qualified to deliver the program(s) and lead the project.	4 points: Personnel are qualified to deliver the program(s) and lead the project.	5 points: Personnel are highly qualified to deliver the program(s) and lead the project.
  Artistic Personnel	0-3 points: Artistic personnel are not qualified to deliver the program(s) and lead the project.	4-6 points: Artistic personnel are somewhat qualified to deliver the program(s) and lead the project.	7-8 points: Artistic personnel are qualified to deliver the program(s) and lead the project.	9-10 points: Artistic personnel are highly qualified to deliver the program(s) and lead the project.
  Project Partners	0-1 point: There is no evidence of cooperative relationships and support from other artists and community organizations and/or businesses.	2-3 points: There is some evidence of cooperative relationships and support from other artists and community organizations and/or businesses.	4 points: There is evidence of cooperative relationships and support from other artists and community organizations and/or businesses.	5 points: There is strong evidence of cooperative relationships and support from other artists and community organizations and/or businesses.
  Marketing Strategy	0-5 points: The marketing efforts are not well planned with no description of how they will promote the festival to their intended audience.	6-12 points: The marketing efforts are somewhat well planned with a limited description of how they will promote the festival to their intended audience.	13-14 points: The marketing efforts are well planned with a description of how they will promote the festival to their intended audience.	15 points: The marketing efforts are extremely well planned with a detailed description of how they will promote the festival to their intended audience.
  Festival Impact: 15% of Total Score
  Festival Importance	0 points: No, the applicant did not describe the festival's importance to themselves and/or their community.		2 points: Yes: The applicant described the festival's importance to themselves and/or their community.
  Engagement	0-1 point: There is no evidence of engagement with the local community and government.	2-3 points: There is evidence of limited engagement with the local community and government.	4 points: There is evidence of engagement with the local community and government.	5 points: There is evidence of extensive engagement with the local community and government.
  Accessibility	0-1 point: The organization has no plans to ensure the programming, facilities, and venue are accessible to people of all abilities.	2 points: The organization has limited plans to ensure the programming, facilities, and venue are accessible to people of all abilities.	3 points: The organization has plans to ensure the programming, facilities, and venue are accessible to people of all abilities.	4 points: The organization has extensive plans to ensure the programming, facilities, and venue are accessible to people of all abilities.
  Success Measurements	0-1 point: The plan does not include appropriate and detailed methods of measuring the success of activities.	2 points: The plan includes some appropriate and few detailed methods of measuring the success of activities.	3 points: The plan includes appropriate and detailed methods of measuring the success of activities.	4 points: The plan includes extremely appropriate and very detailed methods of measuring the success of activities.
  Budget and Support Materials: 20% of Total Score
  Budget	0-5 points: The budget is not balanced and does not reflect investments in artists and arts activities.	6-12 points: The budget is balanced but does not reflect investments in artists and arts activities.	13-14 points: The budget is balanced and does reflect investments in artists and arts activities.	15 points: The budget is balanced and reflects extensive investments in artists and arts activities.
  Support Materials	0-1 point: Support materials show little or no experience to carry out the proposed festival.	2-3 points: Support materials show some experience to carry out the proposed festival.	4 points: Support materials show adequate experience to carry out the proposed festival.	5 points: Support materials show excellent experience to carry out the proposed festival.

  Printer-friendly rubric.

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.

• Your Grants Portal Account

  Applicants must have an active account in our grants portal (Foundant).

  If you have previously used Submittable to apply for other SCAC grants or programs, please note that Foundant is a different system. Your Submittable credentials will not work; you will need a Foundant account to apply for this grant.

  If you have used the grants portal as both an artist and for a school or organization, be sure you log on with the correct account to apply for this grant.

• Support Materials

  Please submit support materials/work samples that best showcase the organization’s ability to carry out the festival and its arts components. Uploads can include:

  • The website and/or social media handles or channels for the festival
  • A sample or template of the artist(s) and the festival’s memorandum of understanding or contract
  • Festival site permission, rental, contract forms, etc.
  • Proof of permits, approvals, or other forms of application

  All work samples should be current (less than five years old).

• Starting Your Application

  1. Follow the “Apply” link below. The grants portal will open in a new browser tab or window.
  2. Log on, then click the “Apply” link at the top of your Applicant Dashboard.
  3. Find “FY26 Festivals Program” in the list of available grant applications, and click the “Apply” button to the far right.

After You Apply

• Review Process

  The Grants Team will review submitted applications for completeness and compliance with guideline and application requirements. A review panel of arts and non-profit leaders will evaluate the applications based on the published review criteria and priority areas. An applicant’s panel comments are available to them upon request. Staff will then develop funding recommendations, based on these evaluations and the availability of funds. Final funding decisions are approved by the deputy director. Award notification is expected after the June 2025 board meeting, pending completion of the state budget process.

• If You Receive a Grant Award

  If your application is funded, you (and/or your fiscal agent/receiver, if applicable) will enter into a contractual agreement with the South Carolina Arts Commission. All parties agree to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, statutes, regulations, executive orders, provisions, and requirements stated in the contract.

  You will receive notification and instructions when your contract is available in the Grants Portal. You must submit your completed contract packet, including signatures and other documentation as instructed, by the date indicated in the system. You must also complete all other assigned follow ups by the due date.

  Please note: Any significant revisions to grant-funded activities must be approved in writing, in advance, by the SCAC. Significant revisions to grant-funded activities must be emailed to grants@arts.sc.gov to be processed for approval or denial.

  Additional details about managing an SCAC grant are available on our agency website.

  Grant Payments

  • An initial 50% of the grant award will be released upon receipt and approval of a completed contract packet.
  • The remaining 50% will be paid on an expense reimbursement basis, released upon receipt and approval of a completed final report. This means 50% of expenses must be financed up front by the grantee and/or a cooperating entity.

  Final Report

  ALL GRANTEES are required to submit a final report at the end of the grant period. The final report due date is stated in the grant contract. Failure to submit an accurate and complete final report by the due date will result in cancellation of the award and repayment of any funds received. SCAC will not fund applicants who have outstanding final reports.