Onion Foundation Art Grant Program

The Onion Foundation aims to connect Maine residents with arts experiences, both as audience members and creators, fostering opportunities for expression, learning, and inspiration. This aligns directly with the foundation's mission, which recognizes the arts' crucial role in creativity, cultural exchange, intellectual development, joy, compassion, and human connection. The foundation seeks to support a vibrant arts sector in Maine, ensuring that the arts are accessible and beneficial to the state's population. The target beneficiaries of this grant program are Maine residents, with a focus on increasing access to arts education, supporting public engagement in arts programs, and building the capacity of Maine's arts sector. The impact goals are to enhance intellectual development, foster joy and compassion, and strengthen feelings of connection among individuals through artistic engagement. The foundation prioritizes organizations that are 501(c)3 public charities, fiscally sponsored projects, public education institutions, or Maine governmental units, with work based in Maine and benefiting its people. The program offers two types of grants: general operating and project support. General operating grants provide unrestricted funds for organizations whose activities align with the foundation's strategies, offering multi-year support of up to $20,000 per year for organizations with annual budgets over $50,000, and up to $7,500 per year for those under $50,000. Project support grants fund specific activities or programs, also with multi-year options and similar funding tiers based on project budgets. The expected outcomes include a more engaged public in Maine arts, a stronger arts education infrastructure, and a more robust overall arts sector in the state. The Onion Foundation's strategic priorities are clearly outlined in its three guiding strategies for the arts program: Strategy I: Increase Access to Arts Education in Maine, Strategy II: Support Public Engagement in Maine Arts Programs, and Strategy III: Build The Capacity of Maine’s Arts Sector. The theory of change implicitly suggests that by funding these areas, the foundation will achieve its broader mission of connecting Maine residents to arts experiences, leading to expression, learning, and inspiration, and ultimately fostering a more creative, compassionate, and connected society. Measurable results would likely include increased participation rates in arts programs, growth in arts education initiatives, and the sustained health and development of arts organizations in Maine.