Rapid Action Grant Program 2024

The Rapid Action Grant, offered by Assembly for the Arts, is designed to provide quick and accessible funding for artist-led projects or events and artist-specific needs within Cuyahoga County, Ohio. This program directly aligns with the foundation's mission to support and cultivate the arts community by empowering individual artists and fostering creative endeavors. The grant aims to reduce barriers to funding, allowing artists to rapidly implement their artistic visions and address pressing creative practice needs. The primary beneficiaries of this grant are artists and creatives who reside and work in Cuyahoga County and are 18 years of age or older. The program targets a wide range of artistic disciplines, including Craft, Dance & Choreography, Design, Film, Interdisciplinary, Literary Arts / Writing, Media, Music, Theatre & Performance, Traditional Arts, and Visual Art. The impact goals are to support public projects and events that engage the community, as well as to meet the specific needs of artists' creative practices, thereby strengthening the local arts ecosystem. The Rapid Action Grant prioritizes projects and needs that are arts-centered and contribute to the creative practice of Cuyahoga County artists. A key focus is on the rapid disbursement of funds, with funding decisions made within approximately two weeks and funds distributed within 30 days of approval, ensuring timely support for artists. The program also emphasizes simplicity in the application process to maximize accessibility for artists. Expected outcomes include an increase in artist-led public projects and events, enhanced creative capacity among individual artists, and a more vibrant arts scene within Cuyahoga County. Measurable results could include the number of artists served, the diversity of artistic disciplines supported, the number of public projects or events implemented, and the speed at which funds are distributed to artists. While the document doesn't explicitly detail the foundation's strategic priorities or theory of change beyond supporting the arts, the rapid and accessible nature of this grant suggests a theory of change centered on direct artist empowerment and quick responsiveness to artistic needs to foster a thriving creative community.