School Arts Support Grants

The School Arts Support Grant, administered by the South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC), provides funding to help eligible schools in South Carolina acquire supplies, materials, equipment, professional development, or creative arts therapy services aimed at enhancing student outcomes through innovative arts practices. The program supports arts as curriculum, arts-enhanced curriculum, and arts-integrated curriculum approaches, as defined by the Kennedy Center. These grants are designed to supplement, not replace, existing arts budgets, ensuring that resources are used for projects beyond the current capacity of the school’s funding. The grant period runs from August 18, 2025 to May 15, 2026, with applications accepted from July 21, 2025 through February 17, 2026. Applications must be submitted at least five weeks prior to the start of grant-funded activities or purchases. Awards are reimbursement-based and may not be used for direct student services such as field trips, or for purchases of food or clothing. Eligible uses of funds include arts materials, equipment, professional development, artist residencies, and creative arts therapy projects. When hiring artists or arts organizations, grantees must use members of the S.C. Arts Directory, with Verified Teaching Artists strongly encouraged for K-12 services. Eligibility is open to 4K CERDEP providers within public schools or school districts in South Carolina and SC First Steps 4K Providers, as well as most public, private, and charter K-12 schools in the state. Non-CERDEP preschools/providers are ineligible, and Arts in Basic Curriculum (ABC) Certified schools cannot apply. Additional requirements include registration with the S.C. Secretary of State’s Office (for private and charter schools), federal tax-exempt status or fiscal agency arrangements, and valid Unique Entity ID (UEI) numbers for both applicant and fiscal agent where applicable. An arts teacher or external arts professional must serve as a partnering expert for all projects. The maximum award amount is $2,500 per grant request, with a limit of two grants per school per fiscal year for each category (4K or K-12), up to a total of $5,000. Matching requirements vary: 4K providers must provide a 1:3 match (unless located in SCAC Opportunity Counties), and K-12 providers must provide a 1:2 match (unless on the S.C. Department of Education list of schools with low-income student populations above 70%). Matches must be cash only; no in-kind contributions are permitted. The application process is managed through the Foundant online grants portal. A letter of support from the school principal or center director is required, stating the need, commitment, and understanding of reimbursement-based funding. Applicants are encouraged to attend a coaching call scheduled for August 14, 2025. Evaluation of applications is based on specific rubrics for 4K and K-12 providers, emphasizing relevance of activities, integration of the arts, anticipated student impact, alignment with readiness profiles or student outcomes, quality of evaluation plans, and budget detail. Applicants must identify a primary contact, typically the arts teacher implementing the grant, who will be responsible for communication with SCAC and submission of required documentation. Contact for advisement is Arts Learning Coordinator Mikayla Moore at 803-734-8495 or mdmoore@arts.sc.gov. General inquiries can be directed to the SCAC Grants Team at 803-734-8695 or grants@arts.sc.gov. The SCAC is located at 1026 Sumter Street, Suite 200, Columbia, SC 29201, and is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts in collaboration with the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and South Arts.

Attend coaching call August 14, 2025; submit applications early; ensure matching funds are cash; review rubrics for scoring criteria