Ohio Arts Council Capacity Building Grants

The Capacity Building grant program is administered by the Ohio Arts Council (OAC), a state agency dedicated to supporting the arts in Ohio through funding, programming, and public engagement. This initiative specifically addresses the need for internal organizational development by offering financial support to arts and cultural organizations, educational institutions, and community-based programs to engage outside expertise. The intent is to foster strategic improvements in operations, planning, and professional development that advance an organization’s mission and increase its impact within Ohio communities. The purpose of the Capacity Building grant is to help Ohio-based arts providers enhance their internal operations through targeted professional development and expert consultation. Projects must be singular in focus and are expected to build an organization’s knowledge or operational capacity. Funded activities may include consultant-led strategic planning, accessibility or succession planning, feasibility studies, or evaluation work. Additionally, organizations may apply for funds to send staff to relevant professional development opportunities such as conferences or training workshops, provided these activities are focused on increasing internal capabilities. Funding is capped at $5,000 per application, with a mandatory 1:1 cash match that must be applied exclusively to the outside fees incurred. Awarded amounts generally match the requested amount. Grantees may request partial payment of 50% after some activities and costs have been incurred. Final payments are contingent on submission and approval of a final report, and no partial payments are allowed within two months of the grant's end date. Funds must only be used for expenses directly related to the professional services or learning opportunities provided by third parties—such as consultants, conference fees, travel, and lodging. Administrative costs must be borne by the grantee. Eligible applicants include nonprofit arts and cultural organizations across all disciplines, government and social service agencies that provide arts programming, and educational institutions from pre-K to university level with a demonstrated commitment to community-facing arts programming. All applicants must either possess nonprofit status or demonstrate nonprofit intent. Ineligible uses include fee-for-service requests that do not increase internal capacity (e.g., website or database development), hiring of consultants already affiliated with the applicant organization, or supporting unrelated or ongoing activities. Applications must be submitted via the ARTIE system, the OAC’s official grant portal. Required documentation includes a detailed description from the proposed consultant or expert, outlining activities, dates, and costs. This may be in the form of a proposal, conference schedule, or cost quote. Participating staff, board members, or volunteers must be named at the time of application submission. The review process is competitive and overseen by a panel of OAC staff, with final decisions made by the OAC Board. There are two annual deadlines for this grant: May 1 for projects occurring between July 1 and the following June 30, and November 1 for projects taking place from January 1 to June 30 of the following year. Applications open in November and July respectively. Grant notifications are made in July and January following the application deadlines. Final reports are due 30 days after the end of the funded project. The program recurs annually, and failure to submit required documents by their deadlines may result in the cancellation of the grant and ineligibility for future OAC funding for five years.

Projects must focus on a single area of organizational capacity building. Requests supporting multiple unrelated activities are ineligible.