Deschutes Cultural Trust seeks 2023 grant applicants

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Deschutes Cultural Coalition is seeking applications for grant funding from all sectors within the culture field including arts, heritage, and humanities. Grant funding is sponsored by the Oregon Cultural Trust and Deschutes County.

The partnership with the county, which began earlier this year, will continue into 2023 to help cultural nonprofits rebuild infrastructure and  capacity lost during the pandemic. 

The online grant application for Cultural Grants opened Monday. The complete application is due Friday, Jan. 13, 2023 at 5 p.m. Guidelines and instructions are available at: https://www.deschutesculturalcoalition.org/grants. 

The Coalition will make its awards at the end of January and will expects to grant roughly $50,000.

“We are very fortunate to continue to collaborate with Deschutes County to increase funding opportunities for local cultural organizations,” said Cate O’Hagan, President of the DCC. “We are grateful to the county for designating the Deschutes Cultural Coalition as a distributor of county funds to support our local arts and culture organizations in their efforts to restore services cut during the pandemic.”

In 2022, the DCC awarded $53,250 to local nonprofits such as BEAT Children’s Theatre, Opera Bend, and Sisters Art Association.  The Deschutes Cultural Coalition provides grant funding from all sectors within the culture field including arts, heritage, and humanities. This grant funding must support projects and activities that address one of the four priorities outlined within the Deschutes Cultural Plan:

• Encourage greater awareness of local culture.
• Ensure that a variety of cultural resources and programming are accessible to all residents.
• Provide cultural education in Deschutes County
• Help new and established cultural organizations increase their capacity to fulfill their mission.

To learn more and see a list of past grantees, go to DCC’s website at https://www.deschutesculturalcoalition.org

ABOUT THE DESCHUTES CULTUTAL COALITION: Oregon’s 45 county and tribal Cultural Coalitions, of which the Deschutes Cultural Coalition is one, are funded directly by the Trust and are unique to the state. Led by dedicated volunteers, the Deschutes Cultural Coalition prioritizes community cultural goals and annually distributes seed grants that address the needs of our county.