The names of the 14 administering organizations (AO) and their regranting program information is included in the chart below. Individual artists and arts organizations should contact the AO in their designated region for information on how to apply. The chart will be updated as details become available.

Please note: These guidelines are intended for organizations that would like to apply to administer regranting funds for California Creative Corps. Individual artists and nonprofit organizations interested in applying for direct funding from an administering organization should refer to the “Subgrantee Eligibility and Requirements” section in the Administering Organization guidelines. You may also wish to reference the guidelines for the Creative Corps Program Flowchart.

Background & Purpose
The 2021 State Budget included $60 million one-time General Fund allocation for the California Arts Council to implement the California Creative Corps pilot program, a media, outreach, and engagement campaign designed to increase: (1) public health awareness messages to stop the spread of COVID-19; (2) public awareness related to water and energy conservation, climate mitigation, and emergency preparedness, relief, and recovery; (3) civic engagement, including election participation; and (4) social justice and community engagement.

Grant guideline development began with the convening of California Creative Corps Community Development Panels, first by region and then with one statewide panel including representatives from each region. The panels included artists, culture bearers, creative individuals, and arts administrators that represented the priority populations to be engaged, and who work in the intersectional focus areas of the Creative Corps program. The panels articulated their communities’ values, needs, and opportunities, and identified ways in which the Creative Corps program might address them. View the list of regional panelists here.

Program Administration: Administering Organizations (AO)
The CAC is seeking applications from Administering Organizations with the capacity to administer regranting funds to arts and social service organizations and to individual artists and cultural workers throughout the state to develop media, outreach, and engagement campaigns that speak to the program goals listed above. The intention of this grant program is to provide as broad a geographic reach as possible and serve all 58 counties while prioritizing communities that demonstrate the highest levels of need as indicated by the California Healthy Places Index (HPI).

Neighborhood by neighborhood, the HPI maps data on social conditions that drive health — like education, job opportunities, and clean air and water. This data is used by community leaders, policymakers, academics and other stakeholders to compare the health and well-being of communities, identify health inequities and quantify the factors that shape health. Funded Administering Organizations and sub-grantee organizations, artists and cultural practitioners must demonstrate strong, ongoing relationships with communities that fall within the lowest quartile of the California Healthy Places Index and will support meaningful engagements with those communities through this grant.

Eligible Request Amounts
Applicant organizations may request no less than $1,000,000 and up to $5,000,000 for the grant period. The request amount should reflect the regranting capacity of the organization.

• AOs may use up to 20% of the grant award for administrative costs and costs associated with program design and implementation
• 60% of funds must either be granted directly to individuals or used by nonprofit sub-grantees to hire individual artists

Funding Requirements
The CAC will identify a minimum of one and no more than three AOs in each regional and stateside service area, as follows: Statewide Service Area, Bay Area Regional Service Area, Capital Regional Service Area, Central Coast Regional Service Area, Central Valley Regional Service Area, Far South Regional Service Area, Inland Empire Regional Service Area, South Regional Service Area, Upstate Regional Service Area.

Program Timeline:

Staff Assistance:
CAC staff is available to offer guidance and clarification in preparing your proposal. We recommend that you contact staff well in advance of the deadline to ensure you can be accommodated. People who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deaf-Blind, or have difficulty speaking may dial 711 to reach the California Relay Service (CRS). Large-print is available upon request.

Staff Contact:
Amy Garrett
(she/her/hers)
Arts Programs Manager
creativecorpsgrant@arts.ca.gov