AAACF Artists & Creatives Racial Equity Grants

About the AAACF Artists & Creatives Racial Equity Grants 

The Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation (AAACF) is investing in strengthening the arts + creative landscape in Washtenaw County through a racial equity lens. This program invests funds to activate the artistic + creative identity of all people in Washtenaw County and ensure a fundamental level of access to arts + creativity for everyone.

AAACF has made $10,000 in grant funds available through Creative Washtenaw for Washtenaw County artists + creatives producing or presenting initiatives that articulate the artistic + creative identity of all people in our community.  Resulting projects must be available to the public either in person or virtually.

Applicant Criteria

Who qualifies as artists and creatives? See our list here.

Grant funds must be used to create or produce creative work that represents, expresses, tells the story about and/or benefits a priority population.

As defined by the AAACF, a priority population is distinguished by demographic factors such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, income level, education attainment, sexual orientation, marital status or health care coverage status; or a location in which the priority population may be reached such as a workplace, school or church.

1. Applicant must be a practicing artist or creative residing in Washtenaw County.   
2. Applicant must currently be engaged in creating racial equity-focused work.
3. Applicant may not be a recipient of a City of Ann Arbor Arts ARPA grant or a 2023 Culture Source racial equity grant.
4. Resulting projects must be available to the public either in person or virtually.

The Selection Process

Creative Washtenaw is administering this grant program on behalf of the AAACF. It wishes to make the selection process as equitable as possible. Randomly drawing the grantees from qualified candidates removes the need for any arbitrary jury or scoring.  

• All qualified applicants will be assigned a number.
• Selections - Four applications numbers will be drawn.
• The selected applicants will be awarded a $2,500 grant.