The Ely Fund Neighborhood Performing Arts Initiative
Art, Culture, and Tourism in collaboration with the Providence Parks Department and the Partnership for Providence Parks support events that celebrate the art, history, and cultural heritage of Providence’s diverse neighborhoods.
The Application Period for the 2024 Ely Fund Neighborhood Performing Arts Initiative has closed.
Our panel will convene April 16 and we will notify applicants in late April. We will release a schedule of Ely Fund events in early June.
NEW FOR 2024
Over the past 20 years, the Ely Fund Neighborhood Performing Arts Initiative has lived into the dream of Providence’s first Parks Commissioner, Edward Francis Ely by enlivening our parks as sites of congregation, play, and community life through grants for artists, organizers, and neighborhood groups to produce outdoor, free summer performances in Providence parks.
In order to ensure we are continuing to build a process that works for all of our community, ACT, the Parks Department, the Partnership for Providence Parks and the City of Providence’s Department of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging are engaging in a series of community engagement events throughout the summer of 2024 that will inform the future of the Ely Fund.
Additionally, we offered grants for any person or organization who has been granted Ely Funding in the past to apply for up to $2,000 for an event in the summer of 2024.
For 2024 we:
- only accepted applications from organizers and artists who have been funded previously through the ELY FUND
- capped our ELY FUND grants at $2k
- sought a letter of interest and a budget rather than a full application
- are holding a series of community engagement events with Parks, P3, and DEIB to hear from stakeholders about how the Ely Fund can become a more effective tool for Providence artists and audiences
- developing a plan for the summer of 2025 that looks very different from the summer of 2024
- no longer funding City Council or non-performance events
Grant Description and Guidelines
Events must be between 7/1/2024 and 10/4/24
All organizations that receive funding must submit a Final Report to the Department of Art, Culture + Tourism within 30 days of the close of their project or before November 30th, whichever comes first. To access the final report form, click here.
Guidelines
- Must be in a Neighborhood City Park
- Must take place during weekdays
- Must be ADA Accessible
- This grant is for programs with more than 1 performance, featuring a series of events within the grant time frame (i.e. four Tuesdays in August).
- The City of Providence will promote all NPAI events. Organizations should also jointly promote and advertise their activities through their own means. Funding recipients MUST credit the City of Providence, the Mayor, the Department of Art, Culture + Tourism and the Providence Parks Department
- Schedule of events need to be finalized and communicated to ACT team by June 30th
- Awards range from $500-$2,000
- Tech, staging and sound are not included
- For purposes of this application the performing arts are defined as: Theater, Music, Dance, Spoken Word.
- Please review the Final Report (at the end of the Application) to be aware of information that will be necessary to track throughout your project.
REVIEW PROCESS (BEGINNING SPRING 2024)
- Applications are checked by ACT staff for accuracy and completeness and then prepared for review by an advisory panel.
- Applications are sent to panelists and are read and ranked online.
- The review panel meets to determine the final funding recommendations.
- Funding recommendations go to ACT staff for their review and approval.
- Notification of grant awards will be made within three weeks of the application deadline.
- All awardees will be required to attend a one-hour info session with the Department of Art, Culture, and Tourism.
Applications are closed.