Community Development Program

Please note: The OAC has revised ALL of its funding categories. The new funding programs are available for review in Guidelines. Because some of the links and resources contained within this program page are still valid, this page will remain on view until September 29, 2004 when it will be replaced with new program information and related resources. If you intend to apply for an OAC grant in FY2006 DO NOT USE these program pages. You must read Guidelines to determine the best new funding category for your application.

The goal of the Community Development Program at the Ohio Arts Council is to focus on building and strengthening relationships among citizens and organizations within communities to help them identify, celebrate, conserve and transmit their unique community cultural values. We believe the arts are a vital tool for developing communities and should be placed at the heart of community life.

OAC Convening Information
On March 1, 2 and 3, 2004, the Ohio Arts Council hosted three daylong Convenings presenting new concepts and methods to bolster public support for the arts. These meetings were funded in part by the Wallace Foundation and coordinated by the Community Development Program. Please use this link to connect to all the latest Convening information and resources.

The program is divided into four areas of focus:

1. Community Arts Grant Program
   This program considers grant applications from nonprofit arts and community organizations that are programming community-based activities in more than one art form.

Organizations that usually apply for Operating Support through this panel include local arts councils, centers and commissions; community schools of the arts; cultural departments of city governments; and arts education organizations. New applicants may want to consider a mentoring relationship with an established community organization.

Organizations that present yearly arts and cultural festivals may apply to this panel for support of artists’ fees and travel, production costs, salary for a project coordinator and marketing expenses.

For more information please see our Guidelines.

2. Research
   Since 1997, the Community Development Department has been supporting a variety of special initiatives that demonstrate the strategic ways that the arts can be connected to core community values and everyday life, while serving to empower citizens to engage in and contribute to civil discourse.

   A grant from the Wallace Foundation is allowing us to work intensively on a regional level with Ohio communities to explore ways for increasing cultural participation and the public value of the arts.

   In May 2003, a delegation of Ohio arts administrators and OAC staff traveled to Chile to teach ways for using the arts in community development. In an effort to extend the learning beyond our visit, we created a series of worksheets designed to help Chilean arts administrators build organizational capacity to plan programs and projects. We believe these documents are valuable tools for Ohio's small and emerging arts organizations and we have made them available to the field via our website.
   
   Resources and Worksheets from 2003 Building Communities Through the Arts Seminars in Chile
   
   If you find these tools helpful in your work, please email Christy Farnbauch with feedback.

3. Appalachian Arts Program (AAP) is designed to serve artists, arts organizations, and the citizens of Ohio’s 29 Appalachian counties, as well as urban Appalachians living in Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton.

Vision:
The citizens of Ohio’s Appalachian communities will draw upon the rich cultural and artistic traditions of the region as vital assets for strengthening individual and community life, and ensure that those traditions are placed at the heart of sustainable community and economic development.

Donna Sue Groves is the field coordinator for the Appalachian Arts Program and lives in Manchester, Ohio. She offers personal one-on-one assistance to artists and organizations in the region that are interested in using the arts as a community development tool. To contact her call 937/549-3156 or send email to: dsgroves@bright.net

Caroline Pierson serves as a field consultant in the northern part of the region. She can be reached at She can be reached at 740/439-3637 or email cvpierson@juno.com

The Appalachian Arts Program project grants are designed to meet the needs of organizations in Ohio’s 29 Appalachian counties, as well as the urban Appalachian populations in Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton. Organizations may apply for up to $2000 of state funds to support projects that place the arts at the heart of community and economic development efforts in their communities. Contact Dan Katona, for more information

The AAP is updating its directory of Appalachian Arts and Crafts Resources. Individual artists in the Appalachian area are invited to submit an application to be included in the directory. To submit information for the directory please use the Appalachian Artist Directory Application. The OAC's Appalachian Artists Directory will be a valuable resource to the state and region. It will serve as a comprehensive listing of artists in the Appalachian region and will be used by the consultant who is researching the feasibility of building a center for Ohio artists in the region. The directory will be available in the fall 2003.

This program offers assistance to schools and community arts organizations that are interesting sponsoring an artist residency in the schools or other community location. Over the past five years, this program has funded 35 residencies in 12 counties. Visit our Arts in Education Section for more information.

4. The Ohio River Border Initiative (ORBI) is the result of a special partnership between the Ohio Arts Council and the West Virginia Commission on the Arts. ORBI is a creative way for the two state arts agencies to dissolve political barriers and support communities along the Ohio River. ORBI serves artists, arts organizations and community arts programs in the 21 counties that touch the river.

Bill Howley is the project director and lives in Chloe, West Virginia. He offers personal one-on-one assistance to artists and organizations in the Ohio Valley. Visit the ORBI website and you can email Bill directly from the ORBI site.

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