Open Call
Allentown Arts & Culture Project Grants
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Application Deadline: January 31, 2025
About the Project Grants
The Lehigh Valley Arts & Cultural Alliance invites independent artists and nonprofit arts and cultural organizations to apply for grant funding to support projects with high community impact and engagement through the Arts & Culture Project Grants program.
Eligibility
- Independent artists must reside in the Lehigh Valley.
- Organizations must:
- Promote arts and culture through their programming and mission.
- Have 501(c)(3) nonprofit status or a fiscal sponsor.
- Operate with an annual budget of less than $200,000.
- Be based in the Lehigh Valley.
Available Funding
- Grants will be awarded in amounts ranging from $500 to $2,500.
- A total of $15,000 is available for re-granting.
- Funding is designated for projects that benefit residents within the downtown Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ) area. The Allentown NIZ is roughly bounded by 12th St on the west to 7th St on the east; Gordon St on the north and Linden St on the south. See below for more specific information.
- During this inaugural granting period, there is no funding match required.
Scope of Projects
- Open to all creative disciplines, including but not limited to music, theater, literary arts, dance, craft, visual arts, creative movement, film/video, audio recording, and digital arts.
- Projects must:
- Be new or significantly reimagined projects/programs.
- Involve community participation.
- Encourage engagement from people with disabilities and underrepresented groups.
- Align with LVACA’s mission to support and advocate for the arts.
- Benefit residents within the Allentown NIZ area.
Recipient Expectations
- Use funding exclusively for project-related expenses.
- Engage the community meaningfully in the funded project.
- Communicate with LVACA about timelines and grant activities.
- Credit LVACA as a grant sponsor in promotional materials and publicity about the project.
- Collect feedback from participants.
- Demonstrate measurable community impact in the final report.
- Participate in at least one public presentation or sharing of project outcomes. LVACA will work with grant recipients to facilitate this.
Timeline
- Information Session: week of January 13, 2025 [exact date TBD]
- Application Deadline: January 31, 2025
- Award Notification: February 15, 2025
- Project Implementation Period: March 1 – August 31, 2025 [note: the project must be completed within this timeframe but does not need to extend for the entire duration]
- Final Report Due: September 15, 2025
How to Apply
Submissions should be emailed to info@lvaca.org with the following subject line: “LVACA Project Grant Application – YOUR LAST NAME.” Please include all application components listed below as a single PDF attachment, with your last name in the file name.
- A written statement that includes:
- Project description, goals, and timeline.
- A description of how the project will benefit residents within the Allentown NIZ area.
- Explanation of community impact and engagement strategies.
- Marketing/communication plan to engage participants (if applicable).
- Any accommodations you or your team anticipate needing.
- Detailed budget outlining use of grant funds, including additional funding sources secured for the project.
- Artist or organizational bio, including relevant experience and link to portfolio with examples of previous work.
- If applicable, also include:
- Documentation of nonprofit status.
- Letters of support from partners or collaborating organizations.
- If working with minors, provide copies of PA clearances.
Evaluation Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated by the LVACA Programming Committee based on the following:
- Submission of all required proposal materials as outlined in this RFP.
- Community Impact: Extent to which the project fosters engagement and addresses community needs, particularly for NIZ residents.
- Artistic Merit: Creativity, quality, and vision of the proposed project.
- Feasibility: Realistic scope, timeline, and budget.
- Inclusion and Accessibility: Efforts to meaningfully involve diverse audiences and participants.
Contact Information
For questions or additional information, please contact Meg Mikovits at mmikovits@lvaca.org.
About LVACA
About the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone
The Allentown NIZ is roughly bounded by 12th St on the west to 7th St on the east; Gordon St on the north and Linden St on the south. The target neighborhood includes Census Tracts 8, 9, 10, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 97.
According to the American Community Survey Five-Year Estimates 2018-2022, there are 40,498 residents living in the area served by the NPP. The program area is densely populated, home to 32.3% of Allentown residents. The community is more racially and ethnically diverse than the city overall; 67% of residents are Hispanic or Latino and 17.2% are Black or African American. The target neighborhood skews younger than Allentown as a whole, with an under-18 population representing 29.2% of residents, compared to the city’s 24.5%.
According to the American Community Survey Five-Year Estimates (2018-2022), the median household income of $52,449 for the City of Allentown is significantly lower than that of the state at $73,170 and Lehigh County at $74,973. Furthermore, household median income for the target neighborhood was only $40,088. All census tracts in the target neighborhood are considered by the U.S. Census Bureau as “poverty areas,” which are defined as “census tracts or block numbering areas where at least 20 percent of residents were below the poverty level.”
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