The Minot Area Council of the Arts (MACA) is pleased to announce they have been selected to receive an American Rescue Plan grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to help the arts and cultural sector recover from the pandemic.

MACA will be receiving $250,000 and will use this funding to distribute grants to eligible recipients to save jobs and to fund operations and facilities, health and safety supplies, and marketing and promotional efforts to encourage attendance and participation. In total, the NEA will award grants totaling $20,200,000 to 66 local arts agencies nationwide for subgranting.

“The NEA’s significant investment in local arts agencies, including the Minot Area Council of the Arts, is a key element in helping the arts and culture sector recover and reopen, while ensuring that that American Rescue Plan funding is distributed equitably,” said Ann Eilers, NEA’s acting chair. “These grants recognize the vital role of local arts agencies and will allow them to help rebuild local economies and contribute to the well-being of our communities.”

“We are very excited to receive this grant and look forward to playing a role in these recovery efforts,” said Justin Anderson, Executive Director of the Minot Area Council of the Arts. “This is an amazing opportunity to support the arts across the state.” The Minot Area Council of the Arts will be distributing the ARP funds to arts organizations and individual artists throughout North Dakota. “Because these are federal dollars there is a lot of reporting involved and more criteria for applicants, but we look forward to working with North Dakota artists and distributing needed funds.” The Minot Area Council of the Arts will be releasing more detailed information about their grant cycle in January.

This is the second of three installments of the NEA’s American Rescue Plan funding. Last April, the NEA announced that 40 percent of its $135 million in ARP funding would be allocated to 62 state, jurisdictional, and regional arts organizations for regranting through their respective programs. The third installment of APR funding to arts organizations to support their own operations will be announced in early 2022.

For more information on the NEA’s American Rescue Plan grants, including the full list of local arts agencies funded in this announcement, visit www.arts.gov/COVID-19/the-american-rescue-plan.