Advancing Well-Being In The Arts

Advancing Well-Being in the Arts is a new funding program from Alternate ROOTS. It exists to promote economic and cultural justice.

Through unrestricted funds, Advancing Well-Being in the Arts robustly supports artists, culture bearers, and organizations who serve and reflect communities of the global majority via two tracks: Guaranteed Funding for Artists and Culture Bearers and Unrestricted Organizational Funding.

Read on for more information about Advancing Well-Being In the Arts

WHAT IS ADVANCING WELL-BEING IN THE ARTS?

Advancing Well-Being in the Arts is a new funding program from Alternate ROOTS. It exists to promote economic and cultural justice. Through unrestricted funds,* it robustly supports artists, culture bearers,** and organizations who serve and reflect communities of the global majority. Like all our funding programs, it is only available to ROOTS members.

This program is made possible through ROOTS’ participation in the Wallace Foundation’s National Arts Partnership, where we are in a cohort of twelve arts service organizations that represent artists of the global majority. Each organization is tailoring their regranting programs to most effectively serve their specific communities. ROOTS’ Advancing Well-Being in the Arts program features an accessible application process and will be grounded in mutual trust and community impact.

Without belaboring the point any further… This is how ROOTS is gonna’ support our folks with this funding opportunity…

We have designed our program to provide funding via two tracks. Applicants are invited to apply for one of these tracks:

Guaranteed Funding for Artists and Culture Bearers
Unrestricted Organizational Funding

Awards in both tracks are unrestricted. Funding decisions for both tracks will be based on the merit of the application. Applicants receiving awards from either track are not eligible to receive funding from Alternate ROOTS’ Partners for Change program, which opens later this spring.

Track One: Guaranteed Funding for Artists and Culture Bearers

This track is designed to provide unrestricted funding to individual artists and culture bearers of the global majority with awards up to $30,000 per year. Awardees will receive a monthly stipend for 12 months totalling the full amount of their award. This is a one-year award that may include an opportunity to renew for a second year, based on funding availability.

Track Two: Unrestricted Organizational Funding

This track provides awards of up to $50,000 in unrestricted funding to arts and culture organizations who serve and reflect communities of the global majority. The award will be distributed in two installments, 80% upon award and 20% upon close of the twelve month grant period.

If applying for this track, you must either have nonprofit status or be fiscally sponsored. Fiscal sponsors do not need to be affiliated with Alternate ROOTS but must show values alignment. Alternate ROOTS cannot serve as your fiscal sponsor for this award.

KEY TERMS*

*Unrestricted funds: you define how you use the funds. Applicants will be able to determine how they use the awarded funds. However it is still required that applicants share how they intend to use the funds and report on their projected and unprojected outcomes. How you plan to use the funds will not impact the merit of your application.

**Culture bearers: those who carry on and share a community’s cultural traditions, beliefs, and art forms. Artists who use their work to pass on cultural knowledge and practices.

***Merit of the application: to us, merit means the strength, consistency, and impact of your art and culture practice, its alignment with Alternate ROOTS’ mission, and how clearly you communicate your story and future plans in the application. The merit of your application will be primarily based on how you’ve shown up as an artist or culture bearer, how you plan to continue showing up, and how this all relates to ROOTS’ mission.

PROGRAM TIMELINE

Application Opens: Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Program Office Hours: Every Thursday at 1pm ET – register here.

Application Deadline: Thursday, May 15, 2025 at 5pm ET

Award Notifications: End of June, 2025

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?

To be eligible to apply for the Advancing Well-Being in the Arts program, all of the following must be true:

You are 18 years or older, living and working within the ROOTS service region by May 15, 2025. ROOTS service region: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington D.C.
You self-identify as a member of the global majority. This is a requirement from the program’s funder: all awardees must serve and reflect communities of the global majority (Black, Indigenous, or other People of Color).
Your dues are current as of May 15, 2025 at 5pm ET. Not sure if you need to renew? Review the directions on how to check your membership status on our website.
You joined ROOTS as a general or voting member by May 15, 2023 (2 years prior to the application deadline).
You have an annual operating budget of $500,000 or less and two years operational history.
If applying for Track Two: Unrestricted Organizational Funding, you must either have nonprofit status or be fiscally sponsored.
You are eligible to receive funding from Advancing Well-Being in the Arts and Artistic Assistance (in either Professional or Project Development tracks).
You are not eligible to receive funding from Advancing Well-Being in the Arts and Partners for Change, which opens later this spring.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply for Advancing Well-Being in the Arts you’ll need to submit the following materials – application questions, budget documentation, and (optional but recommended) supporting materials – via this application form by Thursday, May 15, 2025, at 5pm ET.

Application Questions

There are no word limits for these questions. However please be mindful that we WANT to read your applications thoughtfully. Depending on the number of applications we receive, lengthier applications may not be able to be reviewed as thoroughly. As you write, consider clarity and depth over length.

Describe your work in the cultural arts and how that work serves your community.
- Highlight the mission, goals, and key activities of your organization or individual work.
- Explain how your work addresses the needs of historically disadvantaged communities.
Describe your community, and how your organization and leadership reflects your community.
- Provide context about the community you serve (e.g. demographics, challenges, strengths).
- Share how your leadership and team are representative of or deeply connected to the community. How has your work sought to advance well-being in your community?
How has your work sought to advance well-being in your community
- - Share specific examples of impact, such as programs, initiatives, or advocacy efforts.
  - Highlight any measurable outcomes or qualitative changes in the community.
What values drive your work, and how will these funds advance your work?
- - Discuss the core values that guide your work (e.g., equity, justice, collaboration).
  - Explain how the grant funds will be used and how they align with your goals.
During this funding period (June 2025–June 2026), how will this applicant’s cultural work live into the mission of Alternate ROOTS?
- - Alternate ROOTS is an organization based in the Southern USA whose mission is to support the creation and presentation of original art, in all its forms, which is rooted in a particular community of place, tradition or spirit. As a coalition of cultural workers we strive to be allies in the elimination of all forms of oppression. ROOTS is committed to social and economic justice and the protection of the natural world and addresses these concerns through its program and services.

Budget Documentation

Applicants in both tracks must provide documentation that you deem appropriate to verify that your annual budget is $500,000 or less.
For both tracks of this program, applicants’ budget documentation needs to show a two-year operating history (at minimum).
We honor that a group may have different business formations over the course of that history – e.g. first year as fiscally sponsored, second year as an incorporated 501(c)(3).
If you received an influx of funding from 2020–2022 that expanded your budget temporarily beyond $500,000/year, but prior to and/or since then your budget was/has returned below $500,000, you are still eligible for this program.
We are open to applicants submitting financial statements as far back as 2021 to allow them choice in how they tell the story of their financial histories. This flexibility also allows emerging organizations, such as those founded in 2021–22, to apply.
Any documentation that an organization or entity feels led to submit that fulfills this eligibility criteria is welcome. We understand that every entity might not be in the position to submit an IRS Form 990. We ask that you submit any materials that support us learning about your budgetary position as we lean into a trust based model of grantmaking.

Supporting Materials

Applicants may include supporting materials to strengthen their application. This is a merit-based application; supporting materials are optional but recommended. Supporting materials can include:

Letter(s) of recommendation (preferably from folks with whom you have collaborated within your artistic or cultural practice)
Community testimonials or quotes from partners
Work samples (e.g., program brochures, event flyers, articles)
Photos or short videos (under 3 minutes) showcasing your work
Excerpts from annual reports or impact assessments

Please submit all supporting materials organized as links within a single PDF document. Your supporting materials PDF could contain links to google documents, your website, YouTube, SoundCloud, Flickr, etc. Please ensure that all links are accessible – not password protected, etc.

Please note: applications must be submitted through the application form. Emailed applications will not be accepted or considered for funding.

If you need any support with your application, please contact Program Manager, Elly Mendez Angulo Brown: funding@alternateroots.org or 404-577-1079 x 3. Technical assistance will be provided on Thursday, May 15 (the application due date) until 3 pm ET.

PROPOSAL SUPPORT

Alternate ROOTS is committed to supporting our members through the process of applying for our funding programs! We encourage you to take advantage of these proposal supports.

Office Hours

Bring your questions about Advancing Well-Being in the Arts funding program and application process to the program’s office hours – every Thursday at 1pm ET, through the application deadline. Register here.

Unable to attend office hours? Feel free to reach out to Program Manager, Elly Mendez Angulo Brown, at funding@alternateroots.org or 404-577-1079 x 3.

FISCALLY SPONSOR AN APPLICANT

If you are an economically stable nonprofit organization that is willing to sponsor an eligible member of Alternate ROOTS pro bono (i.e. without the expectation of a fiscal sponsorship fee), please reach out to funding@alternateroots.org. We can help structure the relationship and develop a fiscal sponsorship contract with minimal organizational burden to you. If you do serve as a fiscal sponsor for this grant, your organization is not eligible to apply for it.

HOW WE MAKE FUNDING DECISIONS

Our Funding Priorities

Alternate ROOTS strives to be a resource for artists and communities throughout the US South, and we award grants that align with the following program goals:

Strengthening the capacity and impact of artists and culture bearers throughout the South by providing resources, including direct funding, to individual members.
Building intentional partnerships and collaborations with ROOTS members.
Helping ROOTS members extend or deepen their presence within a community – at home or on the road.
Highlighting the assets or challenges of communities that are impacted by social, economic, and environmental injustices.

The Wallace Foundation’s Requirements
The Advancing Well-Being in the Arts funding program is made possible by ROOTS’ participation in the Wallace Foundation’s National Arts Partners cohort. By design this funding opportunity supports organizations and individuals who reflect and serve communities of the global majority; this is a requirement from the funder. As a regranting organization within the cohort, Alternate ROOTS must follow the requirements set out by the Wallace Foundation.

The Application Review Process
A panel of seven reviewers will read all applications through the lens of these eligibility requirements and criteria:

Organizations/Applicants: Applicants’ organizational types can include a wide range of expressions within cultural communities, geographies, and artistic disciplines in the arts ecosystem.
Finances: Applicants provide documentation sufficient to confirm they meet all budgetary requirements for this program, as laid out in the Budget Documentation section of the application.
Cultural Arts Leadership: Exhibits a lived experience that leads and cultivates deepened cultural arts engagement as artists, culture bearers and workers within their communities.
Cultural Community Engagement: Exhibits a lived experience and understanding using arts and culture to impact change within their community acknowledging that many of our communities work in a diaspora and steward programs and activities that transcend US national borders.
Critical Thinking: Is actively engaging, identifying, and analyzing issues affecting their community, organization, and/or artistry and incorporating this analysis into their cultural practices.
Community-Oriented Values: Orientated with deep experience and expertise serving and working from within.

After carefully reviewing the applications, reviewers will offer brief comments on their merits and challenges. Collectively they will respond to each application using a recommendation process of “yes,” “no,” and “maybe.”

The reviewer’s role is to score each application, then come to consensus with the rest of the panel to collectively curate the awardees. While comments from reviewers may be beneficial for applicants, due to the timeline, we will be unable to offer individual applicant feedback.

Following the panel review process, Alternate ROOTS’ leadership will make funding decisions for this program, in light of the panelists’ recommendations.

HOW WE ENGAGE WITH MEMBERS

If you receive Advancing Well-Being in the Arts funding, here’s what you can expect.

Alternate ROOTS Provides:

Grants of up to $30,000 (Track 1) or $50,000 (Track 2).
Opportunities to highlight your work on ROOTS’ social channels, email communications, and blog. With enough lead time (preferably 30 days) we can help publicize your events.
Opportunities to self-organize and network among other program awardees.
Investments in the communities where our members live.

ROOTS Members Provide:

Creative and administrative work toward the vision outlined in your proposal.
Documentation: help us brag about your great work!
Communication: let us know if you have any proposal updates or pivots.
Final Report, which includes a brief write-up about your work and experience with the funding application process, the administrative process, and outcomes of the funding.
Presence: when possible, we hope funded members will attend ROOTS events.
Spread the love: let people know you got this grant! Post on social media! Helping other social justice artists in the US South find out about this resource.
Credits: making sure to credit Alternate ROOTS in all promotional materials.

QUESTIONS?

Questions about Advancing Well-Being in the Arts?

Contact Program Manager, Elly Mendez Angulo Brown at funding@alternateroots.org or 404-577-1079 x 3.

We mean it… we want to hear from you!