ArtsAVL Awards $680,000 in Arts Business Relief Grants Across Western North Carolina

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May 13, 2025 | Asheville N.C – ArtsAVL announces that the Arts for Schools Grant is now open for applications. The grant supports nonprofit arts organizations and qualified teaching artists in Buncombe County providing arts-focused performances, workshops, residencies, and field trips for students in public schools from grades K-12. For a limited time, this grant will also include support for arts focused afterschool and camp programs. Grants range from $500-5,000. The deadline to apply is June 16, 2025 at 11:59 pm.

Exposure to the arts, both in and outside the classroom, is proven to improve academic success. However, not all students have the same opportunities to enjoy these benefits. The primary purpose of the Arts for Schools program is to provide in school arts programming for students attending economically disadvantaged schools. ArtsAVL’s goal is to help ensure that students across Buncombe County have access to the benefits of these arts experiences.

Youth who receive arts education are two times as likely to graduate high school, five times less likely to drop out, and score 100 points higher on the SAT. However, arts education is often the first casualty of budget cuts, increased pressure and requirements to test, and the narrowing of curricula in school districts. Challenges to both access and equity mean that not all students can enjoy the benefits of arts education.

The Arts for Schools grant application is open to any 501c3 nonprofit arts organization or qualified teaching artist in Buncombe County. Applicants must have at least five years of experience working in arts education, and the programs proposed must align with North Carolina’s Common Core curriculum and standards.

In keeping with ArtsAVL’s mission to keep the arts at the heart of our community, priority will be given to underserved and economically disadvantaged schools and, secondarily, to multicultural programs.

Support for the Arts for Schools grants provided by Dogwood Health Trust through their WNC After 3pm initiative, with additional funding from the Wanda and Jim Moran Foundation, Brunk Auctions, Brian and Gail McCarthy, Karen and Robert Milnes, and Joe and Janice Brumit. The application deadline is June 16, and recipients will be announced in late July. Projects should take place before June 30, 2026. Apply and see more information – including requirements for being a qualified teaching artist, at artsavl.org/schools.