HANCOCK - Sometimes art costs money to create, so the state of Michigan is offering grants to help with artistic pursuits.
Cynthia Cot, executive director of the Copper Country Community Arts Council, said that organization is acting as the regional regranting agency for the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs for the agency's mini grants.
Cot said only agencies or organizations can apply for the grants.
"The proposal could be for up to $4,000," she said.
Exactly how much the CCCAC will have available for regranting will be determined later.
"We are expecting to get the same amount we got last year," she said.
That amount was $15,900, Cot said, and whatever amount an applicant asks for must be matched one to one, either in cash or in kind.
"An organization doesn't necessarily have to have matching money," she said.
The value of in-kind matches varies depending on what the service or supplied labor is, Cot said.
Applications for grants must be high quality, Cot said, meaning they must be well written for a program that wouldn't happen without the grant. The program must be one that will be presented by professional artists to the public, also.
Cot said the intent of the CCCAC is to provide as much funding with the mini-grants to as many programs as possible in its coverage area of Baraga, Gogebic, Houghton, Keweenaw and Ontonagon counties.
"Once in a while, we will give a full grant," she said. "We want to have a fair spread of what we have."
Although only organizations or agencies can apply for the grants, Cot said that doesn't mean individual artists can't be involved in the process.
"We encourage individuals to work with organizations," she said.
The grants are reviewed by a panel of professional arts administrators, Cot said, one from each county in our region plus one from outside the region. The proposals are scored and a funding plan is developed, which is brought to the CCCAC Board of Directors for approval.
"We will fund as many qualifying proposals as possible with the award money we receive from the state," she said. "We are sensitive to the fact that receiving a grant award that is far smaller than what is requested can become a hardship for the organization to move ahead with the project."
Cot said the deadline for applications is 5 p.m. Oct. 4 for programs or projects that will take place between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2012. Applications must be sent or delivered to the Community Art Center at 126 Quincy St. Hancock, MI 49930.
She will present a workshop on writing grant proposals, Cot said, from noon to 1 p.m. Sept. 9 at the CCCAC. To reserve a space at the workshop, call 482-2333. Help for the grant writing can be given by appointment, also, by calling the same number.
Cot can also be emailed at cynthia@coppercountryarts.com.