With support from the Kentucky Historical Society, the Kentucky Arts Council is offering grant funds for individual artists, arts and cultural organizations, communities, or other nonprofit entities to fund public art projects, artwork creation, and other initiatives, events, and programs that provide a long-lasting legacy of the America250 commemoration to the people of the commonwealth.  

Purpose

Commemorate 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence through the creation and presentation of art that addresses America250KY focus areas and themes.

Goals

• Provide opportunities for artists, organizations, and communities to explore America’s history through the arts.
• Support the creation and presentation of artworks commemorating the nation’s semiquincentennial.
• Highlight the stories and histories of people and communities underrepresented in the historical record of Kentucky and the United States.

• Professional artists
• Arts and cultural organizations
• Community groups and nonprofit organizations working with professional artists or arts organizations to provide arts programming or support artwork creation.

Individual Artists 

Individual artist applicants must be United States citizens, lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent residence or have permission from the Department of Homeland Security to work permanently in the U.S. Applicants must be legal Kentucky residents and are required to provide the Kentucky Arts Council with one of the following proofs of residency before payments will be issued. Acceptable proofs of residency are: 

• Kentucky driver’s license or Commonwealth of Kentucky identification card that includes the date issued and expiration date. 

• A screenshot of Kentucky voter registration verification from the State Board of Elections’ Voter Information Center website. 

• 2023 or 2024 Kentucky state income tax form (740 series form for full-year residents). 

• A Kentucky utility bill (electric, gas or water) from one of the previous three months that includes the applicant’s name, current address and evidence of usage. 

Organizations 

Organizations must currently have, and maintain during the grant cycle, 501(c)(3) IRS tax-exempt status (or equivalent). Provide one of the following acceptable proofs of tax-exempt status:

• IRS Determination Letter (or equivalent) that includes date of determination and FEIN. The name on the document must match the organization legal name provided on the application and must remain valid through the entire grant period. 

• Most recent IRS Form 990 cover page that includes FEIN and the legal name provided on the application. 

Kentucky Vendor Code and Unique Entity Identifier 

All applicants must be registered with the Kentucky Vendor Registration system at the time of application, and the address associated with vendor number must match those associated with the organization’s profile and grant agreement form. 

To register for or modify a free Kentucky Vendor Number, visit Kentucky’s Vendor Self-Service.

Organizations must also provide a current, valid Unique Entity Identifier in their GO Smart profile.  

1. Artistic Excellence – 30 percent 
2. Value and Feasibility of Project Activities – 30 percent 
3. Connection to the America250KY Focus Area and Themes – 20 percent  
4. Historical Research & Relevance – 20 percent 

For organizations: up to $10,000

For artists: up to $5,000

No person nor entity receiving or having previously received America250KY funds directly from the Kentucky Arts Council, Kentucky Historical Society, the America250KY Commission, or a subgrantee (i.e., Kentucky Heritage Council, African American Heritage Commission, Native American Heritage Commission, Kentucky Educational Television, Kentucky Department of Education, Kentucky Department of Tourism, or Kentucky Department of Parks) may apply for this grant program. 

Funds may not be used for: 

• Indirect costs: personnel, payroll, benefits, building utility costs, maintenance and grounds keeping, non-project-specific insurance costs, requests designed to reduce or eliminate existing deficits, interest on loans, fines, penalties and/or litigation costs, or other projects that would fall under an organization’s day-to-day operations

• Fundraising events and other activities intended primarily for fundraising

• Purchase of equipment, property, library holdings or acquisitions 

• Capital improvements, facility construction, structural renovations and restorations

• Publications or recordings for commercial purposes

• Scholarships or other activities related to academic credit or degrees

• Food, beverages, or other refreshments

• Expenses incurred before the starting date of the period covered in the grant request

• Investments of any kind

• Performances not available to the public

• Programs that have sectarian purposes

• The application of new artistic work to historic buildings or structures unless approved by the state historic preservation office as being in compliance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. (Contact the Kentucky Heritage Council at 502-564-7005 or visit the Kentucky Heritage Council.)

The arts council staff is available to offer the following support, with prior notice and no later than two weeks before the deadline, to ensure program standards and goals are met: 

• Assistance from arts council program directors in selecting appropriate program categories, and in answering questions about programs

• Consultation regarding applicant eligibility, competitiveness for funding, budget issues, etc. 

• Referrals to potential partners for programs 

• Advice in locating appropriate technical assistance to evaluate and increase applicants’ accessibility and arts participation

Applications for this program are made through the Kentucky Arts Council GO Smart online grant system. 

When first accessing the GO Smart application system, applicants must create a profile, including a username and password for use whenever the account is accessed. The Kentucky Arts Council does not maintain username and password information. If you forget or lose your username or password, open the application, click on Login and use the prompt to reset your login information. Do not create a duplicate account.  

To begin the application, login to GO Smart and click on Current Programs & Applications. Go to America250KY FY2026 and select “START”. Applicants who have started their application and logged out will login and then select “Edit.” 

• When working through the application, save each page before moving to the next page. Failure to save pages will result in the loss of information. 

• To navigate through the application, use either page links (to move around within the application) or the Previous/Next buttons (to move one page at a time). 

• Use the PDF button at the bottom of the page to view the application as the panelist will view it. 

• Use the Data Field Explanation to complete the Profile (organization type, applicant status and applicant discipline) and Demographics sections.

Individual Artists must provide the following:  

Artist Statement: Enter a brief overview of your current work including artistic inspiration and philosophy, evolution of style, current directions, influences, your reason for creating in your discipline, etc. Artist statements should be written in first person. 

Resume: Upload a professional artist résumé that includes: 

• • Education/training 
  • Jobs as a professional artist 
  • A short list of up to five awards from the past five years. Include the date and name of the award or recognition, the name of the presenting organization, and its location.  

Organizations must provide the following:  

Mission Statement: Describe the work of the organization, including the audiences served.

Description of recent programming: Describe the organization’s recent activities, including attendance estimates, internal assessment of quality, anecdotes and feedback, and other evidence of the value the programs provided.

For individual artists: provide three to five images, pdfs, sound files, and/or urls of artistic works. 

For organizations: provide three to five images, pdfs, sound files, and/or urls that illustrate the work of the organization, particularly arts programming.  

Applicants are encouraged to design and complete projects through partnerships with other artists, arts and cultural organizations, or historical resources. If your project is a partnership, you will be asked to upload a mandatory letter of commitment from the partner and provide a sample of their artistic works or programmatic activities. 

1. Describe the project. Eligible activities include artwork creation, concert/performance/reading or similar presentation, exhibition, fair/festival, arts instructions, recording/filming/taping, publication, or school residency. Include the value this project will provide to participants and/or audiences. 
2. Which America250KY focus areas and themes will this project explore (at least one)? How does this project connect to the chosen area(s) or theme(s)?    
3. Describe the historical relevance of the project. What historical research will inform the project? Through what partnerships will you ensure the historical accuracy of the themes, subjects, events, etc., explored?  

Provide a timeline for this project within the grant period, Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 1, 2026, that includes beginning and end dates, with multiple measurable milestones. Include dates of public events, even if tentative.  

Provide a budget that meets or exceeds the grant funding request. Grant amounts are up to $10,000 for organizations and $5,000 for individual artists.

The total amount for services and artists’ time must include a breakdown (i.e., a mathematical explanation of the total).

Per the Kentucky Arts Council’s core values, artists’ services should represent the majority cost for competitive budgets. Do not include ineligible expenses or expenses incurred before or after the grant period.

A panel of arts professionals, public history professionals, and other individuals with relevant experience will review all applications according to the criteria.  

Applicants that receive a favorable recommendation enter into an agreement with the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Agreements cannot be altered without prior approval from the arts council’s appropriate program manager. The address associated with the Grant Agreement Form must match those associated with the organization’s profile and Kentucky Vendor Number. Grantees are required to promptly notify the arts council in writing of any changes in their grant activity. If grantees do not notify the arts council about changes before they file a final report, future funding will be jeopardized. Grants are for the period specified in the approved application. Funds must be spent or committed for activities taking place within the period stated unless an extension has been approved in writing. Funds spent before the period starts are not eligible and must not be included in the budget. 

Funds granted must be used solely for the activities described in the approved application, unless specific approval has been received in writing. Any funds granted but not spent must be returned to the arts council at the conclusion of the grant period. 

Grant agreements must be signed and returned within 30 days. Grant agreement forms received later than 30 days will result in forfeit of payment.  

If funded, all grantees must promptly notify the Kentucky Arts Council in writing of any changes in the artists’ or organizations’ physical or mailing address, phone numbers or email addresses, key project personnel, or any other circumstances that could affect the ability to complete the project by the Sep. 1, 2026 deadline.  

Grantees must clearly acknowledge support from the Kentucky Historical Society and the Kentucky Arts Council in their promotional material including publications, websites, social media, etc.

Acknowledgment line for America250KY: 

In addition to the Kentucky Arts Council and American250KY logo, the grantee will include this language in all general information communications about the projects (i.e., press releases, social media, websites) and on all products related to the project:

“The Kentucky Historical Society and the Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, support {NAME OF PROJECT} with state tax dollars from the Kentucky General Assembly and federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit history.ky.gov.” 

The final report for this grant can be found in the GO Smart online grant portal and is due 30 days after the end of project activities and no later than Oct. 1, 2026. Failure to provide a final report by the deadline will result in ineligibility for any KAC program until the report is received.