The Creative Chapters Library Program supports Kentucky public libraries in bringing professional teaching artists from the Kentucky Arts Council Teaching Artists Directory for up to 60 hours of instructional time. These residencies provide hands-on, sequential lifelong learning for youth, families, older adults, and other community members, directly involving them in the creative process during an artist’s residency, and integrating the arts into community activities.

Residencies supported by this grant must:  

• Employ teaching artists from the Kentucky Arts Council’s Teaching Artist Directory.
• Employ sequential, hands-on learning and instruction methods through the creation, production, or performance of works of art.
• Be open and market to the public and dedicated to serving a broad audience.
• Follow all local, state, and federal safety protocols in effect at the time of the residency.
• Be held during times that public schools are not in session (holidays, winter, spring, and summer breaks, after school, weekends, etc.) if primarily for a K-12 audience.
• Be accessible to audience members and teaching artists with disabilities. For the purposes of these guidelines, accessibility refers to both the residency program and the facility.

NOTE: All eligible applications must include a signed letter of intent for each Teaching Artists Directory artist involved. The letter must include the artists’ names, fees, residency dates, times, and descriptions. The agreement with the artist will be contingent upon confirmation of CCPL funding.

Any Kentucky public library may apply. 

The Kentucky Arts Council will provide funding to approved applicants up to $4800 for a maximum of 60 in-person instructional hours for arts education activities that:

• Employ artist(s) from the Kentucky Arts Council Teaching Artists Directory
• Include sequential, hands-on instruction in the arts through the creation, production, and performance of works of art
• Engage a primary audience of K-12 students and/or older adults (55+).
• Occur during breaks in the K-12 schools’ instructional calendar (e.g., summer break, fall break, holidays, evenings) if for a primary K-12 audience.

Programs can be designed to fit the needs of the organization and community, but 100 percent of grant funds must be used for artists’ fees at the arts council’s designated rate of $80 per in-person instructional hour. 

The applicant public library is responsible for costs associated with any supplies and equipment purchases required to implement the residency, per diem, lodging, travel, and any culminating events, such as performances or exhibitions. These expenses should not be included in the application but should be discussed with the artist before applying and be included in the application budget that the librarian must sign. Any additional funding sources should also be included in the application budget. 

Note: All Kentucky Arts Council grants are contingent upon budgetary action by the Kentucky General Assembly and upon annual receipt of funds from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). 

Programs can be designed to fit the needs of the organization and community, but 100 percent of grant funds must be used for artists’ fees at the arts council’s designated rate of $80 per in-person instructional hour.

The applicant public library is responsible for costs associated with any supplies and equipment purchases required to implement the residency, per diem, lodging, travel, and any culminating events, such as performances or exhibitions. These expenses should not be included in the application; they should be discussed with the artist before applying and included in the application budget that the librarian must sign. Any additional funding sources should also be included in the application budget.

Kentucky Arts Council grant funds may not be used for the following purposes:

• Purchase of equipment, property, public library holdings or acquisitions
• Administrative work
• Promotional methods
• Capital improvements, facility construction, structural renovations, and restorations
• Publications or recordings for commercial purposes
• Scholarships or other activities related to academic credit or degrees
• Activities intended primarily for fundraising
• Food, beverages or other refreshments
• Expenses other than teaching artist fees
• Teaching artists not included in the Teaching Artists Directory. All artists must be selected from the Kentucky Arts Council’s Teaching Artists Directory.
• Residencies taking place outside of the grant period
• Requests designed to reduce or eliminate existing deficits
• Interest on loans, fines, penalties and/or litigation costs
• Expenses incurred before the starting date of the period covered in the grant request
• Investments of any kind
• Performances not available to the general public
• Programs that have sectarian purposes
• Indirect costs unless 1) per a current federally negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (official documentation required), or 2) “de minimus” indirect costs not to exceed 15 percent of total modified direct cost
• 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.
• All artists must be selected from the Kentucky Arts Council’s Teaching Artists Directory.
• No more than two CCLP applications will be accepted from one library per fiscal year.
• No more than 40 days of residencies may be awarded to one teaching artist per fiscal year.
• Each session should not exceed more than 30 people with the artist.

• Obtain approval: Arrange for your administration to approve the proposal and sign your application by the required deadline date. 

• Select and contact an artist: All artists must be selected from the arts council’s Teaching Artists Directory. Obtain a letter of intent. 

• Develop a residency plan: Librarians and artists work in partnership to develop and finalize the residency plan, including the schedule.  

• Complete the application: Applications for this program are made through the online grant system. Before beginning the application, carefully read all instructions included in this document. Detailed application instructions are provided below. The application must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on the deadline date. Following the deadline, each application will be reviewed by the program director, who may contact the applicant if clarification is needed. 

Applications for this program are made through the Kentucky Arts Council GO Smart online grants management system. Applicants new to GO Smart must create an organization profile (do select “individual” profile), including a username and password, for use whenever the account is accessed. Store your username and password in a safe place so you can access your account later. You can use this profile to apply for this program year after year and update it as needed. 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 multiple profiles.

GO Smart Profile Fields

• Primary Information: Enter the information of the person responsible for the application. This will also be the person the arts council contacts with any questions about the application.
• Contact information: The legal name of the library and information for the library.
• Additional Information: Including Unique Identity Identifier, 501(c)(3) incorporation date, FEIN/Tax ID, and your federal congressional district and state legislative districts.
• Organization History: Provide some information about the library and how it serves the community, and the ways they incorporate the arts into programming.

Submission of the application indicates that you have read and understand all guidelines and application instructions but does not guarantee eligibility or that all guideline requirements have been met. The Kentucky Arts Council strongly advises applicants to review all guidelines and instructions included in this document. 

Navigating GO Smart

Once the profile page has been submitted, you will be redirected to the arts council’s grant management system. To begin your application, select “Current Programs & Applications.”  Find “FY2027 Creative Chapters Public Library Program” and click “START.”

As you work through the application, save every page before moving to the next. Failure to save each page will result in the loss of information.

Use the page links on the left side of each application page to navigate between pages or use the “Previous” or “Next” buttons at the bottom of each page.

Use the PDF button at the bottom of most pages to view the application as the panelists will view it.

Application Pages

Public Library Information

• Kentucky Vendor Code (The Kentucky Arts Council requires this number to remit payment. If your library does not currently have this number, you may apply for one at: https://vss.ky.gov/vssprod-ext/Advantage4).
• Authorizing Contact – Include information for the person responsible for oversight of the public library — typically the director. This is the person who will receive the award letter, and the grant agreement form through DocuSign.
• Grant Contact – Include information for the person who wrote and can answer about the application and grant, if different from the Authorizing Grant Contact.
• Explain how your public library engages with the community and demonstrate how the proposed residency will address a specific need. Keep in mind that some panelists may be from out of state and unfamiliar with local issues or culture, so provide clear and detailed context. 
• Choose your primary audience. 

NEA Questions 

The National Endowment for the Arts requires that the Kentucky Arts Council collect this information for reporting purposes. Other than the amount requested, all information is estimated for your upcoming events calendar. While required, this page is not scored by the review panel.

Select the applicant discipline that most accurately describes the proposed artist residency. (Note: If funding will be for more than one arts discipline, select “multidisciplinary”.)

Residency Information

Name the selected teaching artist(s) and residency dates. With that teaching artist in mind, respond to the prompts from the scoring criteria. (Note: If funding will be for more than one teaching artist, respond with information for the first teaching artist. A new section will open for each additional teaching artist.)

Narrative Responses (see below)

Financial Information

Present your overall in-kind budget for the requested teaching artists residencies at a rate of $80 per instructional hour.

In-kind Expenses 

Include marketing and promotion expenses, staff and building costs related to the residency of the requested artist(s) and other expenses connected to your residency.

In the space provided, explain expenses as requested. For example, STAFF: public library executive director @ $30/hr x 50 hrs = $1,500; marketing director @ $20/hr x 35 hrs = $700; staff/five volunteers @ $10/hr x 10 hrs = $100; OTHER: art supplies or instrument rental $75; refreshments = $150.

Signature and Certification

This is an electronic form via the DocuSign service. You can click to sign the document directly in your web browser without downloading or printing anything. You will be prompted to enter the email addresses of your public library executive director (or equivalent administrator), Contact Person, and Teaching Artist. After you sign and click “Finish,” the form will automatically send itself to the next signatory.

Submitting the signature page does not automatically submit your application – you must return to the application and click “Submit.”

Late applications will not be accepted. Ineligible and incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

Submission of the application indicates that you have read and understood all guidelines and application instructions, but does not guarantee eligibility or that all guideline requirements have been met. The Kentucky Arts Council strongly advises applicants to review all guidelines and instructions included in this document.

Applications will be reviewed using scoring criteria that correspond to the following performance expectations. Refer to the Panelist Assessment Sheet for more details. Applications should address each of these criteria and show that the proposed artist residency will meet them. A good exercise is to turn the criteria into a question, e.g., “How will participants be engaged in the creative process?” The criteria are divided into three categories and assigned values of 10 points each, totaling 100 points.

Planning and Implementation (40 points)

• Community Engagement in the Creative Process (10 points)

• Preparation for the Residency(cies) (10 points)

• Connections to Library Goals (10 points)

• Promotion and Marketing Strategies (10 points)

Measuring Impact (40 points)

• Clear and Measurable Learning Goals (10 points)

• Assessment of Participant Learning Outcomes (10 points)

• Strategies for Continued Arts Activities After the Residency Ends (10 points)

• Library Goals and Needs Assessment (10 points)

Accessibility and Fairness for All (20 points)

• A Culture of Belonging (10 points)

• Accessibility (10 points)

Step 1: Panel Meeting 

A panel of librarians, arts professionals, or other individuals with relevant experience will review and score all applications according to the program performance expectations. Applicants may request the comments of the panel review after the date of the panel. 

Step 2: Arts Council Board Meeting 

The panel’s recommendations are forwarded to the arts council’s governing board for approval. 

Grant Agreement Forms

Applicant organizations that receive a favorable recommendation will be sent a notification of approval and the Grant Agreement Form (GAF) for the total amount funded via the public library director’s email provided in the application through DocuSign. Grant agreement forms must be signed by the library’s authorizer and returned within 15 days of receipt. Grant agreement forms received later than 15 days will cause a delay of payment or forfeiture of funding.  Grantees are advised to download and save a copy of the grant agreement form for their files. Once the arts council receives the signed GAF from the public library, a Kentucky State Treasury check payable to the public library will be mailed directly to the public library within four to eight weeks.

The GAF is a legal agreement with the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Grant agreements cannot be altered without prior approval from the Kentucky Arts Council program director. Grants are for the period and activities specified in the approved application unless a formal extension is requested and approved. Funds must be spent or committed for activities taking place within the period stated. If residency dates must be rescheduled or canceled for any reason, notify the program director immediately. Failure to do so may jeopardize future funding. Fiscal year 2027 CCLP Grant funds must be used between July 1, 2026 and June 15, 2027. 

Final Reports

The applicant must submit a final report within 30 days of completion of the residency. The final report form will be accessible in the application portal using the same login credentials created when first applying. Failure to complete the final report will jeopardize any future funding opportunities.

• Kentucky Arts Council grantees must submit a final report within 30 days of completion of the grant period. The final report may be accessed through the online grant system.

• If a grantee fails to submit the required final report for any grant, the arts council will accept no future applications from the grantee organization until an acceptable final report is received. In addition, any grant money payable to the organization will be held until after the required final report is submitted.

• Information and photos from final reports will be used to meet the Kentucky Arts Council’s reporting requirements to the National Endowment for the Arts and to promote the Kentucky Arts Council and its programs on the website, social media, and in the annual report.

Grantees are required to clearly acknowledge support from the Kentucky Arts Council in their programs and related promotional material, including publications and websites, by including the KAC logo and acknowledgement line. All acknowledgements, including residency introduction, must clearly indicate that funds from the Kentucky Arts Council were provided for the presentation of the specified teaching artists(s). Such an acknowledgement should clearly indicate that funds were provided for artistic excellence and merit. Additional acknowledgment requirements may be provided later. Grant recipients must download and use the Kentucky Arts Council logo in a all grant activity-related print and digital promotional materials.

The acknowledgment line for the Creative Chapters Library Program is: The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, provides operating support to {NAME OF LIBRARY} and {NAME OF PROJECT/RESIDENCY} with state tax dollars and federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Applicants approved for Creative Chapter Public Library Program Grants are required to send a letter to each of their state legislators, their town mayor and/or County Judge Executive (Sample) and forward copies to the arts council to share information about the award and the importance of public funding for the arts and to the applicant organization. Copies of each letter must be sent to the Kentucky Arts Council by email or U.S. Post no later than Aug. 30, 2026. To locate names and contact information for your legislators, visit the Legislative Research Commission’s Find Your Legislator webpage. A sample letter is available on the Kentucky Arts Council website.  

Arts council staff can offer the following support to ensure that program standards and goals are met: 

• Assistance in developing a residency plan. 

• Consultation regarding applicant eligibility. 

• Technical assistance with submitting the application or final report. 

• Assistance locating or implementing accessibility resources. 

All Kentucky Arts Council grants are contingent upon budgetary action by the Kentucky General Assembly and upon annual receipt of funds from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).