http://www.mrac.org/grants/nextstepGrant.asp

The Next Step Fund for individual artists, through generous support from The McKnight Foundation, provides project grants up to $5,000 to professional artists in any discipline for the purpose of career development and artistic achievement. Applicants can be at any stage of their career, but must demonstrate achievement in their artistic field and have a history of public presentation or community contribution. The deadline for 2012 Next Step Fund applications is March 5, 2012. The guidelines are currently posted on the Next Step Fund program page and you may start the online application at any time. Applicants must have resided in Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott or Washington County during the entire year prior to the deadline (March 5, 2011 – March 5, 2012). Applicants who were awarded Next Step Grant funding in FY 2011 are NOT eligible to apply in FY 2012.

MRAC offers workshops to help individual artists prepare Next Step Fund grant applications. Participants will become familiar with the program and online application. For more info and to register:
http://www.mrac.org/grants/nextstepGrant.asp

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Richard Rousseau is hosting an hour-long show at the Science Museum of Minnesota called “Community Acts,” and he is looking for tellers.

Here are the details:

• Community Acts is the last Thursday of every month and starts at 7:30pm
• Material should be about 5 to 7 minutes in length
• Material should (ideally) relate to science in some way
• Material must be G-Rated / Family-Friendly

Performers receive free parking in the Science Museum lot (one voucher per performer) and free Science Museum admission for the performer and one guest.

He is looking for performers for the February 23 show and all later shows. Performers should contact Richard at 651-649-1757 prior to the second Thursday of the month they want to perform.

Join Springboard for the Arts for an exploration of Kickstarter, the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects. Kickstarter’s own Stephanie Pereira will be in Minneapolis to lead off the evening with a presentation on how to bring your project to life. Learn how to structure a project, what kind of rewards work best, and other helpful tips and valuable stats. Stephanie welcomes questions as we take a more detailed look at the anatomy of a successful project.

Free. Open admission. No pre-registration required.

The state library system has set up a way for you to get onto a roster as a possible partner for local libraries to do programs and events with their new legacy funds. Sign up to be in their database by going to: www.mnlegacygrant.org. Click on the link that says “Click Here For Submission Form.” You can fill out a form to inform them what you can offer, your posting will be reviewed and hopefully approved by a regional library person, and then you will be in the database where local libraries will go to find people and organizations to hire with their legacy funds. NOTE: The more information you provide when you sign up, the more likely you will get hired. Make sure to include your prices (and make sure your prices are high enough to cover your costs!). Make sure also to include your website address, if you have one.

This information comes from Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA), which has a list of various access points for Arts and Cultural Heritage resources on their website. Visit http://www.mncitizensforthearts.org/news/amendment-funds/othergrants for a listing of opportunities.