If you're an artist who was awarded a grant in 2023, excellent work—please skip a year before applying again. Quick note: funding may be used to reimburse for projects/workshops that take place starting July 1st and beyond. Workshop funding is awarded only in cases where the applicant has been accepted by the time of grant submission (a great reason to apply to your workshop now). Applicants who did NOT receive an award may reapply — no need to wait. Descendants of Boise River Valley tribes are eligible, regardless of where you currently reside.
Q:
What is the Alexa Rose Foundation?
Who is eligible to receive a grant?
Can arts organizations apply for a grant?
What kind of projects do you fund?
I’m interested in attending a workshop, but haven’t been accepted yet. Can I apply for a grant under the assumption that I will be admitted?
I know a kid who is really talented. Can they apply?
I’m creative, but don’t consider myself a professional artist. Is it worth my time to submit an application?
I have applied in the past and been rejected. What am I doing wrong?
A:
The Alexa Rose Foundation is a non-profit committed to helping individual artists in Ada County and Canyon County, Idaho. We award grants up to $5,000 to artists of all mediums, including literary, visual, performing and cinematic arts. However, all art forms are supported, even those that do not strictly fit into the those categories. Podcasters, puppeteers, dancers, acrobats, opera singers and animators are all welcome.
Any resident of Ada County or Canyon County, Idaho with a passion for creative work, including any individuals who are descendants of one or more Boise River Valley tribes are eligible. Tribal applicants need not reside in these counties, but must note their tribal affiliation.
We only support individual artists. If you are part of an independent group — a band, theater company, or dance troupe — you are still eligible to apply, but your application should revolve around your personal creative growth, not the betterment of the organization as a whole.
The Foundation funds quite an expansive list of opportunities for artistic growth; long-distance workshop travel and attendance, equipment and supplies, studio rent, writing sabbaticals, short film productions, exhibition space and masterclasses. We are more interested in the IMPACT of a request than the request itself. A strong application can articulate both specificity (why this?) and urgency (why now?) We want to see you grow, learn, and challenge yourself above all else.
An artist wishing to attend a workshop or program that does require a merit-based application can only be considered for an Alexa Rose grant if the artist has already been admitted to the program at the time of applying to Alexa Rose. “Registration” does not count as application, as this is simply paying a fee in order to attend. If the workshop or educational opportunity does not require an application process: In the event of receiving an Alexa Rose grant, the applicant can simply register for the course and be admitted.
We are happy to accept applicants of any age, experience level or creative background. To date, we have funded artists as young as sixteen and as old as eighty. However, please note this is a highly competitive process. There is no “child” or “teen” sub-category, and all applicants are weighed equally.
Unlike many conventional grant programs, Alexa Rose seeks to support growth. Anyone who engages in a creative practice and wants to advance themselves is welcome to apply. A majority of our applicants identify as “emerging” or “mid-career” artists, and/or those making a transition to an entirely new discipline. Completing your application and challenging yourself to send it in is a very powerful way to set an intention around your creative practice.
This is a highly competitive process. Take heart! If you've applied in the past and not received a grant, it may be less about doing something “wrong," and simply that other applicants were better able that year to articulate the specificity and/or urgency of their proposal. You are sincerely encouraged to please try again.
SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
In addition to work samples, each grant application consists of a few short-answer questions not exceeding approximately 300 words per question.
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Who are you as an artist? What inspires you?
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For what opportunity would you like to use the grant?
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How would this opportunity make a difference in your creative practice as an artist?
THINGS TO CONSIDER
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Where am I in my career?
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What is preventing me from advancing my craft?
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What creative opportunity would help me mitigate or overcome this obstacle? What tool, experience, or project has the most potential to advance my creative development?
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How will I grow as a result of this opportunity?
DISQUALIFYING APPLICATIONS
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Teachers requesting materials for their students
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Parents applying on behalf of their children
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An individual applying on behalf of a group (a team, company, band, etc.)
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An individual applying on behalf of an organization
The Alexa Rose Foundation
Treasure Valley, Idaho
Contact Nina Leary nina@AlexaRoseFoundation.net
© 2023 by ALEXA ROSE FOUNDATION