Frequently Asked Questions:

2025 ARPA Artist Grant Fund

For Previous Applicants

  • The Mayor’s Office of Recovery Programs (MORP) and the Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture (MOAC) have partnered with the Baltimore Civic Fund to administer the grants for 2025. These two City agencies worked with Baltimore Civic Fund to craft an RFA and application. These documents align with federal funding regulations and Mayoral priorities in support of the Baltimore City arts community.

  • The Baltimore Civic Fund is a 501(c)(3) organization that, since 1981, has served as a fiscal sponsor for the City of Baltimore to advance the Mayor’s priorities. Our mission is to enhance the quality of life for all residents of Baltimore one grant, one program, and one partnership at a time.

  • Yes, previous awardees may apply for this round. The application will ask for that information, but it is being collected for data purposes only and will not be relevant for selection.

Eligibility

  • If you meet the following criteria, then you may apply. 

    • Baltimore City resident; 

    • age 18 or older; 

    • working artist in 2019 (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic); 

    • currently a working artist; and 

    • art business is a Sole Proprietorship or a Single Member LLC. 

  • An applicant will need to upload the following documents in order to pass the technical review. 

    • Driver’s License – a copy of your Driver’s License showing a Baltimore City residence. If you do not have a Driver’s License, you can upload a utility bill, lease agreement (signed), vehicle insurance card, or bank statement, as long as they show your current Baltimore City home address. These alternative documents must include the name of the artist. 

    • 2019 Tax Return (completed and signed) -- showing income from an arts practice, including either Schedule 1 (Additional Income) or Schedule C (Profit or Loss from Business). 

    • 2020 Tax Return (completed and signed) -- showing income from an arts practice, including either Schedule 1 (Additional Income) or Schedule C (Profit or Loss from Business). 

    • 2023 or 2024 Tax Return (completed and signed) -- showing income from an arts practice, including either Schedule 1 (Additional Income) or Schedule C (Profit or Loss from Business). 

    • Certificate of Good Standing – if your business is registered with the State of Maryland, please provide a Certificate dated no earlier than January 1, 2025. Sole Proprietorships are not required to be registered; a Single Member LLC must be registered. To obtain your organization's Certificate of Good Standing, visit the MD Department of Assessment and Taxation website. 

  • Yes. The State of Maryland does not require sole proprietors to register with their department of Assessment and Taxation.

  • If your tax return does not include “Other income” that is further detailed on a Schedule 1 and/or Schedule C, you are NOT eligible to apply.

  • Unfortunately, not. These are federal funds so the single best document to confirm your art income is your federal tax return; no other documents will be accepted.

  • The address on your federal tax return MUST be a Baltimore City address for all three years of tax returns requested; this establishes past residency, while your license, ID, or other approved document provides proof of current residency. These are federal funds so the single best document to confirm your residency AND art income is your federal tax return.

  • No. However, your total income will dictate where you fall in our grouping for the random selection process. See page 5 of the Request for Application (RFA) for details.

  • In alignment with federal guidelines, total household income will be used, whether filing as a single person, head of household, or jointly.

  • Unfortunately, the increase would make you ineligible. Your federal tax returns will be used to demonstrate the negative impact of COVID on household income.

Programmatic Questions

  • An applicant is asked to choose from a list of reasons their income decreased due to COVID-19. Applicants are also asked to choose which art discipline they practice from a list of artist disciplines. Finally, applicants are asked to provide a short narrative regarding the impact that an award will have on their arts practice. 

  • For 2019, on page 1, line 7b, your total income is listed. For 2020 and 2023, on page 1, line 9, your total income is listed. Do not provide adjusted gross income.

Technical (Grant Portal or Template) Questions

  • Follow the link provided in the application. Once the document opens, you will see it is in a Read-Only format which means you will not be able to edit the document directly. In the top left corner choose File> click the 3 dots> click Save As> click Download a Copy. 

Award Selection Questions

  • Technical Review: each application will be reviewed by the Civic Fund to ensure that all questions are complete, and all requested documents are submitted. If an application is found to be missing anything, the applicant will be contacted by the Civic Fund via the Submittable portal and given seven (7) days to make corrections. If corrections are not completed, then the application will not be eligible for selection. 

    Grouping by Reported Income: once an application clears technical review it will be placed in a group according to the total reported income from all sources on the submitted income tax returns.  

    • Group A: applicants with a total reported income between $0 and $52,164.00 (2020 Baltimore City median household income) on their 2020 income tax return (COVID year). 

    • Group B: applicants with a total reported income between $52,164.01 and $87,063.00 (2020 Maryland median household income) on their 2020 income tax return (COVID year). 

    • Group C: applicants with a total reported income of $87,063.01 or more on their 2020 income tax return (COVID year). 

    Random Selection: we will fund 115 applications in total. Selection is randomized within each group. Starting with Group A, applications will be selected via an online third-party randomizer until either all 115 awards are made or all eligible applications in Group A are selected. If needed, we will then move to Group B and repeat the process. We will move to Group C and repeat the process if slots are still available. 

    • Example A: Group A has 75 eligible applications, Group B has 23 eligible applications, and Group C has 27 eligible applications. 

      • Group A is fully funded (n=75), Group B is fully funded (n=75+23=98), and Group C utilizes the randomizer process to choose 17 applications (n=75+23+17=115).  

    • Example B: Group A has 157 eligible applications, Group B has 8 eligible applications, and Group C has 34 eligible applications. 

      • Group A utilizes the randomizer process to choose 115 applications. Group B and Group C are not funded.