Are Your Students Going to an Arts or Cultural Event? Get on the Bus!
The Vermont Arts Council is proud to offer Cultural Routes, an initiative to help underwrite the cost of transporting students to arts and cultural institutions. The program addresses a growing need for arts-related field trips as many in-school arts programs are being reduced or eliminated due to the pressure of dwindling budgets.
Any PreK-12 school in Vermont will be eligible to apply for a $200 grant to help transport students to museums, historic sites, performances, or other cultural activities. The application process is streamlined and simple with the hope of encouraging schools that do not usually apply for Arts Council grants to do so. Priority will be given to schools in rural or underserved communities that have the most limited exposure to the arts.
The Cultural Routes program provides $200 grants to Vermont schools to help underwrite the cost of field trips to attend cultural events such as live music, dance or theatre performances, exhibits at art museums, etc. Field trips must include an arts component to be eligible. Funding may be used to support more than one field trip.
This program has a rolling grant deadline. Applicants must apply at least 4 weeks prior to their proposed event. The Council will not fund any events retroactively. Applications are reviewed on a "first-received, first-funded" basis (ONE grant/year per school building) until available funds are awarded.
Although any Vermont public or private school, pre-K through grade 12, is eligible to apply, only Priority I schools* can apply prior to September 2011.
Within 2 weeks of receipt of the application, you will be notified by email or phone about the status of your request. A final report on your activities will be required within 45 days of the date of the funded event.
Availability of funds will be posted on this web site until all funds are awarded but we expect that we will have more requests for funding than we will be able to fulfill.
Application Deadline
|
Notification Date |
Event Takes Place |
Submit |
At least 4 weeks prior to event, beginning August 1:
Priority I Schools |
Within 2 weeks
of Submission |
Between date of notification and August 31, 2012 |
online
|
At least 4 weeks prior to event, beginning September 1:
All Schools |
Within 2 weeks
of Submission |
Between date of notification and August 31, 2012 |
online |
Any Vermont public or private school, pre-K through grade 12, is eligible for this program.
Not Eligible to Apply:
Any applicant that has already received a Cultural Routes grant in the 2011-2012 school year cannot apply again until the next funding round. Receipt of a Cultural Routes grant award does NOT prohibit organizations from receiving other Arts Council grant funding within the same fiscal year.
Contact us if you have questions about your eligibility.
The Cultural Routes program gives priority to underserved populations and rural schools with little access to arts and cultural programs due to geography, economic conditions, etc.
You are a Priority I school if you meet two of these three criteria:
- School’s Free & Reduced Lunch rate is at least 50%
- School is identified under ESEA legislation as needing improvement
- School is identified by the VT Department of Education as a small school
Priority I schools have early access to Cultural Routes funding and can submit an application as early as August 1.
Beginning September 1, all schools may apply for this funding.
Successful applicants must agree to the following expectations:
- the Cultural Routes funded field trip involves travel to an arts or cultural performance, exhibit, activity or program;
- the application is fully and correctly completed;
- the applicant is in compliance with the Requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973;
- the applicant agrees to publicize the activity and receipt of the grants in the local press (newspapers, radio, web as appropriate) and give credit to the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The grant amount will be paid in full within 2-4 weeks of the award notification. Schools are responsible for any and all costs associated with the school trip(s) above and beyond the $200 Cultural Routes award. A final report will be due no later than 30 days after the activity(ies) for which the grant was awarded. Final reports must be submitted online.
The final report will include confirmation of the funded activity, number of students involved, photos documenting the event, and sample publicity materials, etc. Final reports will be due no later than 30 days after the activity for which the grant was awarded. These reports are essential to the Council's accountability to public and private funding sources and should be submitted in a timely manner. All awards and payment schedules are subject to the availability of state, federal, and private funds.
Funding from the Vermont Legislature helps to make the Cultural Routes program possible. If you choose to inform your legislators, school board members or other local policymakers of the award you receive, please include copies of any letters or emails sent with your final report.
The Council reserves the right to reject incomplete applications. Applications missing any of the following items will not be reviewed.
- No Federal Tax ID number (we can't issue the $200 check without it)
- No specific date given for the trip
- No indication of what the specific event is
- No indication of where the event is (what city, town)
- No phone or email for the contact person
- No description of students attending (grade level, number of students)
or
- The destination event does not qualify as an arts or cultural event (i.e. an aerospace museum)
The entire grant amount will be paid to the grantee after the Council receives the final report.
We've streamlined the application process for this program! It's a quick and easy application that asks you to provide a little information about your school, the activity you are proposing and to agree to the grant requirements of the program (listed above).
All Cultural Routes applications must be filled out and submitted online.
Priority I schools will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis during the month of August. If your school does not qualify for Priority I designation, you may not apply until September 1st. Applications prior to September 1st from schools that do not meet the requirements of Priority I designation will not be considered.
For more information on this or other Arts Council Grant Programs contact Stacy Raphael, Education & Community Programs Manager at (802) 828-3778 or email us for more info.
Applications must be submitted by no later than 4 weeks before the proposed school trip.