Connecting Communities and Military

Overview

The Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in partnership with Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA). This grant program aims to improve the health, well-being, and quality of life for military service members and veterans exposed to trauma as well as their families and caregivers through experiences of art or art making. 

Each year, M-AAA will award approximately thirty-five matching grants ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 for arts-based community engagement projects that engage targeted military-connected communities. These Creative Forces Community Engagement Grants are intended to support non-clinical arts engagement programs taking place in healthcare, community, or virtual settings. The grants will be awarded in two tiers, emerging and advanced, which reflect the capacity of the project at the time of the application.

PROJECT OUTCOMES FOR PARTICIPANTS

Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant Program projects should engage military-connected individuals through experiences of art or art-making with one or more of the following participant outcomes in mind:

• Creative Expression: Participants have a better understanding of themselves and others by creating or engaging with art.
• Social Connectedness: Participants have supportive relationships in their life and a sense of belonging to a community.
• Resilience: Participants feel they can rebound from stress, unexpected events, or life’s challenges. Independence and Successful Adaptation to Civilian Life: Participants have both an individual and shared sense of purpose, as well a positive self-worth, that support adapting and readjusting to civilian life.

ASU may submit only one (1) application to the sponsoring organization.  The internal competition is available on InfoReady and is first-come, first-served.