Organizations that apply for a Creative Aging Grant must:

• Be based in Mississippi and
• Have IRS 501(c)3 non-profit status OR
• Be a unit of local government, library, or another county or municipal agency.

Eligibility Notes:

• Individuals are not eligible to apply for a Creative Aging Grant.
• K-12 schools and higher education institutions are not eligible to apply for a Creative Aging Grant.
• Organizations that receive a Fiscal Year 2027 or 2028 MAC Project Grant or Mini-Grant can also apply for a Creative Aging Grant, but the Project or Mini-Grant cannot fund the same project as the Creative Aging Grant.
• MAC Operating Grantees can apply for a Creative Aging Grant.

First-time applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with MAC about their proposal before applying. Program Contact: Victoria Meek, vmeek@arts.ms.gov, 601-359-6031.

March 2027 Training with Lifetime Arts is available for those who are interested in launching Creative Aging Programs in their community. Lifetime Arts is a nonprofit committed to integrating arts education and social engagement into services for older adults. For more information, contact Victoria Meek, vmeek@arts.ms.gov, 601-359-6031.

• The Creative Aging Grant supports new and existing arts learning experiences for Mississippi adults age 55 and over. These experiences will be hands-on, sequential, and rooted in a curriculum designed and led by professional teaching artists. Such experiences promote mental alertness, emotional fulfillment, and physical activity. They also serve to combat isolation and encourage self-expression in ways that foster dignity, joy, and community.
• To promote wide access to Creative Aging programs, grants will be awarded across Mississippi’s five geographic regions with priority given to first-time applicants and projects serving counties underserved by MAC grants. Successful projects will seek to eliminate barriers to participation and consider how arts learning experiences can be made accessible to participants with different needs.
• Partnerships are encouraged between applicants and other community organizations for services, spaces, and other resources that support positive arts learning experiences for participants. By encouraging contractual or in-kind partnerships, this grant aims to sustain Creative Aging opportunities in a community beyond this pilot round.

• Creative Aging: Creative Aging refers to high-quality arts learning experiences for adults age 55 and over. These experiences are led by teaching artists and are designed to build skills over several sessions. Participation can have positive effects on well-being, physical and cognitive abilities, and social connectedness.
• Vetted teaching artists: A professional teaching artist with a documented record of leading arts learning experiences. Those on the MAC Teaching Artist Roster have already been vetted. The qualifications of other professional teaching artists will be vetted based on application materials that demonstrate their artistic work and professional experience. Documentation should include an artistic resume, work samples, video of the artist at work, a signed intent to hire agreement, and a link to a professional website, if available.
• Skills-based: An arts learning experience that emphasizes growth in an individual’s abilities to learn new tools or techniques. A skills-based class may focus on different techniques and then guide participants as they put them into practice.
• Sequential: An arts learning experience that’s part of a coordinated series of classes that build on each other. Over 3 to 5+ sessions, participants develop skills in a single art form or explore a theme through different art forms. Classes should be close together to maintain learning momentum; ideally, weekly or every other week.
• Scaffolded: A sequential arts curriculum where each lesson builds upon the skills learned in the previous lesson. 
• Curriculum: A plan for arts learning experiences that includes goals, a timeline for the classes, and expected outcomes. A submitted curriculum must also outline activities in each class and how the classes build over time.

Funded projects will:

• Hire vetted teaching artists to lead sequential, skills-based arts classes for adults age 55 and over. Classes must be hands-on and designed for active participation, rather than passive observation.
• Use a curriculum that guides the learning experience.

Funded projects may involve:

• Establishing connections and collaborations between communities of varying sizes.
• Building the sequential learning around a single artistic skill or discipline in a scaffolded way.
• Building the sequential learning around a theme (e.g., “home”). This could allow several artists to teach a multi-disciplinary series of classes in their specific medium but related to the continual theme.
• Hiring qualified artists to create a curriculum for the organization’s use. (The grant project must include using the curriculum for arts experiences.)
• A range of art forms including but not limited to: performance, dance, theatre, poetry, writing, culinary, fiber, painting, drawing, sculpture.
• Participants younger than 55. This is allowed if the majority of participants are age 55 and over.
• Virtual instruction to expand the reach of art making, but this cannot be the primary means of instruction.

Required Expenses

• Artist fees related to providing programming and/or developing a curriculum.
  • Artists must be compensated fairly. Current wage estimates from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security’s (MDES) Occupational Employment and Wage statistics can serve as a baseline resource for determining artist compensation. MAC recommends referencing the rates that correspond to the artist’s level of expertise within the 27-0000 Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations category. For projects taking place in a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), MSA wage rates are used. If the project is not in an MSA, statewide wage rates are used.

Allowable expenses

• Expendable art supplies and equipment (purchase or rental) related to the project.
  • Applications with a budget that only includes costs for equipment will not be eligible.
  • Applicants will need to explain why the equipment is necessary.
• Travel/transportation for the program participants and artist(s) leading programs or developing curriculum.
• Accessibility accommodations, e.g., interpretation services (sign or other languages), magnifiers, task lighting, large-print instructions.

Funding Priorities

• The following funding priorities will be considered among all eligible applications that strongly align with the grant criteria:
  • New applicants that have not received funding from the Mississippi Arts Commission.
  • Applicants from underserved counties. MAC identifies counties that have not received grants or services from MAC in six or more years as underserved.
  • Geographic Coverage as MAC aims to have grants awarded in each of Mississippi’s large geographic regions: The Gulf Coast, Capital – Rivers, The Pines, The Hils, and The Delta.

Ineligible Expenses per MAC’s funder

• Stand-alone performances, exhibits or activities that are not part of a sustained arts learning program
• Services designed primarily as health interventions (using art for therapeutic purposes to treat cognitive or physical diagnoses)
• Tuition or activities for which academic credit is given
• Programs or services for children, unless intergenerational programming with adults age 55 and over is the focus of the program
• Administrative expenditures, rent, or overhead unrelated to the management of the Creative Aging Grant
• Deficits incurred from past activities
• Expenses incurred before the start or after the ending date of the grant period

Ineligible Expenses per MAC

• Projects that are already being funded by MAC through a project grant or another MAC grant program
• Reductions or Contingency funds
• Interest on loans, fines or litigation costs
• Food or beverages for hospitality or entertainment functions
• Projects primarily planned for fundraising purposes
• Lobbying expenses or other activities that are primarily political in nature
• Tuition or scholarships for academic study
• Monetary awards for competitions
• Purchase of equipment not related to arts instruction, property or collections
• Out-of-state tours or travel to competitions
• Capital improvements, facility construction, or renovation work
• Activities where the primary focus is for therapy
• Creation of sexually explicit content
• Programs for a religious purpose, including for the promotion of any sect, church, creed, or sectarian organization, nor to conduct any religious service or ceremony. Funds can be granted to religious organizations as long as the funds are not used for a religious purpose. This allows faith-based organizations to apply on behalf of their community for arts activities or programming where artistic expression is the primary focus.

Match Requirement

The Creative Aging Grant requires a one-to-one match from the applicant organization. The match must be from another source and go towards the expenses of the Creative Aging project.

Sources of matching funds may include revenue from the project activities, contributions from foundations or corporations, government support from federal or state sources, or cash from the organization’s own accounts.

Staff time contributed to this project can account for up to 25% of the total project expenses but no more than $2,000 can be included as a cash match. The remaining staff time must be listed as an in-kind contribution.

Contracted artists and services specifically for this project are eligible cash expenses.

In-kind contributions can be counted as up to 50% of the match for this grant. In-kind contributions are the dollar value of materials and services that are provided to a project at no cash cost from sources other than the applicant, e.g., volunteer hours, donated or discounted space or equipment rentals, food, supplies, advertising costs, transportation services. In-kind donations help to demonstrate a community’s support of a project.

For example: To receive a $2,000 grant, the organization must commit $2,000, with up to $1,000 being in-kind.

Apply online using MAC’s E-Grant system

Contact Victoria Meek, vmeek@arts.ms.gov, 601-359-6031 for any questions about the application process or guidelines.

Please be prepared to submit the following information through the E-Grant system:

• SAM.gov Unique Entity ID (UEI) Number
  • In 2022, the federal government transitioned from the use of the DUNS Number to a new SAM.gov Unique Entity ID (UEI) as the primary means of identification required to apply for and receive federal funding. 
  • MAC will be unable to award any funding to organizations that fail to provide this information due to federal regulations.
  • It is 100% free for an organization to request a UEI, and you need not complete the full SAM.gov registration in order to obtain the ID.
  • Follow the steps outlined in this guide to obtain your organization’s UEI.
• A copy of the organization’s official IRS 501(c)3 determination letter. Exempt from this requirement: libraries and other agencies of local government.
• Responses to Narrative Questions that describe the organization, the project, its goals and objectives, evaluation techniques, organizational experience working with adults, artistic activities, teaching artist qualifications, and accessibility plans.
• Curriculum for the arts learning experience.
• Supplemental Information for Teaching Artist Qualifications, if hiring an artist not on the Mississippi Teaching Artist Roster; required information includes artist resumé, work samples, and classroom Instruction video. If the artist is a member of the Mississippi Teaching Artist Roster, only their roster web page is required.
• Supplemental Information for the applicant organization that highlights ongoing activities along with any letters of intent, agreement, support, or signed contracts for the project.
• Budget Itemization that explains in greater detail each expense and source of income included in the Budget section of the application. The budget itemization will answer questions that the narrative description may not address. It also speaks for the applicant’s accountability.
• A list of the organization’s board of directors
• Current biographies (one half page maximum for each) of the organization’s key artistic and project personnel, both paid and volunteer. Do not substitute bios with resumés.

Project Description, Goals, and Objectives (15 points)

• The applicant provides a detailed description of the proposed project.
• The applicant provides clear goals for their project.
• The applicant provides measurable objectives for each of their goals.

Quality of Project Activities and their Artistic Excellence (25 points)

• The applicant’s project plan includes a sequential curriculum.
• The application lists the artists and artistic staff involved in the project and their qualifications.
• The organization, staff, and project leaders are described and illustrate a team experienced in working with adults age 55 and over.

Accessibility (25 points)

• Activities will take place in accessible facilities and spaces.
• The applicant has plans for removing barriers to participation (e.g., transportation, cost of participation or supplies).
• Applicants are familiar with the accommodations necessary for programmatic accessibility (e.g., modifications of art tools, communicating with adults with hearing loss).
• Link to Accessibility Resources Page

Ability to Achieve Goals and Evaluate Success (35 points)

• Partnerships with other organizations (when applicable and necessary) have been arranged.
• Budget is balanced.
• Financial controls are in place to ensure the funds are spent properly and documented appropriately.
• The applicant has a demonstrated plan for working with a hired artist.
• There is demonstrated support from the organization’s executive team and/or board.
• The applicant provides a plan to evaluate the project’s outcomes through measurable strategies (e.g., documenting participant information, collecting feedback).
• The applicant has an appropriate plan to advertise their Creative Aging classes in their community.

• If the teaching artist is not a member of the Mississippi Teaching Artist Roster, work samples, classroom instruction video, and other supplementals are required to demonstrate artistic qualifications. 
• If the teaching artist is a member of the Mississippi Teaching Artist Roster, only their roster web page is required.

Work Sample Formats

If you have trouble uploading the work sample files to E-Grant, please contact Victoria Meek: email vmeek@arts.ms.gov or call 601-359-6031.

• Literary Artists: 10-15 pages of fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, playwriting (original or adaptation), or a screenplay completed within the last three years. If the submitted work sample is an excerpt from a longer work, a one-page synopsis of the work as a whole may be included. Published work must be submitted in typed manuscript rather than published form. The sample must be formatted using a 12-point font size and one-inch margins on all sides of the page.

• Media Artists: Three video recordings with 5-10 minutes of excerpts of work completed within the last three years. The list of work samples should include, for each excerpt, the title, length, date completed, technique, original format, genre (documentary, experimental, etc.), and the specific role of the applicant in creating the submitted work.

• Performing Artists: Three audio or video recordings containing 5-10 minutes of representative work completed within the last three years. Musicians should include at least three songs in their sample. On the list of work samples, indicate the title, names of the artist(s), date, and location of recording. Please note: storytellers, actors, dancers, and other theatrical artists are required to submit video recordings of their samples.

• Visual Artists: Applicants will be required to submit six digital images that feature the artist’s (not students’) work completed within the last three years. The images should be saved in JPEG format at 72dpi, with no image wider than 1240 pixels. The work must have been completed within the last three years. Please submit the best quality images that are available.

Classroom Instruction Video: A video recording with 5-10 minutes of the applicant actively engaging a classroom of learners in their arts discipline. The presentation should reflect the submitted curriculum.

File Types

Ineligible File Types: Items uploaded from the following file types will be disregarded in adjudicating applications and may result in the rejection of an application for being incomplete:

• Pages (.pages)
• Numbers (.numbers)
• Keynote (.key)
• Note: the above programs allow users to export to or save as a PDF.

Video & Audio

• If you share media from your website, link directly to the video/audio rather than the home page.
• MAC recommends applicants upload using the following file types: MP3, MOV, MP4, WMV, WMA.
• MAC recommends applicants upload links to video or audio files. Applicants can link to websites such as YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, etc.

Images & Documents

• MAC recommends applicants upload using the following file types: Word (.doc or .docx), Excel (.xls, .xlr, or .xlsx), PDF (.pdf), or JPEG (.jpeg).

Application Periods will be on a rolling basis until all grant funding has been expended.

• Round 1 application period: February 1 – March 1, 2027
  • Projects must happen between April 1, 2027 – June 30, 2028
  • Award notification: April 2027
  • Up to $24,000 in total grant funds will be available for award in Round 1 to ensure funding for Round 2.

• Round 2 application period: April 1 – May 1, 2027
  • Projects must happen between July 1, 2027 – June 30, 2028
  • Award notification July 2027

Rounds 3 and 4 are contingent upon available funding.

• Round 3 application period: August 1 – September 1, 2027
  • Projects must happen between November 1, 2027 – June 30, 2028
  • Award notification November 2027

• Round 4 application period: November 1 – December 1, 2027
  • Projects must happen between February 1, 2028 – June 30, 2028
  • Award notification February 2028

Grant Awardees Must

• Submit a final report for the project. The final report includes narrative questions regarding goals and outcomes, evaluation techniques, budget reporting, the tracking of events and participants, documentation of project activities, and proof of publicity.
• Acknowledge NASAA, E.A. Michelson Philanthropy, and the Mississippi Arts Commission in all print, audio, video, internet, and publicity materials. The logos for these organizations must be used in publications, printed programs, or other graphic materials.
• All award requirements will be outlined in the grant contract and Managing Your Grant document.

Grant Payments

Creative Aging Grants are paid in two installments:

• 75% of the grant award will be distributed no earlier than two weeks prior to the project start date listed in the application.
  • Please note:
    • If your start date has changed, you must request a grant change form.
    • First payments will not be made until MAC is in receipt of a properly signed contract, accompanying documents, and the organization has signed up for Paymode as required by DFA.
    • Accurate start and end dates help us schedule payments. If your project dates cover a very broad time period, we may need to reach out for clarification, which could delay payment.
• 25% of the grant award following receipt and approval of the final report.

• NASAA Research: Creative Aging. National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. https://nasaa-arts.org/nasaa_research/creative-aging/
• Vitality Arts® Videos to Inspire. E.A. Michelson Philanthropy. https://eamichelsonphilanthropy.org/our-work/#vitality-arts-classes
• Vital: Why healthy aging depends on the Arts. NASAA. (2026). https://nasaa-arts.org/nasaa_research/vital/
• Lifelong Arts Indiana: Your guide for designing and hosting arts experiences for older adults. Indiana Arts Commission. (2026). https://www.in.gov/arts/files/IAC_2026-Lifelong-Toolkit.pdf
• Marketing Your Creative Aging Program to Older Adults: A Practical Guide for Teaching Artists and Program Administrators. (2026) Lifetime Arts, Inc. https://creativeagingresource.lifetimearts.org/wp-content/uploads/Marketing-Your-Creative-Aging-Program-to-Older-Adults-Guide.pdf