Our second-annual cycle is now accepting applications for cross-sector proposals from all Kentuckians!

About the Program

The Kentucky Intercultural Microgrant Program is a seed grant to support two or more individuals or organizations collaborating across distance, difference, or sector on projects that celebrate and connect Kentucky's people and places.

Launched with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Kentucky Foundation for Women, Kentucky Waterways Alliance, Fund for the Arts, the Monument Workshop at UK, the Josh May Memorial Fund, and individual donors, the Microgrant Program will support a series of seed grants (awards from $250-2000) to support short-term projects that foster dialogue, connection, or collaboration among Kentuckians from disparate backgrounds, identities, or experiences. Projects that involve diverse partners and invite the public to participate are preferred.

Applications open Monday, August 12, and close Tuesday, September 10 at 11:59pm Central. An informational webinar will be held on Thursday, August 15, at 11am Central.

Apply

register & attend the webinar

About the Application Process

RUX applications are reviewed and scored by a panel of cross-sector professionals throughout Kentucky.

Timeline:

Aug. 12 Application available

Aug. 15 11am CT Info & Support Webinar - Register here!

Sept. 10 11:59pm CT Application Deadline

Sept. 23 Award notification

Sept. 27 Award disbursement & kickoff event

Jan. 31 Creative Project Due

Feb. 28 Project + evaluation complete

Application Guidelines

Projects must take place in Kentucky.

Grants must include a partnership between two individuals, two organizations, or an individual and an organization. Organizations do not need to be nonprofit, but can be.

Priority consideration is given to applications who are People of Color, Indigenous Kentuckians, Kentuckians from rural communities. We encourage applicants to leverage this seed funding to entice partnerships and/or matching funds, but do not require a cash match.

Primary and secondary applicants will be required to complete an evaluation and develop a creative product (photo essay, blog post, video, podcast, etc. by February 28, 2024.)

Past, current, and 2025 Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange host communities include Bowling Green, Campbellsville, Covington, Estill County, Harlan County, Horse Cave, Knott County, Lexington, Louisville, Morehead, Muhlenberg County, Owensboro, Paducah, and Whitesburg.

If you need help finding alumni, organizations, or host committee members that might be a good fit for your project, RUX staff will be happy to connect you.

We are accepting proposals from individuals, organizations, and funding partners to entice micro grant projects in your geographic area or area of interest by expanding micro grant funding or providing a project match. To partner, contact Savannah Barrett at savannah@artoftherural.org

Sector-Based Microgrant Opportunities

You may select to be considered for one of these special project funds in your application.

Josh May Memorial Fund Microgrant

In loving memory of RUX Co-founder Josh May, we will award up to $2,000 in grants to projects that creates, documents, or presents a musical collaboration that bridges rural and urban Kentucky.

Kentucky Foundation for Women Microgrants

The Kentucky Foundation for Women (KFW) promotes positive social change by supporting varied feminist expression in the arts. Depending on the proposed budgets of the selected teams, Kentucky Foundation for Women will grant 5-10 teams up to $1,000 per team to support small projects that use arts, culture, or creativity to bridge geographic, racial, and economic divides in Kentucky or reduce political polarization. These projects will be led by women.

Civic Health Microgrants

In partnership with institutional, elected, and grant making partners across Kentucky, RUX is invested in building stronger civic infrastructure in communities across the state. We define civic infrastructure as “the places, policies, programs, and practices that undergird strong communities and foster civic engagement, which allows people to connect, work together, solve problems, and participate in their community’s planning for the future.” We will invest $5,000 in projects that bring community members together across different ideologies or backgrounds to work together or solve a local challenge.

Artist led projects that generate Economic Impact in Eastern Kentucky

RUX believes that artists are key to creative problem solving, and will directly invest at least $8,000 in projects that engage Eastern Kentucky artists with individuals or organizations from the Kentucky RUX Network to collaborate across distance, difference, or sector on projects that celebrate and connect Kentucky's people and places and promote economic impact.

Kentucky Waterways Alliance Microgrants

The Kentucky Waterways Alliance (KWA) is a member-supported nonprofit organization working to protect, restore and celebrate Kentucky's waterways since 1993. We will invest $5,000 in projects that clean up, improve access to, or offer education about Kentucky’s waterways.

The Monument Workshop at UK Microgrant

The Monuments Workshop at the University of Kentucky seeks community driven work designed to improve the monument landscape in Kentucky and beyond. We connect groups working on monuments and memorials with expertise in issues like legal rights, landscape design, historical research, and community engagement. Like our national funding partners, the Monuments Project, we prioritize local and underrepresented stories and memorials including but not limited to Black cemeteries and memorials in Kentucky; natural spaces and rural communities; and projects with legal questions or research needs. We intend to fund one monument or memorial site with legal and other questions related to their project for an amount of $1,500.