Charlotte Creative Growth Grants

Background

In 2025, the City of Charlotte partnered with Charlotte Is Creative to administer the Creative Growth Grants (CGG), a $2 million initiative designed to strengthen Charlotte’s creative ecosystem through equitable arts funding. This program supports individual artists, grassroots organizations, and creative nonprofits whose work reflects the city’s cultural diversity and aligns with the Charlotte Arts and Culture Plan (2023).To ensure transparency, inclusion, and equitable access to funding, Charlotte Is Creative engaged Civility Localized as its community engagement partner. The firm’s role was to design a grant review panel that reflected community values, prioritized accessibility, and ensured diverse participation at every stage.

Challenges

Before 2025, many creatives and small arts groups in Charlotte expressed frustration with inconsistent access to city arts funding. Barriers such as unclear eligibility and limited technical assistance often left grassroots organizations and independent creatives out of major funding streams.

What We Did

Civility Localized partnered with Charlotte Is Creative to support implementation of the 2025 Creative Growth Grants program.

Key actions included:

Assisted with the development and management of a community review panel responsible for evaluating applications and providing funding recommendations.
Helped ensure the reviewer pool reflected a range of backgrounds, artistic disciplines, and community perspectives, consistent with the City’s emphasis on inclusive grantmaking.
Supported the planning and facilitation of virtual and in-person information sessions to help applicants understand eligibility, application steps, and reporting requirements.
Collaborated with Charlotte Is Creative to manage application intake, reviewer assignments, and scoring logistics as outlined in the City’s scope of work.
Provided documentation and summaries to assist Charlotte Is Creative in preparing reports for the City of Charlotte’s Arts & Culture Division at the conclusion of the grant cycle.