2025 PLACEMAKING GRANT GUIDELINES

ABOUT GWINNETT CREATIVITY FUND (GCF) 

The Gwinnett Creativity Fund seeks to increase Gwinnett County’s profile as a cultural, inclusive destination where the arts educate, elevate, and inspire. This grant is developed, administered, and managed by Explore Gwinnett Tourism + Film and funded by the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners. The Gwinnett Creativity Fund strives to assist organizations to grow and evolve, enhance programmatic opportunities, reach underserved audiences, and enhance Gwinnett County’s economic and cultural destination status. 

ABOUT PLACEMAKING GRANTS

The Gwinnett Creativity Fund’s 2025 Placemaking Grant is the first grant cycle dedicated solely to supporting Gwinnett County’s placemaking projects, with a focus on small-to-midsize projects, following the words of poet John Dryden, “mighty things from small beginnings grow.” The GCF Placemaking Fund ($100,000) requires a 25% cash match for all project applicants.

Due to limited grant funding, all grant requests may not receive full funding of the request. It is recommended any placemaking project incorporates multiple funding sources.

Placemaking is the art of creatively recharging public spaces in dynamic, engaging and inviting ways while ensuring wide accessibility. This grant was created to assist enhancement of public spaces, encouraging vibrancy and activity, while serving the needs of the community functionally, aesthetically and socially. Placemaking may integrate a wide variety of disciplines- including art, culture and design-to elevate interest in local history, tradition, community connection all with an overriding goal of making places better and attracting all communities to spend more time there. 

WHO CAN APPLY? 

Applications will be accepted from the following (including but not limited to): community organizations, businesses, arts commissions, and Community Improvement Districts (CID). Applicants do not have to be an arts agency or non-profit organization to qualify. First priority for placemaking grants will be projects located in unincorporated Gwinnett County.

If you have any questions about eligibility, please contact gcf@exploregwinnett.org

2025 PLACEMAKING GRANT TIMELINE

• Application Period opens April 15, 2025 
• NEW Application Deadline: May 31, 2025
• Placemaking Project Deadline: November 15, 2025
• Final Report: December 15, 2025

PLACEMAKING THEMES

• Wayfinding and Connectivity- linking spaces and places with means of traveling between.
• Visually Stimulating- aesthetically dynamic from both a distance and up close, often unexpected.
• Creativity and Flexibility – space functionality for a variety of activities for a diverse population. 
• Comfort and Safety- accessible with ease and a pleasant experience for the visitor.
• Community Identity- setting a community apart visually and experientially.
• Urban Design- connecting buildings and the spaces between them meaningfully.

EXAMPLES OF PLACEMAKING

APPLICATION ATTACHMENTS 

Submit applications and attachments online: exploregwinnett.smapply.io

• IRS Form W-9
• Logo
• FY24 & FY 25 Budgets
• Placemaking Project Budget (be sure to include 25% applicant cash match)
• Artistic or Architectural Site Rendering and/or Site Images
• Call for Artists (if utilized)

INELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS

• Organizations that have discriminatory policies and/or practices on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, economic status, disability, sex/gender, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information or political beliefs
• Individuals
• Applications from a non-profit fiscal agent on behalf of a for-profit applicant are not eligible.
• Entities in existence for less than one year that cannot provide at least one year of financial documentation 

INELIGIBLE USES OF GRANT FUNDS 

• Staff salaries, honorariums, stipends
• Awards
• Artist/Patron gifts or experiences
• Religious services and/or religious education
• Endowment
• Capital campaigns
• Food & Beverage
• Prepayment of Goods or Services
• Expenses unrelated to placemaking project

ACCESSIBILITY

All GCF funded projects must be held at ADA compliant facilities or locations. For information and guidance on making your programs accessible to people with disabilities, review the Accessibility Planning and Resource Guide for Cultural Administrators on the website of the National Endowment of the Arts: http://arts.gov/accessibility/accessibility-resources/publications-checklists/accessibility-planning-and-resource.

HOW ARE ORGANIZATIONS EVALUATED AND PRIORITIZED? 

Completed applications are reviewed and scored by an impartial panel. The panel will award funding based on a weighted matrix. Due to budget limitations, not all grant requests may be fulfilled. 

ZOOM Interview: After applications are submitted, applicants may be scheduled for a ZOOM interview to answer any final questions the review committee may have. 

HOW ARE FUNDS DISTRIBUTED IF AWARDED? 

Grant Distribution requirements:

• Signed Grant Agreement & Big Check Photo
• Final Report 

50% of the grant award will be paid upon receipt of the signed agreement and the final 50% is distributed once the final report is submitted, reviewed and approved. All reports and attachments are required to be submitted via the online portal. Any organization who does not submit a final report by the deadline may be ineligible to apply for future Gwinnett Creativity Grants and will be required to return the previously allocated funds. Recipients must request prior approval via the grant administrator for any changes in how funds will be utilized. 

FINAL REPORT REQUIREMENTS Submit Final Report and attachments online: exploregwinnett.smapply.io

• Final Report Form (budget section of this form must be completed)
• Updated/ Actual Project Budget 
• Sponsor/partners credit examples
• Itemized receipts and invoices from all grant funds spent (with cover page)
• Marketing Materials (examples of marketing and promotion of the project)
• Site Agreement
• Maintenance Plan
• Artist Contract
• Photos from the completed project

RECOGNITION REQUIREMENTS 

Grant recipients must credit Gwinnett Creativity Fund with logo inclusion on-site, if available, or via organizational website.

HOW DO I LEARN MORE ABOUT GWINNETT CREATIVITY FUND?

See gwinnettcreativityfund.com  for FAQ page, grant announcements, updates and a printable version of the 2025 Placemaking Grant guidelines. Email gcf@exploregwinnett.org for any other questions or to book an orientation session. (Organizations new to the Gwinnett Creativity Fund are strongly encouraged to take an orientation).