- GRANT APPLICATION PROCESS
- APPLICATION REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS
- EVALUATION CRITERIA
- REQUIRED APPLICATION MATERIALS
- TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND WORKSHOPS
GRANT APPLICATION PROCESS
- Read the Guide to Grants. For more information on Application Review And Selection Process, Allowable Costs And Funding Restrictions, Conditions Of Funding And Grant Rescindment, IDEA Definitions, Risk Management and Performance Monitoring
- Read the RFA guidelines.
- Go to Apply for Grants and select Grant Application Portal to register as user. (For previous applicants: to reset a user password, select “Forgot your password?”)
- Upon registration, applicants select the desired grant program; then select FY26 Color the Curb: School Safety Program to apply. You may select multiple sites. However, the winning artist will only be awarded one site.
- Complete the application questions and narrative data.
- Upload all required documents, supplementary material, and work samples.
- Double-check the application for thoroughness, clarity, and typographical errors.
- Submit the application by 9 pm ET on the grant program’s deadline date Monday, January 12, 2026.
- Ensure receipt of the grant submission confirmation e-mail (auto generated by the online portal) by the application deadline.
CAH utilizes an online grant portal to receive grant applications. All applications must be submitted online by Monday, January 12, 2026, at 9 pm. A confirmation email generates automatically upon submission of the application in the portal. Technical issues or failure to receive a confirmation email should be immediately brought to the attention of CAH staff. Incomplete or late applications or applications that do not follow the instructions and guidelines are deemed ineligible for review and funding. CAH does not accept mailed, emailed, or hand-delivered copies of grant applications and/or the required attachments. CAH will accept reasonable accommodation requests from applicants with disabilities to submit grant applications via mail, email, or hand-delivery. To request a reasonable accommodation, contact Jenna Kriegel at [email protected] or Direct: 202-671-2303 | Cell: 202-227-1267 and await request approval.
CAH’s grant application process is competitive and subject to the availability of funds. Applicants may not request or receive funding for the same activities through more than one CAH program or grant category. Multiple applicants may not apply for funding for the same project, whether through the same or different grant programs.
Applicants are fully responsible for the content of their application materials. An automated confirmation of an applicant’s submission does not guarantee an applicant’s eligibility, and therefore review by the advisory review panel (see, “Review Process”). CAH staff are not permitted to make corrections to applications on behalf of applicants. After the deadline, CAH staff reviews applications for completeness and contacts applicants within five (5) business days of the deadline only if any of the submitted Mandatory Documents are incomplete. Applicants
are then responsible for updating their application within five (5) business days of CAH’s notification. Failure to do so will disqualify the application.
The grant period is from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026. Grant funds may not be used for activities that occur outside of this grant period.
APPLICATION REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS
CAH selects arts, humanities, subject matter experts, and/or other professionals independent of CAH, such as project partners, to serve as advisory review panelists for each grant program. The role of a panelist is to review and score an eligible application's content based on the established grant program review criteria. According to the grant program, panelists participate in a group review of CAH grant applications to discuss and comment on the merits of and opportunities to strengthen applications as well as finalize their application-related scores in the presence of CAH staff and Commissioner Conveners.
CAH ensures that all involved recuse themselves from the review of any application that presents a personal or professional conflict of interest (or the appearance of a conflict of interest). CAH makes the final determination regarding artist selection.
CAH's grant application evaluation process considers general standards of decency and respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the American public consistent with The National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965, as amended (P.L; 89-209, 20 U.S.C. § 951 et seq). For more information regarding the grant review process, please contact Deirdre Darden, Public Art Coordinator, at [email protected]
All applications will be vetted for:
- Submittal of all required application materials as outlined in this RFA.
- Originality, creativity, and uniqueness demonstrated in previous projects.
- Quality and craftsmanship exhibited by past work.
- Demonstrated experience with large-scale exterior mural works, youth engagement, and community-based projects.
Successful applications must submit all required documents. Applicants should demonstrate how their qualifications connect to the project goals.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
- Artistic Content – 40 %
- The applicant's work samples, and support materials demonstrate high standards of artistic excellence as an exterior, large-scale muralist/designer demonstrating high quality, innovation, and creativity. (15 points)
- Applicants have experience with site-specific, large-scale outdoor murals and use personnel with demonstrated arts expertise (such as arts administrators or professional artists) to plan and implement artistic content. The Artist's portfolio of work is feasible for this project. (15 points)
- Artist(s) and/or applicant demonstrate the ability to translate artistic discipline to project participants (elementary school-age youth). (10 points)
- Community Engagement and Impact – 30%
- Applicants demonstrate sensitivity to the cultural, ethnic, and economic backgrounds of the participants and the residents of the District of Columbia. (10 points)
- Applicants demonstrate substantive experience working with youth and community representatives. (10 points)
- Applicants demonstrate in previous projects how the meaning, content, and themes of the artwork impacts the intended audience with consideration of culture, age, physical ability, languages spoken, or environment. (10 points)
- Opportunity and Equity – 20%
- The applicant demonstrates how the project could provide shared learning opportunities that facilitate a greater participation in public art, represents the community, and aims to promote a welcoming and inclusive environment. (10 points)
- The applicant demonstrates from previous work evidence of intentionality engaging a diverse audience based on culture, age, physical ability, or languages spoken in planning and implementation. (10 points)
- Capacity and Sustainability – 10 %
- The applicant is sufficiently stable, in terms of arts expertise, organizational capacity, and financial status to implement the proposed project. (5 points)
- The applicant has experience in producing similar public art projects and demonstrates the capacity to administer the project and has appropriate financial monitoring systems in place to track expenditures. (5 points)
REQUIRED APPLICATION MATERIALS
Please prepare and submit the following documents to your application online:
- Current CV/Resume. Artist or artist team CV/resume, two (2) page maximum.
- Artist Statement. Describe your (or the Artist Team’s) experience with large-scale exterior mural work, youth engagement, and community-based projects. Include one (1) to two (2) completed projects that demonstrate this experience and are relevant to this project. (maximum of 500 words)
- Alignment. Describe a specific project which you co-created with community members. Provide relevant project and participant details, describe an unexpected challenge you had to resolve and how it was resolved. (maximum of 500 words)
- Work Samples. Up to five (5) for individuals; up to ten (10) images for teams of previous relevant/public artwork submitted as high-quality JPG files. Do not use gifs, tiffs, or other image formats. If an Artist Team, samples of artist teams’ work must be submitted identifying their samples. Do not embed images into PowerPoint or PDF
documents.
- Identification List Details:
- Artist Name
- Lead Artist/Artist’s Role on the Project (noting section(s) painted)
- Title, Date
- Medium
- Size - Dimensions
- Location
- Project Budget
- Community Engagement
- Identification List Details:
- References. List at least three (3) Professional References. Please include name, address, phone number and email address for each reference or upload written references.
- Security Statement. Included in the application is an acknowledgement from the applicant (artist/artist team) where they agree to submit to all required background checks as instructed by DCPS if selected. (see Background Check section page 7).
- All CAH Compliance Documents. Applicants must submit the following six (6) Compliance Documents (templates and instructions are here: https://dcarts.dc.gov/page/resources-grant-applicants)
- Certificate of Clean Hands obtained from Office of Tax and Revenue dated within 30 days of application.
- Statement of Certification dated and signed at the time of application.
- IRS Form W-9 (version Mar-2023) for the applicant, dated and signed within thirty (30) days of application.
- Quote from Insurance Carrier(s).
- Grantee shall procure and maintain insurances including, but not limited to, the following: commercial general liability insurance with minimum limits of one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) per occurrence, two million dollars ($2,000,000.00) general aggregate.
- Copyright Warranty (Addendum C and available at the link above)=
Submission Deadline – Completed applications must be received and uploaded to the grant’s portal by Monday, January 12, 2026 at 9 pm Failure to submit mandatory documents in the application will result in disqualification.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND WORKSHOPS
CAH conducts free workshops for prospective applicants to how to submit a grant application. Workshop dates, times and locations listed on CAH’s website are subject to change. All workshops for FY26 grant applications are virtual. Participants are strongly encouraged to RSVP. CAH also posts frequently asked questions, and the answers to the same, to its website on a weekly basis. More information about the dates and times of these workshops may be found at www.dcarts.dc.gov under Grant Writing Assistance, or by calling CAH at 202-724-5613. Additionally, the Public Art Department offers group or individual technical assistance by appointment to review application drafts during CAH business hours until the week preceding the grant application deadline. Applicants may contact CAH at (202) 724-5613 to schedule an application review meeting.
Workshops and In-Person Assistance
During the application window, CAH Public Art staff will be available to answer questions online and in person as follows:
|
Technical Assistance and Workshops |
|||
|
Assistance Type |
Description |
Day & Time |
Location |
|
Workshop #1 |
Public Art Coordinator, Deirdre Darden will review the RFA in depth and answer questions for interested applications |
Monday, November 24, 2025 at 2pm |
|
|
Workshop #2 |
Former Color the Curb: School Safety Program grantee, Ashley Jaye Williams, will discuss their experience with the application and program |
Thursday Dec 18, 2025 at 1pm |
|
|
Workshop #3 |
Public Art Coordinator, Deirdre Darden will review the RFA in depth and answer questions for interested applications |
Friday, January 9, 2026 at 11am |
|
|
Open Office Hours |
one-on-one assistance with grant application |
Contact Deirdre Darden, Public Art Coordinator, for further information. |
|
CAH staff members will not write applications for applicants. CAH staff members are available to review draft applications for thirty (30) minute appointments, on government business days up to one (1) week prior to the grant application deadline. Applicants should contact CAH to schedule a meeting by calling 202-724-5613. Please note that CAH requests the applicant prepare a full draft application proposal along with any questions in advance of scheduling a meeting for agency staff assistance.