Brown has a few different options for funding. We have two major grantmaking bodies that potentially could fund dance-related projects, the Creative Arts Council grants, Body&Sole as it grows may be able to support projects financially, student groups have access to University Finance Board funds, and all students can apply for an Undergraduate Teaching and Reasearch Awards (UTRA). Each of these possible funding sources have different requirements.

Creative Arts Council Grants:

The CAC has three grants: The Flexible Fund Grant, available to faculty and students with faculty sponsors,The Artist-in-Residency Grant, available only to faculty, and the Student Grant, which is specifically for students.

The Flexible Fund Grant is "offered once per semester to Brown-based faculty or students with faculty sponsors in support of projects including, but not limited to: performances, lectures, festivals, visiting artists, symposia, etc." for funds up to $5,000. For more information on this grant, see: http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Creative_Arts_Council/grants/

The Student Grant is "offered once per semester to undergraduate and graduate students in support of projects dealing with the production, study, or critique of the creative arts," for funds up to $2,000. "Requests in excess of $1,000 must display a wide scope of interest, and be interdisciplinary in nature." For more information on this grant: http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Creative_Arts_Council/student/

In general, the CAC is interested in promoting interdisciplinary or multimedia work. In making a grant request, you need to be sure that what you want to do really fits the selection criteria of the organization you apply to. Otherwise you're barking up the wrong tree and it's a waste of time and paper. So it's important to look at all the stipulations and information available on the CAC website, and be sure that your request is a fit for them, and that you're applying to the right grant. In general, grantmakers want to see that you have a detailed and reasonable budget, that you are well organized and can justify why your project deserves funding, and that your vision is in line with theirs.

Body&Sole:

As our organization grows as a student group we may have some funds to help out with projects to enrich and expand the dance community at Brown, in the mean time we hope we can support organizationally by connecting people to resources.

University Finance Board funding:

UFB gives funding to student groups, depending on their category status. Category II and III groups are automatically granted $90 in social funds, and Category III groups can apply for additional funds, varying according to need and the UFB budget (which in 2006 totalled around $900,000 for all the student groups). For more information on how to apply to supplementary funds, and how the system of group categories works, see: http://www.brown.edu/Students/UFB/index.php

Also, the Student Activities Office website has additional information about other ways of getting funding: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Student_Activities/funding/

UTRAs:

UTRAs fund collaborate work with students and professors. There are four types: Research Collaboration, Teaching Collaboration, Team UTRA, and International UTRA. Applications are usually due at the beginning of February. For more info, see: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Dean_of_the_College/utra/

Past dance UTRA Recipients:

Nicole Thompson - "Festival Culture and Mande Performance" – 2006 (Bach-Coulibaly)

Victoria Fortuna - "The Dancer and the Dance: Issues of the Body in Contemporary American Dance" – 2005 (Strandberg)

Mikiko Thelwell, "Identity and Empowerment through the Arts" – 2005 (Bach-Coulibaly)

Kyle Shepherd, Sara Griffith, "The Saffo Project" (Team International Travel) – 2004 (Bach-Coulibaly)

Sarah Burns - "Talley Beatty: Developing a Documentary" – 2003 (Strandberg)

Deborah Friedes - "Research on Sophie Maslow's "The Village I Knew" – 2002 (Strandberg)

Jeffrey Edwards, "Modern Dance: The Great Masters" – 2002 (Bach-Coulibaly)

Lynnette Freeman, Isabelle Kalubi, Hentyle Yapp, Zachary Ginsberg, "The Spiritual and Social Implications of Mande Performance Traditions" (Team International Travel) – 2002 (Bach-Coulibaly)

Deborah Friedes - "Creating a Resource Guide for Middle and High School Students on the New Dance Group: Jewish American Culture in American Modern Dance" – 2001 (Strandberg)

Kyle Shepard - "Creating a Resource Guide for Middle and High School Students on the New Dance Group: South Asian Influences on American Dance" – 2001 (Strandberg)

Jon Martin - "Making Dance Accessible through Technology." – 2000 (Strandberg)

Ryan Smith - "Jazz Dance: An Indigenous American Art Form" – 2000 (Strandberg)