Overview and History
Founded in 1977 as the Decentralization Program (DEC), and renamed in 2022, the Statewide Community Regrants (SCR) Program was developed to ensure that New York State’s cultural funding reaches every part of the state. SCR has become one of the NYSCA’s most effective means of making arts support available to geographically, economically, and ethnically diverse segments of the state’s population. Statewide Community Regrants funds are regranted locally by regional and local arts agencies at the invitation of the Council. The program forms the cornerstone of the Council’s partnership with local arts agencies throughout the state, and provides a link between the Council and portions of the community that might not otherwise be able to access funding directly from NYSCA.
The Statewide Community Regrant Partners or “SCR” sites are charged as advocates and catalysts for arts and cultural development at the local level and provide a wide range of multi-arts programming and services for local communities, artists, and small organizations. Through SCR regrant funding, SCR sites provide support to a wide range of professional, vocational and educational arts and culture projects in their respective communities including the creation of new work by individual artists directly through the Individual Artist Category.
In 1986, at the invitation of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), CREATE established its Community Arts Grants (SCR) with funding provided by NYSCA to non-NYSCA supported community based nonprofit organizations and individual artists. By 1997, the program grew to include Arts Education and Community Arts Grants for Columbia County in addition to Greene County. In 2012, CREATE accepted and assumed the administration of same programs for Schoharie County, thus providing Re-granting in three counties.
SCR funds are re-granted locally by regional and local arts agencies at the invitation of the Council. SCR enables these designated agencies (SCR sites) to provide project support to a wide-range of professional, vocational and educational arts and culture in their respective communities and to support the creation of new work by individual artists directly through the Individual Artist Category. Applicants/artists must be at least 18 years of age at the time of application.
NYSCA has developed broad guidelines that provide a framework for implementation of the program, while giving local arts agencies flexibility to tailor the program to the diverse communities that they serve. Funding decisions are based on evaluative criteria designed by each SCR Site and approved by NYSCA staff. SCR site administration is governed by a set of procedures outlined in this SCR Manual issued by NYSCA and available at every SCR site.
Your Local SCR
CREATE Council on the Arts provides SCR funding for Community Arts Projects, Arts Education, and Individual Artists Commissions.
Community Project Support:
- Available to not-for-profit organizations, collectives, or individuals in partnership with a non-profit residing in Columbia, Greene, or Schoharie County
- Provides funding for cultural and art programs taking place in the county of registration
Arts Education:
- Available to not-for-profit organizations, collectives, or individuals in partnership with a non-profit residing in Columbia, Greene, or Schoharie County
- Provides support for widespread participation in community arts and arts in education initiatives, supporting partnerships between teaching artists or cultural organizations and schools that focus on the exploration of art and the artistic process in all disciplines in the county of registration
Individual Artist:
- Available to individual artists legally residing in Greene, Columbia, and Schoharie Counties
- Provides support to significantly advance the work of the artist, resulting in the creation of new work, and actively engaging a segment of the community through a public program