Announcing 2023-24 Seed Fund grant recipients

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We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023-24 Seed Fund grants. We received 166 applications – over 3 times the number of applications compared to the previous round!
The total amount requested was $909,291 and we voted to raise the funding by over $25,000 to fund a total of 25 projects spreading across 15 states.

  • Tier 1 :: 10 grants awarded = $9,800
  • Tier 2 :: 10 grants awarded = $31,739
  • Tier 3 :: 3 grants awarded = $17,390
  • Tier 4 :: 2 grants awarded = $20,000
    Total = $78.929

Congratulation to this year’s recipients!

Winter Workshop Flow Jam Series, IL
To support Chicago’s Full Moon Jam Foundation’s series of monthly, indoor events during the winter.
$12,000

Being a Bridge, CA
To support safety, accessibility, and inclusion for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Flow Artists at events.
$ 8,000

The Flow Nexus, CA
To support a mobile educational space comprised of a library of flow tools and flow dojo, as well as workshops and a video series.
$6,000

Flow Arts Show at the 77th Annual IJA Festival, WI
To support the production of a Flow Show at the International Jugglers’ Association’s annual festival in Green Bay, WI.
$6,000

Eastside Spin Jam, WA
To support a flow arts meet-up and workshops in Bellevue, WA
$5,390

Eastside Showcase, WA
Eastside Showcase at the Northwest Arts Center in Bellevue, WA
$5,000

Open Burns, Washington DC
Monthly flow and fire event and workshops presented by Astraea Burners, for predominantly LGBTQIA+ members in the Washington, DC area.
$5,000

Photonix, MI
To support a student-run Flow Arts organization and performance group at the University of Michigan.
$4,500

Cascade Juggling Festival, WA
Joint project of Cascade Jugglers of Seattle and The Bellingham Circus Guild.
$4,500

Lebanon Flow Arts Family – Friday Flow Night, OR
An all-inclusive Flow Arts Group serving the semi-rural communities in the Willamette Valley, OR.
$2,500

Sierra Flow Society Flow Jam, CA
To support monthly flow jams and free workshops at a local venue.
$2,500

Spread the Flow, FL
To support a series of free entry, sober flow jams and workshops in Central and South Florida.
$2,500

Madison Circus Space PROPosal, WI
To create a library of flow arts props for use by community members at the Madison Circus Space in Madison.
$1,842

Santa Fe Flow Jam, NM
A regular flow jam for the Flow Arts community of Santa Fe, NM
$1,820

Tahoe Flow Arts & Fitness, CA
To help provide props and instruction at a Flow Arts & fitness studio in Tahoe Vista.
$1,577

StuyFlow, NY
A student-led high school club in Stuyvesant High School in New York that practices the flow arts, performs in the school’s annual shows that operates under the principles of Peace, Love, Unity, Respect, and Responsibility (PLURR).
$1,000

Flow Dojo
A flow arts collective in Boise, ID whose mission is to make the flow arts more visible, accessible, and affordable to broader audiences within their community and the greater Pacific Northwest.
$1,000

Albuquerque Flow and Fire Group, NM
A bi-weekly meet-up to practice fire and flow in a safe, supportive environment in Albuquerque.
$1,000

Flow Arts in the Park, NC
A flow arts community in Charlotte to present workshops and an open flow space at the Feel Good Fest.
$1,000

Flow Arts at the LEAF festival, NC
Workshops and flow arts props for a festival in Black Mountain
$1,000

Flow Art Gatherings, VA
Monthly flow arts gathering in Richmond
$1,000

Flow Arts festival at Looking Glass Studio, MI
A multi-prop flow arts festival in Warren.
$1,000

Flow Workshops, IA
Flow Arts workshops at Cirque Wonderland Studios in West Des Moines
$1,000

Indoor winter flow meet-ups, OH
Indoor flow space during the winter months.
$900

Flow for the Fifties and Beyond, CA
An online, global flow arts education and practice venue for people over age 40.
$900

2023-24 Seed Fund Grant Proposal Guidelines

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Fund the Flow Arts is a US-based nonprofit established in 2011 to present and promote the Flow Arts. Our mission is to:

  • Advance the prop manipulation-based Flow Arts
  • Foster local Flow Arts communities
  • Cultivate the global community of Flow Arts practitioners.

The purpose of the Seed Fund is to support projects that will help fulfill this mission. We will be distributing a total of $50,000 in this round, and are offering tiered grant amounts. In your proposal, please provide the requested information for the tier to which you are applying.

For this round, grants are available to U.S. based recipients only. We hope to be able to support international projects in future rounds.

Previously funded projects have included:

  • Critical Mass Dance Company for their new dance theater performance piece. CDMC is a blacklight dance theater company that supports community health, women’s leadership and social change through dance education programs and performances.
  • Enrico Vinholi for continued work on technology that generates music from the movement of staves.
  • Kate Riegle Van West for the second round of her Poi and Aging research.
  • Kevin Gao for efforts to bring the flow arts as a form of therapy to Burmese refugees living in Boston, MA.
  • Paul Hull for the support of a dedicated venue for flow arts exploration, outreach and engagement in Nashville, TN.
  • The Philadelphia Spin Coalition for a new program “SpinCo Together” that seeks to provide positive impact through movement arts and interactive performance to individuals experiencing mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders and intellectual disabilities..

Please scroll to:

  • view application requirements
  • access application forms for the various tiers
  • view review process and criteria

Deadline for submissions is 31 December 2023, 11:59pm PST. We wish you the best and look forward to seeing your project proposals!

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GRANT TIERS AND PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

Tier 1: For requests up to $1,000

Tier 2: For requests between $1,001 – $5,000

  • Submit completed Tier 2 application form.
  • Example of how to answer question 7. You don’t have to make a graph/chart, just a simple list in the form will be fine.
  • Example expense breakout for $5,000 request:

Tier 3: For requests between $5,001 – $10,000

  • Submit completed Tier 3 application form
  • For this tier, other sources of funding are required. You will list these in question 7.
  • Example of how to answer question 8. You don’t have to make a graph/chart, just a simple list in the form will be fine.
  • Example expense breakout for $10,000 request:

Tier 4: $10,000 – $20,000

  • Submit completed Tier 4 application form
  • For this tier, a detailed budget for the project, including any other funds raised in addition to Seed Fund support*, is required. Include donations and grants, as well as projected ticket or other revenue. In your budget, please breakout the specific expenses Seed Fund funding will cover. Please see the example budget form below for an idea of how to conceptualize a project budget.
    *Please note that for this tier, other sources of funding are required.
  • For this tier, resumes of the project leaders including both administrative and artistic roles, are required.
  • For this tier, an interview with Fund the Flow Arts representatives is required. Someone will contact you to set this up upon receipt of your application.
  • Example Project Budget:
  • Note on use of funds: The Seed Fund grant will be used to support the following line items:

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Review Process:

  • Applications will be reviewed by the board and a panel of community members.
  • Application Period: October 1 – December 31, 2023
  • Deadline: December 31, 2023, 11:59 p.m. PST
  • Awards announced by March 15, 2024

Review Criteria:

2016 Seed Fund Grants

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Fund Mission

Fund the Flow Arts (FFA) is dedicated to advancing the prop manipulation-based Flow Arts, to raise the profile of the artform, encourage innovative artistic progress and scientific inquiry into the benefits and uses of the artform, and to cultivate a global community of Flow Arts practitioners. In pursuit of these goals, we engage in activities that support emerging and established Flow Arts communities, present and showcase the artform to the general public, make the artform accessible to a wide range of people and advance the evolution of the Flow Arts disciplines in technique and artistry.

About the Seed Fund

The Seed Fund is an effort to provide stimulus to projects whose missions and goals are aligned with those of FFA, creating community around or promoting knowledge of the artform to the general public. Our aim is to make small contributions of up to $1,000 to support projects either by giving them the seed funds they need to begin work, or as a stimulus to reach a new threshold of activity.

Some examples of projects that would qualify for funding:

  • Promotion/creation of social spaces, resources, and activities for Flow Artists
  • Creation of a Flow Arts based theater or dance show
  • Community outreach efforts, including after school programs, or enrichment activities for youth, retirees etc.
  • Efforts to integrate flow arts with innovative technologies
  • Scientific studies or research centered on the Flow Arts

As the Seed Fund is meant to be used for projects that will expand the community, we will not be funding projects that will only see use at private events or benefit small groups of people exclusively. Additionally at this time, we are not funding projects based outside the United States (exception: if your project is sponsored by a US-based institution or will have benefits that will be shared domestically, i.e. research projects with publishable results).

Some examples of projects that would not qualify for funding:

  • Creation of any materials for performances at private parties or events (no gogo dancers or performances at private parties or events, including Burning Man)
  • Promotion of a troupe for the purpose of getting hired for private parties or events
  • Performances by troupes or companies based in non-US countries
  • Creation of technology or resources intended to be used/exhibited among a closed group of people.

There are probably many projects we haven’t thought of. Projects can take a variety of forms – we look forward to seeing the reaches of your creativity!

Process

Application period: September 21, 2016 – October 21, 2016.
Project period: 2016-2017

Submit a completed proposal by the closing date of October 21.

Awards will be determined by the board of Fund the Flow Arts as well as a committee comprised of Flow Arts community members, who will remain anonymous until after the awards are announced.

Grant recipients will be announced early November. Recipients will have their projects promoted via Fund the Flow Art’s social media and website, along with a plaque honoring them as a Seed Fund Grant Recipient.

Grant recipients will be expected to have quarterly check-ins to update the Fund on the progress of their project, as well as provide written and/or visual documentation. By the end of the grant cycle, we hope to have a compelling story to tell about your project.

 

Inaugural Seed Fund recipients announced!

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We are pleased to announce the seven recipients of the Seed Fund Pilot Program!

“Do Stuff with Things” Podcast series on object manipulation and its communities around the world ($500)
Richard Hartnell, Noel Yee, Brian Thompson and Bri Crabtree (Oakland, CA, USA)

Hoops to gift to women in recovery from chemical/alcohol addiction ($500)
Charity Edwards (Knoxville, TN. USA)

Comprehensive web and video resource on physical conditioning and injury prevention ($800)
Nick Woolsey (Halifax,Canada)

Spanish-language tutorials providing instructions on various flow arts ($1000)
Fede Fourcade (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Toybox: a box on wheels containing various toys to be brought to fairs, festivals and schools to promote and teach spinning at these events/venues ($1000)
Melanie Troutman (Portland, OR, USA)

London Fire Expo: a free public fire performance in London ($1000)
Emily Morgan (London, UK)

Fahrenheit Festival: a fire and flow arts festival to serve the US mid-Atlantic region ($1000)
Kimberly Berk and Gregory Goldmacher (Warrington, PA, USA)

Congratulations to all who secured funding for their projects, and deep gratitude to everyone who applied for this first round of seed grants. We received over 30 applications from nine countries around the world, including countries from Asia, North and South America, Europe and Oceania.

The variety and scope of the projects were broad and very inspiring, and we look forward to raising funds and enabling more projects that serve the Flow Arts to happen in the future.

The Seed Fund was established in 2011 as a program of US non-profit Fund the Flow Arts to provide small grants to projects and that serve the non-profit’s mission of advancing the prop manipulation-based Flow Arts, fostering local Flow Arts communities and cultivating a global community of Flow Arts practitioners.

The judging panel comprised the Fund’s four current Board members: Khan Wong, Prisna Nuengsigkapian, Lily Rasel, and Sean von Stade; and Sandra Sommerville (Canada) and Shireen Press (Portland,OR), individuals who have been actively serving the flow arts and hooping communities for many years.

Seed Fund Pilot Program

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Two of the main goals of Fund the Flow Arts are spreading knowledge of the Flow Arts to the general public, and deepening the artistry of Flow Arts practitioners. With these in mind, we are pleased to announce the pilot year of the Seed Fund – a grant program that will award small amounts (up to $1,000) for projects that meet these goals.

What makes this a pilot program? It’s the first time we are offering this program, and this initial run is a “proof of concept” for our grantmaking. We are testing our application procedures, seeing what kind of project ideas are generated, and seeing how the field of flow arts works with a formal grants process. What we learn through this process will help us shape and grow this program in the future, and help us learn how to most effectively serve our community.

Most likely, not every proposal will be funded. During the evaluation process, we’ll be looking at those projects that have the highest potential for the broadest public impact.

The application deadline is 14 November 2011 and the process is very simple: download the PDF or Word version of the form (“Save As” to your computer), answer the questions (you can type right in the text fields) and return by email to flowarts@gmail.com. You can either attach the completed form to the email or copy and paste your responses into the body of the email. (The submit button isn’t working properly.)

We hope to announce award recipients before Thanksgiving. Good luck!

> Click here to download the Seed Fund Application (pdf)

> Click here to download the Seed Fund Application (word)