We don’t believe in the trope that creatives need to struggle and starve to make great art. We believe that artists need support. 

The median arts and culture grant size is roughly $28,000, and it can take anywhere from three to 18 months to review, process, and award or deny a grant application. While this timeframe and award size may help some artists or groups achieve their goals, it is both far too large and too lengthy a wait to support the new, emerging, and striving artists that are driving their fields with innovation and thought-provoking works. Many of these artists require more immediate and smaller levels of support. For instance, one artist needed $50 for a canvas, while another artist needed $150 for photo editing software. The average grant process and grant review cycle will not serve these artists, and, as a result, these artists may not be able to create, express, or make the world more beautiful.

The Marais Foundation serves this population of artists by:

1. Streamlining the grant application process to a simple, web-based form
2. Shortening the award cycle by delivering determination
3. Eases the immediate burden by providing micro-grants from $50 to $5,000
4. Stretches the funder’s impact by guaranteeing that $0.90 of every dollar contributed is delivered to support artists