You have been making the work. Performing the work.

Running the program. Showing up for the community.

Creating the thing nobody else creates quite the way you do.

And somewhere in the back of your mind there is funding through — a grant, a fellowship, a residency — that you have been meaning to go after.

You already do the work.
It's time to get paid for it.

One class.

Your lunch break.

10 truths about funding for creatives.

The beginning of a creative practice

that pays you.

(price goes up a dollar with every purchase)

In this 90-minute masterclass,
we'll uncover:

• Truth #1: Why the biggest reason artists don't get grants has nothing to do with their talent.

• Truth #3: How to get your name in front of foundations, curators and decision-makers, even with a 'rejected' application.

• Truth #4: The difference between 'grant writing' as a talent and a learnable skill (and how to learn it).

• Truth #8: How the artists you love can connect you to the funding you need.

• Truth #10: How to play the long game and build a truly sustainable, funded career.

• PLUS: Live Q&A to answer your specific questions.

Meet your teacher Mēlani N. Douglass,
an award-winning artist.

I am a working artist who has funded my career through multiple streams of income that mostly includes grants, fellowships and residencies. These 10 truths are the hard-won lessons from years in the trenches. I'm sharing them because I want to see more brilliant artists like you get paid.

This class is for you if...

• You are a visual artist, performance artist, socially engaged artist, or community servant whose work deserves financial support.

• You run an arts program — formal or informal, nonprofit or for profit — and you are ready to explore how funding can support what you are building.

• You have thought about applying for a grant, fellowship, or residency and have not — or have started and stopped.

• You have applied and been rejected and do not know what to change.

• You are tired of making and presenting important work without the resources to make it well.

• You want to understand how the funding world actually works before you invest time in an application.

• You feed the block, teach the kids, document the history, paint the walls, perform the truth, hold the community together — and you are ready to be compensated at the level your contribution deserves.

• You are just curious — no commitment required.

For less than the cost of a night out,
get the masterclass and the guide.

The price for this deep-dive masterclass price increases by one dollar every time a person signs up.

Register now to get the lowest price!

Join and connect with other artists who are serious about building their careers.

How will your creative career

look a year from now?

It starts with one Wednesday lunch.

Let's get it.

Mēlani N. Douglass Socially Engaged Artist

Family as fine art. Home as curated space. Community as gallery.

connect. Engage. Create.

Join Mailing list

melanin@melanindouglass.com

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