Capital Project Grant

Bravo Greater Des Moines provides financial support to all eligible arts, culture and heritage organizations for capital projects. The 2025 grant period (GC25) runs July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026.

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Grant Details

Program Overview

Bravo Greater Des Moines offers financial support for arts, culture and heritage capital projects in Greater Des Moines. The Capital Project Grant (CPG) program provides funding for projects which are of the type and scope that an organization must raise designated and specific additional funds outside normal operations to complete it.

This is a competitive grant program, and it is likely not all funding requests will be awarded.

Applicant Eligibility

Eligible CPG applicants must meet each of the following criteria

Be a recipient of a GC25 operating grant from Bravo, in good standing;
Submit the preapplication by February 19, 2025;
Meet with Bravo staff about the campaign by March 28, 2025;
Submit the full application by the deadline on April 4th.

Failure to meet the eligibility criteria will result in ineligibility for CPG funding in GC25. The applicant should be the intended entity to contract with Bravo Greater Des Moines to receive grant funds and undertake the funded activity. An organization may submit only one CPG application per grant cycle.

Organizations that received a Capital Project Grant award in grant cycle 2024 are ineligible for CPG funding in 2025.

Project Eligibility

Bravo defines a “Capital Project” as:

Facility Improvement: A comprehensive and cohesive construction, expansion, renovation or replacement project for an existing facility.
Equipment: A purchase of major equipment (assets) that fall outside general operating expenses and is also considered a capital project.

Projects must have a total cost of at least $15,000 and must have a useful life of at least three (3) years

Organizations with large capital campaigns ($1M+) are encouraged to submit a smaller project from the campaign for consideration so the project impact may be fully understood. Projects with multiple aspects must be tied together into a cohesive larger project for consideration. Previously funded projects are ineligible for additional Bravo funding unless the proposed project is a distinct and separate phase.

Bravo grant funds must be spent between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026. Bravo prefers to support projects that are completed during this timeframe.

Funds may be used for land acquisition, engineering and architectural planning, construction costs, the purchase of major equipment with a useful life of at least 3 years and the acquisition and installation of public art. For the purposes of this grant, Bravo defines public art as permanent artwork in a public place that is free and accessible.

Other ineligible expenses include, but are not limited to the following:

Operating costs, including staff time
Programming and events
Endowment
Sponsorship
Existing obligations, debts or liabilities
Feasibility studies
Exhibits or other additions to an organization’s permanent collection (artwork, animals, instruments, etc.)
Community gardens
In-kind

Grant Awards

Awards will generally fall within the following target funding range. Bravo may, at its discretion, award partial funding or awards outside the target funding range. It is unlikely Bravo would award more than $125,000 to a single project.

Campaign/Project Cost	Target Funding Range
$1M +	1-3%
$500K – $1M	5-15%
$15K – $500K	11-30%

Application Attachments

Applicants will be asked to attach the following materials to their CPG application. Failure to submit required documentation may result in disqualification from consideration. All attachments must be in PDF format.

Documentation includes:

Organizational Financials: A Board approved operating budget for the current fiscal year AND a Board approved financial statement (balance sheet) for the most recently completed month.
Project Budget: One-page budget that details the costs to fully complete the project. Identify any expenses already incurred. Clearly identify any in-kind contributions.
Project Fundraising: List of all confirmed, pending and potential/prospect sources (cash, pledges and in-kind) of funding to complete the project. Include the donor name, the amount and the date of donation/funding decision. Label donations that are in-kind.
Project Timeline: One-page detailed timeline of major milestones for the project. Use specific dates when possible and include milestones already reached.
Project Images: Up to three images for the project. These can be architect’s renderings, sketches, photos of the site or equipment or stock photo of the renovation or materials to be used. The images can be of the problem to be solved or of a potential solution being considered. Make the images compelling and part of the case for funding.

Application Review

An anonymous panel of reviewers will evaluate eligible applications based on information provided by the applicant prior to recommendation of awards. Review meetings are closed to the public, and the Bravo Board of Directors will make final funding decisions. Applicants should not directly contact Bravo Board or panel members to discuss applications or funding amounts.

Criteria

The Capital Project Grant is a competitive grant and all applications will be carefully evaluated with the following criteria in mind:

Quality:

Reasoning behind and specific details of the proposed project or purchase
Compelling images to support case for funding
How it aligns with the organization’s mission, strategy and goals
How central it is to the services the organization provides

Feasibility:

Demonstrate organizational capacity and ability to acquire and maintain the equipment/see the project through to completion
Project budget and fundraising goals are reasonable and achievable
Organization’s budget and balance sheet depict a financially stable and sustainable organization
Project timeline appears reasonable and organization has accounted for contingencies and challenges

Community Impact:

Impact of this project on the organization’s operations and individuals’ experiences with applicant’s programming
How it will allow applicant organization to better serve Greater Des Moines
How this project or equipment advances the Regional Cultural Priorities

Award & Payment Process

Award notifications will be sent via email. Applicants awarded a Capital Project Grant will be required to sign a grant agreement by June 30, 2025. Grant awards will be disbursed after execution of the grant agreement. A mid-year and final grant report will also be due.

Bravo is committed to a transparent, fair and consistent grantmaking process. There is no appeal of final funding decisions made by the Bravo Board of Directors.