Cultural STAR Program

Overview

Cultural STAR provides grants and loans to Saint Paul cultural projects and organizations. Most projects are located in the Saint Paul Cultural District (bordered by I-94 to the north Lafayette Bridge to the east Mississippi River to the south, and Chestnut Road to the west). Cultural STAR grows Saint Paul's economy by strengthening the arts and cultural sector and supporting Downtown as a vital cultural center.

The four major goals of Cultural STAR are:

• Build and diversify audiences;
• Promote a broad range of cultural offerings;
• Produce a long-term impact; and
• Leverage additional financial support.

Cultural STAR is funded by Saint Paul's half-cent sales tax.

2023 Application Information

Timeline

• Application period begins: Thursday, June 15, 2023
• Application deadline: Thursday, July 27, 2023 at 4 p.m.
• Applicant interviews: September 11, 13, 18, 22 and 28, 2023 (view the interview schedule)
• Eligible project dates:
  • Special projects and organizational development work must take place between August 1, 2023 and July 31, 2024 to be eligible for this funding round.
  • For capital projects, the work must happen between August 1, 2023 and July 31, 2025. 

Changes for 2023

The Saint Paul City Council recently adopted guideline changes for Cultural STAR to provide a more consistent program schedule and increase accessibility to grant funds while also accounting for a permanent decrease in the amount of annual funding. These changes include:

• Only one Cultural STAR application cycle per calendar year
• Grant requests of up to $50,000 will no longer require matching funds. Going forward, only grant requests of over $50,000 will require one-to-one matching funds in the full amount of the Cultural STAR funding request.

Guidelines

The Cultural STAR Program achieves the program purposes by making grants and loans for projects and programs that: attract audiences; develop and improve cultural facilities; and build capacity of artists and cultural organizations.

Review the program guidelines for more details about our three program types:

Capital Project Guidelines Organizational Development Guidelines Special Project Guidelines

Board

The Cultural STAR Board reviews all applications and makes funding recommendations to the Mayor and City Council. Board members are also asked to help promote the program to arts and cultural organizations, neighborhood and business groups, and others that may be interested.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis until all seats are filled.

Apply Now Learn More