APPLICATIONS OPEN: Creative Entrepreneurs Initiative 2023

Apply for Grant Funding Combined with Paid Business Training in 2023

Charlotte Is Creative believes every creative who earns money from their creative work is also a small business. And, as our recent survey of local creatives showed, creatives in Charlotte consider business training to be as important as funding. We decided to tackle both in one program.  

With a second year of support from Wells Fargo, Charlotte Is Creative is excited to announce that applications are open for the second cohort of the Creative Entrepreneurs Initiative (CEI), a program that will reward a group of up to 10 creatives with 10 sessions of business classes taught by local subject matter experts, paired with additional support and promotion.⁣

CEI cohort members will be paid $75 to attend each class and will receive a $1,500 grant upon successful completion of the program.⁣ These funds can be used to expand a specific project or to enhance their creative business with equipment purchases, legal fees, infrastructure, etc. 

CLASS TOPICS INCLUDE:

• ⁣Budgeting and Billing⁣
• Goal Setting and Planning⁣
• Contracts and Legal Documents⁣
• Business Communication⁣
• Marketing and Public Relations⁣
• Available Charlotte Resources for Creatives⁣
• Measuring Impact Against Goals⁣

WHO SHOULD APPLY

We’re looking for Mecklenburg County artists and creatives with big ideas and a desire to hone entrepreneurial proficiency and build sustainable creative businesses.

DATES AND DEADLINES

CEI runs from January to April 2023. The application deadline is 11/27/22 at 8 p.m.