Good to Great 2.0 Grants

Good to Great 2.0 Grants of up to $500,000 fund capital projects for nonprofit arts, cultural, or history organizations that connect art, history, and tourism to enhance visitors’ experience of an arts or cultural venue and/or historic site.

2023 Good to Great Grants have been awarded. Click here for a full list of grantees.

On this page, you will find:

  1. Good to Great 2.0 Grants Overview
  2. Apply
  3. FAQs

Good to Great 2.0 Grants Overview

What are Good to Great 2.0 Grants?Program GoalsGuidelines & ApplicationImportant DatesResources

The Good to Great 2.0 grant program, funded through Public Act 14-98, is for nonprofit arts, cultural, and historic organizations that connect art, history, and tourism to enhance visitors’ experience of an arts/cultural venue and/or historic site (i.e., museums, historic houses, historical societies, arts organizations, cultural centers, and other types of organizations that offer activities such as exhibitions, performances, arts classes, public programs, or walking tours to the general public).

Eligible applicants must be 501(c)(3) organizations that own or operate an arts/cultural venue or historic site in Connecticut and that promote the art, culture and/or history of the state.  While organizations of all sizes are eligible, we particularly encourage small to medium-sized organizations with an operating budget of under $500,000 to apply for these funds, as a portion of total allocated funds will be reserved for this constituency.

Competitive applications will not only look beyond basic facilities repair, rehabilitation, or expansion but also towards new means of sharing and telling the stories of our state’s rich history and culture in engaging, meaningful, and relevant ways. Funding will be prioritized for projects that demonstrate a clear vision of how individual sites and organizations can effectively tie together local, regional, or statewide cultural assets in ways that demonstrate measurable movement from “good” to “great”.

Good to Great 2.0 is a program of the Department of Economic and Community Development in partnership with Connecticut Humanities.

The goals of the Good to Great program are to fund capital projects* that:

  • Link art, culture, history and preservation in ways that will enhance and transform the visitor experiences of cultural and historical sites.
  • Look beyond basic facilities repair or expansion and consider engaging, meaningful, and relevant ways to share Connecticut stories, which can include innovative means of delivery.
  • Demonstrate an awareness of state tourism goals and include a clear marketing plan on how connect the two.
  • Expand opportunities for small to medium-sized 501(c) 3 cultural organizations.
  • Support organizations that seek to expand, and enhance the promotion arts, culture, and/or history of Connecticut.
  • Increase public awareness of and/or visitation to arts, culture and history organizations in Connecticut.

*For the purposes of the Good to Great program, “capital” projects must either create new, or improve on existing property of the organization. Materials or products that are “used and consumed” are not capital expenses. Examples of capital improvement include: construction of an ADA accessible entrance to a building, rehabilitating an underutilized space and putting it back in service for the pubic, or restoring historic fabric in a manner that follows the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Resources.

Please read the Good to Great 2.0 Grant guidelines before applying. The Good to Great 2.0 Grant guidelines detail eligibility requirements, eligible expenses, grant duration, and more. 

View Grant Guidelines

To preview the Good to Great 2.0 Letter of Interest, click here.

Once your Letter of Interest is approved,  you will be given access to the Good to Great 2.0 application. To preview the application, click here. Please note that you will not have access to complete the Good to Great 2.0 application in the CTH grants portal until your Letter of Interest is approved.

To log in to the CTH Grants Portal to work on your application, click here.

Letter of Interest Deadline: February 3, 2023 by 11:59 p.m.

Application Deadline: March 3, 2023 by 11:59 p.m.

Award Notification: June 12, 2023

Grant Period: 2 years 

Good to Great 2.0 Information Session  – YouTube

Professional Services Selection Guidelines – PDF

DECD Bidding, Contracting, and Construction Guidelines – PDF

 

Norwich Historical Society, State Archaeologist’s Excavation on Site (2019 Good to Great Grant)

Apply

The deadline to apply for Good to Great 2.0 has passed. The DECD expects to offer this grant line again within the next two years.

For questions about Good to Great 2.0, please email grants@cthumanities.org

FAQs about Good to Great 2.0

Can I apply for Good to Great 2.0 if I currently have a grant from CT Humanities or the CT Department of Economic and Community Development?
Yes, applicants with open CT Humanities grants or any grants from the CT Department of Economic and Community Development (with the exception of Good to Great) are eligible to apply for Good to Great 2.0. However, if you currently have an open Good to Great grant from the CT Department of Economic and Community Development/State Historic Preservation Office, you are not eligible to apply for Good to Great 2.0.

What types of organizations are eligible to apply for Good to Great 2.0?
Applicants must be a 501(c)(3) organization that owns or operates an arts/cultural venue or historic site in Connecticut.  Organizations must also be the owner of the associated property or must show proof of long-term lease (minimum ten years).

You can find more information about eligibility requirements in the Good to Great 2.0 Grant guidelines (see the “Guidelines and Application” tab above).

Can I submit letters of support with my application?
No, we are not accepting letters of support for the Good to Great 2.0 application.

What is meant by a Capital Project?
All Good to Great grant projects must have at least one “capital” component. For the purposes of the Good to Great program, “capital” projects must either create new, or improve on existing property of the organization. Materials or products that are “used and consumed” are not capital expenses. Examples of capital improvement include: construction of an ADA accessible entrance to a building, rehabilitating an underutilized space and putting it back in service for the pubic, or restoring historic fabric in a manner that follows the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Resources.

What are eligible expenses for grant funds?
You can find a list of eligible expenses and funding exclusions in the grant guidelines (see the “Guidelines and Application” tab above). If you are unsure whether an expense is allowable, please feel free to reach out to Grants staff.

Is there a funding match requirement for Good to Great 2.0 Grants?

For requests under $50,000, there are no required matching funds.

Requests between $50,000 – $500,000 require a minimum 20% cash match. If awarded, the cash match must be in hand within two weeks of notification of award (Additional points will be awarded to applicants who demonstrate a cash match at the time of application.) Good to Great 2.0 funding cannot be matched with other state funds.  Grantees are not allowed to use in-kind goods/services as a cash match.

If funded, when would we be reimbursed for expenses?

After each phase of work has been completed, you will need to show proof that that phase of work has been completed and that you’ve been invoiced for that work, after which you will be reimbursed. For projects that require a cash match, the DECD recommends using your cash match to pay for work up front before you submit for reimbursement.

What are the requirements for identifying the consultants or contractors I want to work with?

If your organization is awarded a Good to Great 2.0 grant, you will need to go to fair and competitive bid. At the point of application, the only information you need to provide is your budget, so you will need to get a quote to estimate the amount of funding you will need to request (note that you can also request up to 15% contingency). In planning for the future, please also note that if you’re getting a quote from someone, that person is not able to bid.

For a fuller explanation, watch this video at 45 minutes in (relevant clip is about 2 minutes long): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb4vQBXP-d8

You can also find the DECD’s rules for services selection and bidding here:

In the application itself, you will not need to provide a justification unless you are planning to work with someone with whom you have an existing working relationship. If you need to provide a justification, you will need to provide the following: documentation of the fair and competitive process used in the proposed contractor/consultant selection; copies of Request for Proposals (RFPs), and public notices or other postings regarding the contractor/consultant service opportunity. (Note that the bid requirements may vary based on the size of your project – you can read more in the DECD’s Bidding, Contracting and Construction Guidelines).

What is the selection process for this grant?

All applications will be evaluated and scored by a panel comprised of representatives of the Department of Economic and Community Development along with representatives from CT Humanities. The main responsibility of the panel is to evaluate the relevance and quality of the applications seeking state funding. Panelists evaluate and score applications based on the review criteria. Panelists are required to disclose any past, current or prospective affiliations they or their immediate family members have with any applicant. In addition, panelists are required to disclose any past or current adversarial relationships with applicants. If a panelist declares a conflict, they are excused from reviewing and scoring that applicant. The Commissioner of DECD issues final approval of all recommended awards.

To view the review criteria for the 2019 Good to Great program, click here. Please note that review criteria may change slightly for Good to Great 2.0.

Can I save a copy of my application?
Yes. In the CTH Grants Portal, open your grant application. Under your contact information, you should see three buttons. Click the middle button “Application Packet” to create a PDF of your application. 

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