Apply for the 2025/2026 Urban Sketchers Regional Event Grant

The USK Regional Event Grant Program will provide a regional chapter team with up to $2,000 (USD) to promote urban sketching through your chapter and connect the community of sketchers around your location. 

APPLY HERE

Join us on YouTube April 12, 12 PM UTC! REWATCH HERE

What are USk Regional Events? 

USk Regional Events aim to connect grassroot sketching communities through USk Chapters.  

Sketchwalks and sharing programs are encouraged to fulfill the organization’s mission and promote camaraderie.  Lectures and Demos contribute educational components with sharing elements from the sketching community.

The  objectives of the  Regional Events Grant Program  are to equip and assist USk Chapters in hosting bigger events  than their regular chapter sketch outing;  build a stronger regional sketching community, empowers Chapters to  organize and create new types of events and activities, and finally, it creates a more accessible and sustainable environmentally friendly alternative for those who cannot attend the USk Symposium.  This allows sketchers from nearby communities who are not part of a chapter to sketch together with the USk community at-large.

With growing concerns of environmental impact for large-scale event hosting, Regional Events also provide accessible events with minimal travel, a chance to congregate and still sketch together with a more sustainable approach to offset carbon footprint impacts.  

If you had thought about hosting a regional sketching event, but were not sure how or where to start, unsure about programming, sponsorship or logistics in putting together one?  

Share with us your plans and event ideas and let us know how we can help.  

How and when can we apply?

Proposals accepted until Sunday 25 May 2025

Funded events can be scheduled in the 12 months from 01 July 2025 – 30 June 2026

To apply, a USk team (local chapter and local USk instructor) must fill out the Regional Event Application Form  You will need to brief us on the chapter(s) that will be involved in the Regional Event you propose to host and the program outline of the regional sketching event.

Which USk Chapters are eligible for a grant program?

Any Official and active USk  chapter is eligible. If there are no Official USk chapters where you are from, you may partner with at least one nearby USk chapter to host it in your city/town. 

How can the grant funds be used?

Justification can be supplemented in the proposal submission. You may propose funds to be used for :

• Educational :  travel for USk instructor or speaker to provide lecture/demo/workshop at the event
• Operational and logistics : venue, print material costs, furniture or exhibition panel rental, furniture, supplies, other local transportation and other costs associated directly to the event

Reimbursement will be made only for expenses and amount approved for the Regional Events Grant Program.

Who will award the grants and how many grants will be awarded?

The grants will be evaluated by the Regional Events Grant Program committee and approved by USk Executive Board.

The Regional Events Grant Program committee is made up of members of the USk Executive Boards and deputized USk Committee members.

When will we know if USk will award us the grant for our proposed event?

USk will take about 5-6 weeks from the closing date of application, for evaluation of the proposal, interview with shortlisted applicants and final review of your grant application. During this time, we may get in touch with you for further information to understand the shortlisted grant proposal. We will thereafter publicly announce the awarded grants through official USk channels.

If you have not heard from us after 8 weeks, it is likely that the application is unsuccessful.  

What other support can USk give to us or our proposed event?

USk is ready to help with guidance and mentorship from Events, Membership, Education and Sponsorship committees; to support your team and connect other chapters or USk partners to your event.  

Who can we contact for more information?

For more information feel free to contact :

events@urbansketchers.org 

APPLY HERE