Slots: An organization may submit only one application to the FY 2026 Grants for Arts Projects program (i.e., one application per calendar year), with limited exceptions.
Exceptions to the one-application rule are made only for parent organizations that have separately identifiable and independent components (e.g., a university campus that has a presenting organization and a radio station).
A parent organization may apply for each eligible component. In addition, a parent organization also may submit one application on its own behalf for a project that is different from any project submitted in an application by its independent component(s).
The application for the independent component must be for a project of the component. For example, if a university campus applies for its art museum as an independent component, the project must be for the art museum. The art museum cannot be used as a passthrough entity for projects from other areas of the university, nor can the university’s own application be a submission to support a second art museum project.
Deadlines
Internal Deadline: Monday, January 13th, 2025, 5pm PT Contact RII.
Grants.gov Submission: February 13, 2025, 11:59pm ET
External Deadline: February 26th, 2025, 11:59pm ET
Award Information
Award Type: Grant
Award Amount: Applicants may request an amount between $10,000-$100,000.
Local Arts Agencies only: Designated local arts agencies that are eligible to subgrant may request $30,000 to $150,000 for subgranting programs. See the Local Arts Agencies Application Instructions at the link to award below for more information on subgranting eligibility.
1:1 Cost-share/match required. Sources may include both cash and in-kind.
Link to Award: https://www.arts.gov/grants/grants-for-arts-projects
Who May Serve as PI: To be eligible, the applicant organization must:
- Meet the NEA’s Legal Requirements including non-profit, tax-exempt status at the time of application.
- Have an active registration with the System for Award Management (SAM), and have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), at the time of application. Applicants must maintain an active SAM registration until the application process is complete and throughout the life of an award.
- Have completed a three-year history of arts programming prior to the application deadline.
- Programming may have taken place prior to when the organization incorporated or received non-profit, tax-exempt status.
- Applicants will provide examples of previous programming in the application.
- For applicants to the February 2025 GAP1 cycle, programming must have started in or before February 2022.
- For applicants to the July 2025 GAP2 cycle, programming must have started in or before July 2022.
- Programming is not required to have taken place during consecutive years.
Organizations that previously operated as a program of another institution may include arts programming it carried out while part of that institution for its three- year history.
Process for Limited Submissions
PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Research Initiatives and Infrastructure (RII) Application Portal: https://rii.usc.edu/oor-portal/. Use the template provided here: RII Limited Submission Applicant Template
Materials to submit include:
- (1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; standard font type, e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
- (2) CV – (5 pages maximum)
Note: The portal requires information about the PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.
Purpose
We fund arts projects in the following disciplines: Artist Communities, Arts Education, Dance, Design, Film & Media Arts, Folk & Traditional Arts, Literary Arts, Local Arts Agencies, Museums, Music, Musical Theater, Opera, Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works, Theater, and Visual Arts.
Projects may be small, medium, or large, and may take place in any part of the nation’s 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. jurisdictions. A project may consist of one or more specific events or activities; it may be a new initiative or part of your organization’s regular season or activities. Organizations that undertake a single short-term program in a year may apply for that event, or may choose to identify certain components of that program as their project. Organizations may apply for any or all phases of a project, from planning through implementation. A project should not encompass all of an organization’s activities or costs in a given year. The NEA does not fund general operating support or a full season of programming. We welcome applications from first-time and returning applicants; from organizations serving rural, urban, suburban, and tribal communities of all sizes; and from organizations with small, medium, or large operating budgets.