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National Grants for the Arts

If you are seeking funding for your arts project, you have a variety of national grant opportunities to choose from, whether you are a developing artist or organization or a well-established one. Public funds from the U.S. government, support from business and corporate foundations, as well as support from major private foundations offer arts grants nationwide. These grants fund artistic projects ranging from creative writing to arts and crafts to theatrical and performance projects.

  1. National Endowment for the Arts Grants (NEA)

    • The NEA, the public federal agency established by Congress in 1965, provides grants that support both individual and organizational arts projects in literature, arts education, folks and traditional arts, dance, music, opera, theater and the visual arts. Past NEA grants have included $100,000 to support costs for the production of Craft in America, a television program examining craft; $12,500 to Ellen Elias-Bursac to support her translation of a Croatian novel; and $10,000 for performances of Captain Mackey's Goatskin and Stringband at the Birmingham, Alabama, International Festival. The NEA is the nation's largest single supporter of the arts, providing grants to all 50 states.

      National Endowment for the Arts
      1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
      Washington, DC 20506
      202-682-5400
      nea.gov

    Corporate and Private Foundation Arts Grants

    • Each year you have the option of applying for a grant to support your arts project from hundreds of private and corporate foundations that support the arts. According to the Foundation Center, the top U.S. foundations supporting arts, culture and the performing arts are the Annenberg Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Shubert Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Brown Foundation. The Foundation Center offers information on specific arts support programs and special initiatives offered by all of these foundations and details on how to apply as well as information on thousands of other foundations across the U.S.

      The Foundation Center
      79 Fifth Ave. at 16th Street
      New York, NY 10003
      212-620-4230
      foundationcenter.org/search

    United States Artists (USA) Fellows Program

    • USA Fellows include artists and designers working in the areas of architecture and design, crafts and traditional arts and dance.

      United States Artists (USA), with $22 million in funding from the Ford, Rockefeller, Rasmuson and Prudential foundations, began operations in September 2005. The organization funds the USA Fellows program, offering unrestricted grants of $50,000 to 50 artists each year. You must be nominated to become a USA Fellow. Nominations for those to receive fellowships are made each year by a different anonymous group of national artists and arts leaders chosen by USA. Grants recipients, called USA Fellows, include artists and designers working in the areas of architecture and design, crafts and traditional arts, dance, literature, media, visual and theater arts.

      United States Artists (USA)
      5757 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 580
      Los Angeles, CA 90036
      323-857-5857
      unitedstatesartists.org/Public2/About/index.cfm

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Fine Art

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