NEA Grants for Arts Projects

Please see the full solicitation for complete information about the funding opportunity. Below is a summary assembled by the Research & Innovation Office (RIO). Note the matching requirement detailed in the Award Information section below.  

Program Summary 

Through project-based funding, the program supports opportunities for public engagement with the arts and arts education, for the integration of the arts with strategies promoting the health and well-being of people and communities, and for the improvement of overall capacity and capabilities within the arts sector.

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 could apply for that event, or they could identify certain components (such as the presentation of a particular artist and the associated activities) 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.

Applications should be in one of the following disciplines:

  • Artist Communities: Artist residencies that provide dedicated space, time, and resources to artists for the creation or development of new work
  • Arts Education: Projects for pre-K-12 students, the educators and artists who support them, and the schools and communities that serve them (see below for more guidance on selecting the right discipline for educational projects).
  • Dance: Dance projects in all genres, including creation of work, presentation and touring, residencies, archive/preservation of dance, services to the field, and education projects
  • Design: Projects including architecture, communications and graphic design, fashion design, historic preservation, industrial and product design, interior design, inclusive design, landscape architecture, rural design, social impact design, and urban design
  • Folk & Traditional Arts: Project activities in folk and traditional arts include culturally- or community-centered artistic traditions, represented by a wide-range of genres including, but not limited to, music, dance, crafts, foodways, dress/adornment, occupation, ceremony, and oral expression, such as stories, poetry, and language
  • Literary Arts: Projects supporting publishing, distribution, and/or promotion of literary content, as well as literary arts programming and services to the field
  • Local Arts Agencies: Projects by arts commissions, arts councils, departments of cultural affairs; national or statewide service organizations partnering with local arts agencies; and arts projects by local government and special districts 
  • Media Arts: Projects featuring film, cinema, audio, broadcast, creative code and computation, interactive media, and emergent practices at the intersection of arts and digital technology
  • Museums: Museums projects including exhibitions, care of collections, conservation, commissions, public art works, community engagement, and education activities
  • Music: Music and music presentation projects in all genres including classical, contemporary, and jazz
  • Musical Theater: Musical theater and musical theater presentation projects
  • Opera: Opera and opera presentation projects
  • Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works: Projects presenting works from across disciplines, multidisciplinary works, and/or interdisciplinary artists
  • Theater: Theater and theater presentation projects
  • Visual Arts: Projects supporting visual artists and projects in all genres

Deadlines

CU Internal Deadline: 11:59pm MST January 17, 2024

Sponsor Application Deadline: 9:59pm MST February 15, 2024

Internal Application Requirements (all in PDF format)

  • Discipline Selection: Select the discipline that most closely aligns with your project:
    • Artist Communities
    • Arts Education
    • Dance
    • Design
    • Folk & Traditional Arts
    • Literary Arts
    • Local Arts Agencies
    • Media Arts
    • Museums
    • Music
    • Musical Theater
    • Opera
    • Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works
    • Theater
    • Visual Arts
  • Project Summary (2 pages maximum): Please be sure to address the artistic excellence and artistic merit of the project as described in the review criteria section.
  • PI Curriculum Vitae
  • Budget Overview (1 page maximum): A basic budget outlining project costs is sufficient; detailed OCG budgets are not required. Applicants must include the source of cost-share/matching funds in this budget overview and provide the name(s) from whom they have received commitments of matching support.
  • Cost-Share Certification: Applicants must certify that they have confirmed cost-share commitments as part of the internal process and provide the name(s) of those who have committed in the budget overview. See RIO guidance for additional details.

To access the online application, visit: https://cuboulderovcr.secure-platform.com/a/solicitations/6934/home

Eligibility

Applicants must have a three-year history of arts programming prior to the application deadline. Eligible organizations that received American Rescue Plan (ARP) or CARES Act funding may apply to this program as long as there are no overlapping costs during the same grant period. See NEA’s eligibility guidance for full details.

Limited Submission Guidelines

An organization may submit only one application to the FY 2025 Grants for Arts Projects program (i.e., one application per calendar year), with limited exceptions.

Award Information

Grants range from $10,000 to $100,000. All grants require a nonfederal cost share or match of at least 1 to 1.  For example, if an organization receives a $10,000 grant, the total eligible project costs must be at least $20,000 and the organization must provide at least $10,000 toward the project from nonfederal sources.

Award Duration: Up to 2 years

Review Criteria

Applications will be reviewed based on the artistic excellence and merit of the project.

The artistic excellence of the project, which includes the quality of the artists and other key individuals, creative process, works of art, organizations, arts education providers, artistic partners, and/or services involved in the project and their relevance to the audience or communities the project aims to serve.

The artistic merit of the project, which includes the:

  • The value and appropriateness of the project to the organization’s mission, artistic field, artists, audience, community, and/or constituency.
  • The ability to carry out the project based on such factors as the appropriateness of the budget, clarity of the project activities, resources involved, and the qualifications of the project's personnel and/or partnerships.
  • Clearly defined goals and/or proposed outcomes and an appropriate plan to determine if those goals and/or outcomes are met. This includes, where relevant, measures to assess student and/or teacher learning in arts education.
  • Evidence of direct compensation to artists, art collectives, and/or art workers.
  • As applicable:
    • Engagement with individuals whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, race or ethnicity, economics, or disability.
    • Ability to strengthen the arts sector through knowledge-sharing and resources.