Grants for artists: where working artists can apply

Where grants for artists come from

Grants for artists in the US come from five kinds of funder: the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), state arts agencies, regional arts organizations, local arts councils and private foundations. Each one has its own rules about who can apply. The most important rule for a working artist is whether a program funds individuals or only organizations.

The NEA describes Grants for Arts Projects as our principal grants category, providing project-based funding for organizations, and that program is closed to individuals, applications submitted by a fiscal sponsor, commercial/for-profit enterprises. State arts agencies and regional arts organizations receive part of their money from the NEA and then run their own programs, so an individual artist should read their open calls first.

The table shows each route, who can usually apply, and where to look. Programs and deadlines change every year, so read the current guidelines on the funder's own site before you start an application.

What the NEA funds, and what it does not

Grants for Arts Projects is our principal grants category, providing project-based funding for organizations. It accepts applications from Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), U.S. organizations; Units of state or local government; or Federally recognized tribal communities or tribes. Funding in this program is not available for individuals, applications submitted by a fiscal sponsor, commercial/for-profit enterprises. A sole artist, or an artist running a for-profit studio or shop, cannot apply to it.

Outside Challenge America, organizations that apply can request from $10,000 to $100,000, and the program has a 1:1 Cost share required rule, so the organization has to match the grant. The match can come from both cash and in-kind sources. Applicants also need at least 5 years of arts programming and a minimum of $20,000 in organization operating expenses in the most recent fiscal year. The NEA accepts applications in two funding cycles each year, and an applicant can generally submit one application per calendar year.

Challenge America offers $10,000 grants to small organizations with less than $250,000 in prior year operating expenses, for projects that reach underserved communities. It is still an organizational grant, but a small arts nonprofit that an artist runs or works with may qualify.

The NEA also gives honors to individual artists. The National Heritage Fellowships are the nation's highest honor in folk and traditional arts, and the NEA has awarded 502 National Heritage Fellowships. The NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship is the highest honor that our nation bestows on jazz artists. Neither one takes applications from the artist: the NEA encourages nominations of master folk and traditional artists for the Heritage Fellowships and encourages nominations from the public for Jazz Masters.

State arts agencies: the main route for individual art grants

Every state and U.S. jurisdiction has a designated arts agency. These agencies are funded through appropriations from state legislatures, and by law they also receive 40% of the federal grant dollars Congress provides to the National Endowment for the Arts. That federal money reaches them through NEA Partnership Agreements, which go to state and jurisdictional arts agencies (SAAs), and the regional arts organizations (RAOs).

Each state arts agency decides its own programs. Depending on the state, programs for individuals may include fellowships for past work, project grants, professional development support or folk and traditional arts apprenticeships, and some states offer none in a given year. The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) keeps a directory that links to every state agency.

Read each program's eligibility rules before anything else. Check whether you must live in the state, and for how long, and whether the program excludes students or recent recipients. These rules decide whether the rest of the application is worth your time.

Regional arts organizations

Regional arts organizations sit between the NEA and the states, and NEA Partnership Agreements go to state and jurisdictional arts agencies (SAAs), and the regional arts organizations (RAOs). Each regional organization serves a group of states and runs its own programs. In fiscal year 2025, the US regional arts organizations together invested over $36.2 Million through over 3,200 Grants. The New England Foundation for the Arts, for example, describes its work as granting funds to artists and cultural organizations.

Find your region in the table, then read that organization's current opportunities page. Many regional programs fund presenters or organizations, so check whether an individual artist can apply.

Grants for women artists

Grants for women artists usually come from private foundations and artist-run funds that state that focus in their own guidelines. None of the public eligibility rules quoted on this page set a gender requirement, so a woman artist can apply to every NEA, state or regional program her work and residency fit.

To find women-focused grants, look for private foundations and artist-run funds that state their focus on their own site, and check whether they take applications or work by nomination only. Read the eligibility rules on the funder's own page, and treat any list on a third-party site as a starting point only.

How to apply for an art grant as an individual artist

These steps are general advice for individual-artist programs at state and regional level. The funder's own guidelines override them.

1. Check that individuals can apply

   Read the eligibility section first. If it lists only nonprofits, government units or tribes, an individual cannot apply, even with a strong project.

2. Check residency and status rules

   Check whether the program requires you to live in the state, and for how long. Also check whether it excludes full-time students or people who received the same grant recently.

3. Prepare work samples and a short statement

   Choose recent work that fits the program, label each sample the way the guidelines ask, and write a plain statement about what you make and why.

4. Write a budget that matches the project

   Project grants ask what the money pays for. List materials, fees, space and time in plain lines, and do not include costs the program excludes.

5. Submit before the deadline and keep records

   Submit well before the deadline in case the portal is slow. Keep a copy of everything you submit, and keep receipts for how you spend any award in case the funder asks for a report.

Grants when you sell your work

Whether selling your work affects a grant depends on the funder. Read whether the program funds individuals, and whether it excludes commercial projects. The NEA's Grants for Arts Projects program excludes individuals, applications submitted by a fiscal sponsor, commercial/for-profit enterprises, so a for-profit studio or shop cannot apply to it.

IRS Tax Topic 421 says scholarships, fellowship grants and other grants are tax-free only if you are a candidate for a degree and use the money for required tuition, fees, books, supplies and course equipment. A working artist who is not a degree candidate does not meet that condition. For a prize given for artistic or literary work, you must generally include the value of the prize in your income, unless you meet the conditions listed in IRS Publication 525. If a grant is taxable, you may have to make estimated tax payments.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules vary by state and by funder, and state income tax rules differ, so check with a tax professional before you spend a grant.

Where Nation fits

Questions about grants for artists