Last Updated 2/23/2021
List of Grants
Grants for Local Governments and Non-Profits
Grants for Visual Artists 21 Years or Older
Funding for Various kinds of Art Projects
Grant Awards for Artists and Writers with Children
Grants for Visual Artists over Age 60
COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grant for Musicians
Monochrome Photography Contest
Very Short Story Contest (not a funding opportunity)
Individual Support Grant (painting, sculpture, or printmaking)
Solar Installation Grant Program
Grants to Support Marketing of Area Businesses
Grants for Exhibiting and Public Programming of Glass Artwork
Emergency Grant for Creative Arts Professionals
Grants to Support Tapestry Weaving Instruction
Hudson Valley Field Trip Grants
Financial Grants for Veterans and Eligible Dependents
Service-Dog for Veterans Grant Program
NYS DEC Technical Assistance Grants
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AARP’s Livable Communities Program - Community Challenge Grant
AARP’s Livable Communities Program has a Community Challenge grant for governments and non-profits. There is no minimum or maximum award for this grant opportunity. AARP will prioritize projects that deliver inclusive solutions that meet the needs of diverse populations, as well as those that directly engage volunteers through permanent or temporary solutions that aim to achieve one or more of the following outcome areas:
• Create vibrant Public Places that improve open spaces, parks and access to other amenities.
• Deliver a range of Transportation and mobility options that increase connectivity, walkability, bikeability, wayfinding, access to transportation options and roadway improvements.
• Support a range of Housing options that increases the availability of accessible and affordable choices.
• Increase Civic Engagement and demonstrate the tangible value of “Smart Cities” with innovative and tangible projects that bring residents and local leaders together to address challenges and facilitate a greater sense of inclusion.
• Support local recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic with an emphasis on economic development, improvements to public spaces and transportation services.
• Ensure a focus on Diversity and Inclusion while improving the built and social environment of a community.
• Other community improvements. In addition to these areas of focus, AARP wants to hear about local needs and innovative ideas for addressing them.
The deadline is April 14, 2021.
For more information, go to https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/community-challenge/info-2021/2...
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Harpo Foundation - Grants for Visual Artists
The award provides direct support to under-recognized artists 21 years or older. To apply, a $15 application fee is required. Fees are applied to grant administration and program development.
The deadline to submit an application for the 2021 grant cycle is April 30, 2021. The online application will go ‘live’ on February 26, 2021.
For more information, go to http://www.harpofoundation.org/apply/grants-for-visual-artists/
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Creative Capital - Creative Capital Awards
Creative Capital supports forward-thinking and adventurous artists across the country by providing up to $50,000 in project funding, counsel, and career development services. Its pioneering venture philanthropy approach helps artists working in all creative disciplines realize their visions and build sustainable practices.
Applications will be accepted until March 1, 2021 at 4pm ET.
Fore more information, go to https://creative-capital.org/about-the-creative-capital-award-open/
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Sustainable Arts Foundation - 2021 Individual Awards
The Sustainable Arts Foundation will make awards of $5,000 each to twenty artists and writers with children. Additionally, it will name twenty finalists.
The awards offer unrestricted cash, and recipients can use the funds as they see fit. The selection process is focused almost entirely on the strength of the submitted portfolio.
The deadline to apply is February 26, 2021 at 5pm EST.
For more information, go to https://apply.sustainableartsfoundation.org/
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New York State Department of Transportation - Bridge NY
New York State is making funding available for local governments over the next two-years to rehabilitate and replace bridges and culverts statewide.
Draft application submittals for pre-review must be received on or before:
April 14, 2021 at 11:59pm – for culvert applications
May 5, 2021 at 11:59pm – for bridge applications
Submit draft applications to: BridgeNY[at]dot.ny[dot]gov
For more information, go to https://www.dot.ny.gov/bridgeny
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The Fountain - Essay Contest
The Coronavirus touched virtually every corner of the globe and almost every person’s life in some way. The Fountain Magazine wants to hear about COVID-19 stories in its essay contest. It encourages contestants to explore this issue in a way that is most meaningful to them, and to do so while making sure to avoid speculative narratives and political polarization.
The magazine advises contestants to keep the word count between 1,500 and 2,500. Cash prizes range from $150 to $1,000.
The deadline for submissions is March 1, 2021.
For more information, go to https://fountainmagazine.com/blog/the-fountain-essay-contest-2020-2021
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Tree of Life - Individual Artist Grant
For the majority of late-career artists, professional opportunities diminish as the artists continue to age. They also begin to face a number of common concerns related to the preservation of their artwork and historical documentation. It is issues such as these that Tree of Life seeks to address by providing support for senior visual artists through the Individual Artist Grant. This grant can be for new work or special projects, studio space, website creation, cataloging art and artist’s history, archiving and storage of art, exhibitions, and catalog publication.
Tree of Life welcomes applications from artists of recognizable artistic merit, age 60 and over. Applicants must be permanent residents of the United States; applicants must work in visual media, which may include painting, sculpture, installation, works on paper, printmaking, photography, video, film, digital, or performance art; applicants must have a specific project that they wish to pursue; and applicants must have demonstrable financial need.
Applications will be accepted beginning February 12, 2021. The deadline for receiving applications is 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on April 5, 2021.
For more information, go to https://treeoflifeartists.org/grant-program
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Musicians Foundation - CV19 Emergency Relief Aid Grant
Modest, one-time grants up to $200 are available to professional performers, educators and composers. Applicants must earn the majority of their income as performers, educators and composers. They also must have filed taxes as a musician in 2018 or 2019.
Applications received on a rolling basis.
For more information, go to https://www.musiciansfoundation.org/apply/
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The Jim Henson Foundation - Grants for Puppet Theater
The Jim Henson Foundation awards grants each year for the creation and development of innovative excellent works of puppet theater. Production Grants of $7,000 are awarded for the production of new works ready to be presented in the coming year. Workshop Grants of $3,000 are for the development and workshopping of these pieces. Workshop Grants and Production Grants can be combined over a two year period for the greatest benefit to the piece; keep in mind, however, that a Production Grant does not need to be preceded by a Workshop grant and a Workshop Grant in no way ensures a future Production Grant.
Letters of Intent are due March 8, 2021.
For more information, go to https://www.hensonfoundation.org/grant-application/artist-grants
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University of the Arts London, Bar Tur Photo Awards - Photography Awards
Special COVID-19 Edition of Grants Action News - November 2020
Monovisions Magazine - Black and White Photography Awards
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McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation - Academic Enrichment Grants
The McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation offers Academic Enrichment Grants designed to develop in-class and extra-curricular programs that improve student learning. The Foundation considers proposals that foster understanding, deepen students’ knowledge, and provide opportunities to expand awareness of the world around them.
The Academic Enrichment Grants provide funding for programs that nurture the intellectual, artistic and creative abilities of children from low-income households. The McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation awards grants to individuals in amounts up to $10,000 per year for a maximum of $30,000 over three years, provided the eligibility requirements continue to be met.
The application system will be open from January 15, 2021 to April 15, 2021.
For more information, go to https://mccartheydressman.org/academic-enrichment-grants/
Gotham Writers - #GWstorieseverywhere
Each month Gotham Writers invites individuals to post a story on Twitter using #GWstorieseverywhere for a chance to win a free class. A story must be no longer than 25 words, with a max of 280 characters, including spaces and the hashtag #GWstorieseverywhere. Stories (which can be true or made up) will be inspired by what you see, know, or do, and they should relate in some way to monthly "themes" for the contest.
Deadline: monthly
Fore more information, go to https://www.writingclasses.com/contest/stories-everywhere
Gottlieb Foundation - Individual Support Grant
The Adolph and Ester Gottlieb Foundation encourages artists who have dedicated their lives to developing their art, regardless of their level of commercial success.
Please note that these grants are available only to mature individual visual artists. The Foundation defines maturity in this case as having worked for 20 years or more in a mature phase of art.
The deadline is February 26, 2021.
For more information, go to https://www.gottliebfoundation.org/individual-support-grant-1
New York State Council on the Arts and New York Foundation for the Arts - NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship
The NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship is a $7,000 unrestricted cash grant available to artists living in New York State and/or one of the Indian Nations located therein.
The application window for the 2021 award cycle closes on Wednesday, February 10, 2021 at 11:59 PM EST. The following categories will be reviewed:
Fiction
Folk/Traditional Arts
Interdisciplinary Work
Painting
Video/Film
For more information, go to https://www.nyfa.org/awards-grants/artist-fellowships/
Nikon - Nikon Photo Contest
This year's Nikon Photo Contest will have a competition for photos and and another for short films. Each competition will have an Open Category and a Next Generation Category.
Deadlines run from late January to mid-Febraury for different categories.
For more information, go to https://www.nikon-photocontest.com/en/entry/
Nikon - Nikon Small World Competitions
The Photomicrography Competitions are open to anyone with an interest in microscopy and photography. The video competition, entitled Small World In Motion encompasses any movie or digital time-lapse photography taken through the microscope. There is a top prize of $3,000. Someone can enter both contests.
The deadline for entries is April 30, 2021.
For more information, go to https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/
Red Bull Arts - Microgrant Program
Direct-funding to artists is essential always, and is particularly critical at this moment. In response to the current socio-political climate, Red Bull Arts is expanding the Detroit Microgrant Program nationally. This initiative directly supports artists by providing unrestricted aid.
The adapted Microgrant program will award two $1000 grants each month to artists in the following 20 cities across the United States: Atlanta, Austin/San Antonio, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Hudson Valley (NY), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Oakland, Philadelphia, Providence, St Louis, and the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St.Paul). These funds are meant to support artists in continuing their work however they see fit in this difficult moment.
Applications are open on a rolling basis.
https://redbullarts.com/detroit/red-bull-arts-detroit-micro-grant-program/
NYSERDA - Affordable Solar and Storage Predevelopment and Technical Assistance (Predevelopment Program)
The Predevelopment Program provides grants to address barriers to solar installations serving low-to-moderate income (LMI) households living in rental housing, multifamily buildings or other households not served by traditional on-site residential solar. Individual awards will not exceed $200,000. Funding to proposals through this solicitation will offset costs for predevelopment and technical assistance work needed to implement solar installations for multifamily affordable housing and/or shared solar (Community Distributed Generation) installations that benefit LMI households.
■ Eligibility: Applications must be submitted by or include the documented participation of any of the following: owners, providers or managers of regulated multifamily affordable housing, community land trusts, land banks or portfolios of single-family affordable housing; local government agencies; Community Development Corporations (CDC), Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) or other community organizations providing services to LMI households and/or demonstrating an LMI constituency; and prior recipients of Predevelopment Program grants seeking to replicate and expand upon the success from a prior completed Predevelopment Program project.
■ Funding: Up to $10.65 million is available with individual awards not to exceed $200,000.
■ Deadline: Continuous through December 31, 2024, or until depleted
■ Contact: Email - affordablesolar[at]nyserda.ny[dot]gov
■ Website: www.nyserda.ny.gov/funding
Chronogram Media - Chronogram Community Grant Program
Chronogram Media’s Community Grant Program aims to support marketing programs for a variety of Hudson Valley BIPOC-and women-owned small businesses, virtual events, and regional nonprofits. Accepted partners will receive:
- Run-of-site digital advertising on ChronogramMedia.com properties (Chronogram.com, Upstater.com, Ruralintelligence.com)
- Social media shout-out on Chronogram channels (over 20,000 followers)
- Inclusion on quarterly full-page ad in Chronogram about our grant program participants
- Inclusion in monthly newsletter to our Art of Business newsletter list
- Exclusive rates (up to 50% off rate card) in Chronogram magazine and our Eat.Play.Stay newsletter
Applicants are evaluated based on financial need, commitment to social change, and alignment with Chronogram Media’s values. Media placements are subject to available inventory.
Applications received on a rolling basis.
To apply, go to https://chronogrammedia.com/community-grant-program/
Lens Culture - The COVID-19 Visual Project: A Time of Distance
The COVID-19 Visual Project. A Time of Distance, conceived and produced by Cortona On The Move, international festival of visual narrative in partnership with Intesa Sanpaolo, is an ongoing permanent archive of the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on people’s lives around the globe. The online platform, launched on May 11th, 2020, will continue to grow until a vaccine or a cure is found. The stories from international visual artists will narrate this time of crisis focusing on relevant themes like the health emergency, the economic backlash, as well as social and personal consequences. The ultimate goal is to create a repository that documents global facts and widespread emotions that define this unique historical moment. This is not a grant or award.
For more information, https://www.lensculture.com/competitions/cotm-covid19/events
Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation - New ERA Women Writers Program
The Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation is accepting applications for their New ERA Women Writers Program. The purpose of the program is to inspire women and girls to learn to write or to be supported in improving their current abilities. The foundation believes that one of the most important skills in life that one can attain is learning to be an effective writer and communicator. It supports programs that will provide women and girls with the knowledge and skills to express themselves through the art of writing and to encourage higher levels of training designed to assist women in delivering clear and persuasive arguments for change and equality.
■ Eligibility: The grant application must be submitted by a registered 501(c)(3) organization. The program supports all areas of writing: journalism, fiction, poetry, prose, blogging, novel, autobiography, book reviews, comic strips, diaries, essays, fables - the sky’s the limit - as long as the program supports women and girls and their writing aspirations. Non-English language programs are included as part of these programs. Programs can be workshops, writing clubs, curriculum-based programs, after-school programs, summer programs, retreats, etc.
■ Funding: up to $25,000
■ Deadline: on a rolling basis
■ Contact: Email - info[at]ctbfoundation[dot]org
■ Website: https://ctbfoundation.org/newera
Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass (AACG) - Exhibition and Programming Grants
AACG accepts proposals requesting support for exhibitions and programming that are aligned with the organization's mission to further the development and appreciation of art made from glass. AACG does not fund requests for equipment or capital needs. Applicants are limited to one grant per year.
The next deadlines are March 1, 2021 and September 1, 2022. AACG's regular program of grants has been suspended for 2020.
For more information, go to https://contempglass.org/grants/grant-application-guidelines
Max's Kansas City Project - Emergency Grants
This non-profit welcomes applications throughout the year to professionals in the creative arts. There are no deadlines. Funding is determined according to the individual’s need and is disbursed in the form of a grant not to exceed $1000. Funding will be based on a sliding scale according to each individual’s specific case. All applications are reviewed and given consideration according to the most critical situations and urgency. The organization accepts art or other items that it can auction at one of its events or services in kind in exchange for assistance if that is a possibility but is not mandatory.
For more information, go to https://maxskansascity.org
American Tapestry Alliance - Weaving the Future Grants
The American Tapestry Alliance’s Weaving the Future Grants are designed to support weaving opportunities for children and to provide training in tapestry weaving to teachers and others who will, in turn, teach weaving to children. Anyone who can teach tapestry weaving may apply for a grant. The grant recipient for this program is referred to as the Teaching Artist. The Teaching Artist is expected to teach one or more Program Facilitators, who will teach children.
Weaving the Future provides grants of $250 to the Teaching Artist. This money will fund a $100 stipend for the Teaching Artist. It will also be used for looms, yarn and bobbins/shuttles/beaters. All funds must be used for purposes related to Weaving the Future.
Grant applications must be received at least 30 days before the start date for the activities that the grant will support.
For more information and a grant application, go to https://americantapestryalliance.org/awards/weaving-the-future-grants/
FlatPyramid - 3D Scholarship
FlatPyramid is offering a $1,000 to anyone interested in Computer Graphics and or related fields of study. It is the company's way to give back to the community and encourage growth and development in the 3D industry. Prize money is awarded quarterly. To enter, participants are expected to publish work on its site, either for sale or free.
No deadline. Prize (scholarship) is awarded at the end of each quarter.
For more information, go to https://www.flatpyramid.com/3d-scholarship/
Teaching the Hudson Valley - Explore Awards
Teaching the Hudson Valley’s Explore Awards fund student field experiences that:
Create opportunities for students to explore the history, environment, and culture of the Hudson River Valley, connecting their studies to significant places.
Encourage students’ appreciation for and stewardship of their communities and cultures.
Connect teachers with site educators and place-based learning.
For more information, go to https://www.teachingthehudsonvalley.org/grants/thv-explore-award/
Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Unmet Needs Program
The Unmet Needs program offers financial assistance to service members, veterans or eligible dependents listed under the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) to assist with basic life needs. All grants are paid directly to the creditor, in amounts up to $1,500.
■ Eligibility: Financial hardship must be due to one of the following reasons: 1) currently on active duty, whose financial hardship is a result of a current deployment, military pay error, or from being discharged for medical reasons; 2) discharged on or after September 11, 2001, whose financial hardship is a direct result of military service-connected injuries and/or illnesses; and 3) discharged before September 11, 2001, are on a fixed income that must include VA compensation and facing an unexpected financial hardship.
■ Funding: All applications are individually reviewed, and VFW reserves the right to make exceptions on a case-by-case basis.
■ Deadline: Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.
■ Contact Information
Phone: 866-789-6333
Email: unmetneeds[at]vfw[dot]org
Website: www.vfw.org/assistance/financial-grants
American Humane - Wags4Patriots Program
American Humane provides funding and support to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) who are seeking lifesaving service dogs through the Wags4Patriots program.
■ Eligibility: Only active or retired military individuals with a PTSD diagnosis are considered for this grant. Successful completion of the service dog agency’s application is necessary, and only applications received through the appropriate online submission process will be eligible.
■ Funding: Funding may be used only to help offset the adoption costs for obtaining a PTSD service dog. Funding is paid directly to the service dog agency.
■ Deadline: The grant is on a rolling basis.
■ Contact: Mary Mackie
Phone: 800-227-4645
Email: marym[at]americanhumane[dot]org
Website: https://secure.jotform.us/americanhumane/wags4patriots
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation – Technical Assistance Grants
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is continuously accepting applications for Technical Assistance Grants (TAGs). TAGs are a citizen participation tool available to eligible community groups to increase public awareness and understanding of remedial activities taking place in their community. Eligible community groups may apply to receive grants for up to $50,000 per eligible site. There is no matching contribution required on the part of the grant recipient.
Eligibility: A community group must be a non-responsible-party community group incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation having 501(c)(3) status under the Internal Revenue Code; be a group whose members’ health, economic well-being or enjoyment of the environment may be affected by a release or threatened release of contamination at the eligible site; and be a group whose membership represents the interests of the community affected by the eligible site. Sites that are eligible for a TAG include:
- Class 2 sites on the New York State Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal Sites (State Superfund Program significant threat sites); or
- Sites being remediated under the State’s Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) that the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has determined pose a significant threat to public health and/or the environment.
Funding: limited to $50,000 per site.
Deadline: continuous
Contact: TAG Coordinator
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Division of Environmental Remediation
625 Broadway
Albany, New York 12233-7012
Phone: (518) 402-9711
Website: www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/2590.html
