Deadline: 12-Aug-2025
The Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grants program offers one-time financial assistance to professional dancers in the U.S. who are experiencing severe financial hardship. These emergencies must stem from recent or ongoing loss of live performance work due to factors beyond the dancer’s control.
The grant is intended to help dancers regain stability by covering essential living costs for up to three months. It acknowledges ongoing challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and other interruptions like illness or injury that impact dancers’ careers.
Each grant cycle distributes around $65,000 in total funding, with individual grants available up to $3,000. Eligible expenses include rent, utilities, food, healthcare, insurance, and transportation. An additional $1,000 may be requested for costs vital to maintaining a dance career, such as class fees, therapy, studio rentals, and dance gear.
Certain expenses are not eligible for funding, including mortgage payments, expenses for family members, non-essential debts like credit cards or student loans, and vehicle purchases.
Applicants must meet individual, artistic, and emergency eligibility requirements. Individuals must be at least 21 years old, U.S. residents (including Tribal Nations and Territories), not enrolled in a degree program, and have an average income under $75,000 ($150,000 for joint filers). They must not have received this grant before.
Artistically, applicants must be professional dancers who have consistently performed paid live dance since 2019, across styles such as ballet, hip-hop, jazz, modern, and traditional. Performances must have been public and live; purely online or commercial/educational performances are not eligible.
Emergency eligibility requires that the applicant is currently facing a dire financial situation caused by recent (within the past six months) loss of paid dance work due to cancellations, injuries, illness, or pandemic-related issues. The expenses being requested must be direct and personal, and all must occur within the U.S.
To apply, dancers must complete a detailed application that includes their contact information, income data, a summary of recent dance activity, a clear explanation of their financial emergency, and a breakdown of the expenses they are seeking to cover. Applicants must also upload a resume or bio that shows recent and ongoing professional dance work.
For more information, visit New York Foundation for the Arts.
