San Francisco Artist Grants Program

Deadline: 10-Nov-21

Applications are now open for the San Francisco Artist Grants Program to fund artists and works of art in all genres made by artists living in San Francisco. Artist projects and the majority of activities must take place in San Francisco and provide a public benefit to the City of San Francisco and its communities.

The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) is committed to creating a city where all artists and cultural workers have the freedom, resources and platform to share their stories, art and culture, and where race does not predetermine one’s success in life.

They also acknowledge that they occupy traditional and unceded Ohlone land. Fueled by these beliefs, they commit to addressing the systemic inequities within their agency, the City and County of San Francisco and the broader arts and culture sector.

This work requires that they focus on race as they confront inequities of the past, reveal inequities of the present and develop effective strategies to move all of them towards an equitable future.

Funding Information

The anticipated grant request amount for a San Francisco Artist grant is $20,000 based on current budget availability. Should additional City funding become available, grant amounts could be increased.
A grant funded pursuant to these Guidelines will have a grant term of eighteen months.

Eligibility Criteria

The applicant must be a continuous resident of San Francisco since November 2019. Documentation demonstrating San Francisco residency must be submitted with the application. For a complete list of acceptable forms of proof of residency, please see the San Francisco Artist Grant application instructions.
The applicant must be at least 18 years old.
The applicant must have a practice that provided a public benefit and was publicly accessible to the City of San Francisco, its neighborhoods and communities within the last two years.
The applicant may be in any phase of their artistic career.
The applicant cannot be enrolled as a full-time student at the time of the application or during the grant period.
Applicants must not be in default on any grants or loans from:
- SFAC;
- other City departments (including, but not limited to, the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families, Office of Economic and Workforce Development, Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, and Grants for the Arts);
- Northern California Grantmakers Arts Loan Fund;
- Community Vision Capital and Consulting;
- Community Arts Stabilization Trust; and/or
- the Center for Cultural Innovation. This default clause was expanded due to the fact that SFAC has fiduciary relationships with these particular organizations.
The proposed project must take place in San Francisco between July 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023.
The individual must be willing and able to meet the requirements associated with receiving funds from the City and County of San Francisco. In order to receive a grant payment from the San Francisco Arts Commission, the individual must become a registered, compliant supplier and meet the City of San Francisco’s insurance and business tax requirements.
Fiscal Sponsors
- Fiscal sponsors must be based in San Francisco and register as a compliant City supplier.
- If the artist plans to work with a fiscal sponsor, a contractual arrangement between the artist and the fiscal sponsor must be confirmed prior to the San Francisco Arts Commission’s grant application process.
- Organizations may not act as a fiscal sponsor for employees or artists contracted by that organization; a third-party fiscal sponsor is required.
- Artists cannot retroactively work with or change fiscal sponsorship after a grant application is approved for funding.
- If an applicant is approved for funding, the fiscal sponsor is the legal grantee and receives the funds on behalf of the applicant who is the subgrantee.
- The fiscal sponsor/grantee is required to work with the subgrantee to complete and submit financial documentation of the disbursement of funds with the grant’s final report.
- All funds must be paid to the subgrantee in advance of the final disbursement of the grant.
- Copyright: If the applicant receives funding, the fiscal sponsor and the applicant must decide who will hold the copyright to any materials or work created during the grant period. This should be discussed in advance of signing the grant agreement, as it includes language regarding copyright, which is approved by the fiscal sponsor.