Deadline: 01/08/24
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is inviting submissions for “Our Town” grant program to support activities that integrate arts, culture, and design into local efforts that strengthen communities over the long term.
Our Town projects engage a wide range of local stakeholders in efforts to advance local economic, physical, and/or social outcomes in communities. Competitive projects are responsive to unique local conditions, develop meaningful and substantive engagement in communities, center equity, advance artful lives, and lay the groundwork for long-term systems change.
Projects should focus on community-identified or supported goals and may include collaborative strategies such as the following:
- Planning activities such as artist/designer-facilitated community planning, cultural planning, cultural district planning, creative asset mapping, or public art planning, that incorporate artists and culture bearers as key project leads.
- Design processes including, design of artist spaces, design of cultural facilities, or public space design.
- Supporting the creative economy through creative business development or professional artist/designer development.
- Creating opportunities for community building and arts engagement through artist residencies, arts festivals, community co-creation of art, performances, and public art. These activities may honor traditions and customs shaped by the lived experiences of a community’s residents. Proposals should emphasize how these activities will advance community goals beyond the completion of the artistic product.
Funding Information
- Applicants may request an amount between $25,000 -$150,000, with a required minimum nonfederal cost share/match equal to the grant amount.
- The two-year period is intended to allow an applicant sufficient time to plan, execute, and close out its project, not to repeat a one-year project for a second year.
Eligibility Criteria
- Organizations eligible to apply include:
- Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), U.S. organizations;
- Nonprofit institutions of higher education;
- Units of local government; or
- Federally recognized tribal communities or tribes.
- Applicant organizations must have completed at least 3 years of arts programming prior to the application deadline.
- All applications are submitted by one organization and require at least one partner organization. The applicant/partner pair must include 1) a nonprofit organization and 2) a local governmental or quasi-governmental entity. If neither of the partners is an arts, design, or cultural entity, then an additional arts, design, or cultural partner is also required.
- The following are not eligible to apply:
- Individuals
- Applications through a fiscal sponsor/agent
- State and jurisdictional arts agencies (SAAs)
- Regional Arts Organizations (RAOs)
Ineligible Activities
- General operating support
- Support for a full season of programming
- Direct grants to individuals
- Direct grants to individual elementary or secondary schools (charter, private, or public), local education agencies, or school districts (Local education agencies, individual schools, and/or school districts may participate as ADDITIONAL PARTNERS in projects for which another eligible organization applies.)
- Projects that replace arts instruction provided by an arts specialist
- Generally, courses/coursework in degree-granting institutions
- Literary publishing that does not focus on contemporary literature and/or writers
- Generally, publication of books, exhibition of works, or other projects by the applicant organization’s board members, faculty, or trustees
- Generally, exhibitions of, and other projects that primarily involve, single, individually owned, private collections
- Projects for which no curatorial, juried, or editorial judgment has been applied to the selection of artists or art works
- Social activities such as receptions, parties, galas, community dinners, picnics, and potlucks
- Costs of entertainment, including amusement, diversion, and social activities and any associated costs are unallowable; generally, this includes activities at venues such as bars, wineries, and breweries where the consumption of alcohol/social activity is the primary purpose of the venue
- Awards to individuals or organizations to honor or recognize achievement
- Commercial (for-profit) enterprises or activities, including arts markets, concessions, food, T-shirts, artwork, or other items for resale. This includes online or virtual sales/shops
- Lobbying, including activities intended to influence the outcome of elections or influence government officials regarding pending legislation, either directly or through specific lobbying appeals to the public
- Voter registration drives and related activities
For more information, visit Grants.gov.