All funded projects must adhere to federal rules and regulations. Before applying, be sure to familiarize yourself with the requirements of managing a federal grant by reviewing the Award Administration section, as well as the General Terms and Conditions and reporting requirements found in Manage Your Award.

Grant Amounts, Cost Share, and Matching Funds

Grants range from $10,000 to $100,000.

Designated local arts agencies eligible to subgrant may request from $30,000 to $150,000 for subgranting in the Local Arts Agencies discipline. Additional eligibility, documentation, and reporting requirements for subgranting applications are detailed in the Local Arts Agencies section of the guidelines.

All grants require a nonfederal cost share/match of at least 1 to 1. For example, if an organization receives a $10,000 grant, the total eligible project costs must be at least $20,000 and the organization must provide at least $10,000 toward the project from nonfederal sources. Our grants cannot exceed 50% of the total cost of the project.

In developing an application, we urge all applicants to consider the level of recent awards and to request a realistic grant amount. Applicants should review the lists of grants on our website to see recent grant award levels and funded projects.

Applicants whose grants are recommended for less than the amount that is requested in the application will have the opportunity to revise the project budget to reflect any necessary changes to the project’s activities, based on the recommended funding amount.

We reserve the right to limit support of a project to a particular portion(s) or cost(s).

Period of Performance

Our support of a project (i.e., “Earliest Start Date for Proposed Project”) can begin no sooner than:

• January 1, 2025 (for applicants at the February 15 deadline), or
• June 1, 2025 (for applicants at the July 11 deadline).

Grants awarded under these guidelines generally may cover a period of performance of up to two years. The two-year period is intended to allow an applicant time to plan, execute, and close out its project, not to repeat a one-year project for a second year.

Any project planning costs that are included in the budget must be incurred during the established period of performance. No pre-award costs are allowable in the Project Budget.

Project costs that are incurred before the "Earliest Start Date for Proposed Project" will be removed from the Project Budget.

A grantee may not receive more than one NEA grant for the same activities/costs during the same period of performance.