An organization may submit only one application to either Grants for Arts Projects or Challenge America (see "Application Limits" for the one exception to this rule).

Before applying, your organization must create and maintain up-to-date registrations with both the System for Award Management (SAM) at SAM.gov and Grants.gov. Registering and maintaining accounts with SAM and Grants.gov is always FREE. See How to Apply for more information.

Registration in SAM.gov and Grants.gov can take several weeks. Give yourself plenty of time to get registered. Similarly, submit your application to Grants.gov well in advance of the deadline in case you encounter any difficulties.

Late, ineligible, and incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

Exceptions to the deadline will be considered only for registration or renewal issues or technical malfunctions that are the result of failures on the part of DUNS, SAM, Grants.gov, or NEA systems, as determined by the NEA. To be considered for this exception, you must provide documentation of a DUNS, SAM, Grants.gov, or NEA systems failure that prevented your submission by the deadline. 

In the event of a major emergency (e.g., a hurricane or Grants.gov technological failure), the NEA Chairman may adjust application deadlines for affected applicants. If a deadline is extended for any reason, an announcement will be posted on our website.

Do not seek information on the status of your application before the announcement date that is listed above.

Questions?

Email: challengeamerica@arts.gov

Call: 202-682-5700

Access for individuals with disabilities:

  Contact the Office of Accessibility at 202-682-5532 / accessibility@arts.gov or the Office of Civil Rights at civilrights@arts.gov to request an accommodation or an alternate format of the guidelines.

CFDA No. 45.024
OMB No. 3135-0112 Expires 10/31/2022
December 2021