Across the United States, Local Arts Agencies (LAAs) provide a wide range of programs and services to help support and enable arts and culture at the local level. LAAs are intermediaries, serving artists and arts organizations, local residents, visitors, and other community partners. No two LAAs are alike ─ whether they serve a single village or town, a large city, county, or a multi-county or multi-state region. Some LAAs are departments of local government, others are nonprofit organizations, and still others are hybrids of the two.

Characteristics of Local Arts Agencies: LAAs may present and/or produce arts programming, commission and manage public art, administer grant programs, provide technical assistance to artists and arts organizations, and guide cultural planning efforts. Still others may own, manage, and/or operate cultural facilities and be actively engaged in community development, and partner with entities in tourism, social services, public education, housing, economic development, and public safety. All strive to enhance the quality of life in their communities by working to increase public access to the arts for the benefit of the community as a whole. 

The Local Arts Agencies discipline also welcomes applications for arts projects developed and managed by:

• Non-arts departments of local government, including but not limited to economic development, parks and recreation, or planning departments. For the purposes of these guidelines, local governments are defined as counties, parishes, cities, towns, villages, or federally recognized tribal governments.
• Designated special districts, such as creative, arts and entertainment, or cultural districts.
• National or statewide service organizations that work primarily with a network of LAAs.

Note: Beginning with these FY 2024 guidelines, applications from organizations such as volunteer legal organizations and business councils should be submitted to the Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works discipline.

Local Arts Agencies can apply through Grants for Arts Projects for support through two project types: Programming and Subgranting. The NEA’s legislation allows only State Arts Agencies, Regional Arts Organizations, and Local Arts Agencies to subgrant NEA funds. See LAA eligibility information below.

Subgranting awards are unique to Local Arts Agencies in the Grants for Arts Projects grant category. The subgranting project type recognizes the central role of grantmaking in the work of Local Arts Agencies, as well as the relationship between federal and local government. Local arts agencies are critical partners of the NEA, greatly extending federal reach and impact and translating national leadership into local benefit. Additional eligibility, documentation, and reporting requirements for subgranting applications are detailed in the Project Types section below.

All Grants for Arts Projects applications submitted by LAAs will be reviewed within the Local Arts Agencies discipline. See more information on education programs for youth in the Projects section below.

The NEA is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, and fostering mutual respect for the diverse beliefs and values of all individuals and groups. Projects may focus on reaching a particular group or demographic; however, they may not be exclusionary under Federal civil rights laws and policies prohibiting discrimination. This extends to hiring practices, artist selection processes, and audience engagement. For additional information, refer to this archived webinar: Things to Know Before You Apply: Federal Civil Rights and Your Grants Application.

For information on how to apply, see “How to Apply” on the left.

Project Types

The work of Local Arts Agencies can cover a wide range of activity, depending on the dynamics of the community. Project types eligible for support include Programming (including Services to the Field) and Subgranting, both of which are described in detail below. Applications for programming may request from $10,000 to $100,000. Applications for subgranting may request from $30,000 to $150,000 and include additional eligibility, documentation, and reporting requirements.

We strongly encourage applicants to propose a programming project OR a subgranting project.

Eligible project types include the full breadth of programming typically developed and managed by local arts agencies*, such as Programming (including Services to the Field) and Subgranting.

Programming (including Services to the Field)

Cost share/matching grants range from $10,000 to $100,000, with a minimum cost share/match equal to the grant amount.

Examples of Programming (including Services to the Field) include, but are not limited to:

• The presentation of artists, artworks, and arts programming.
• The commissioning of artists for the creation of new work.
• Projects related to public art, such as creation, installation, documentation, and preservation. See “Public Art Resources” and “National Historic Preservation Act and/or the National Environmental Policy Act Review” for additional information.
• The development and/or management of cultural facilities or artist residency projects.
• Services to advance the professional skills of artists and arts organizations, such as convenings, technical assistance, and professional development opportunities.
• Coordinated arts services, such as community-wide marketing campaigns, cross-sector partnerships, or cultural planning efforts.
• Projects and initiatives that build equity and extend the reach of the arts to groups/communities with rich and dynamic cultural identities that have been historically underserved.
• Projects that advance and/or sustain the creative work of and/or careers for people with disabilities through employment, industry training, technical assistance, and organization capacity-building.
• Education and related activities for youth, adults, intergenerational groups, and schools. 

If you are proposing an education project for youth, see "Choosing the Right Discipline for Youth Projects" to help you select between the Local Arts Agencies and Arts Education disciplines. Arts Education Collective Impact projects from Local Arts Agencies will be reviewed in the Arts Education discipline.

* See “Unallowable Activities/Costs” to make sure your project is eligible.

Subgranting

Designated local arts agencies (see Subgranting Documentation section below) eligible to subgrant may request $30,000 to $150,000 for subgranting programs, with a minimum cost share/match equal to the grant amount. Unlike recent stimulus grant programs (such as the NEA’s American Rescue Plan Local Arts Agencies subgranting program), subgrants through Grants for Arts Projects cannot support general operating expenses.

Local Arts Agencies may apply to subgrant NEA funds in support of programming and services to the field activities by arts organizations. Subgranting through Grants for Arts Projects may provide support for arts projects by arts organizations. If you are a designated Local Arts Agency that is allowed to subgrant and plan to subgrant to individuals, you should first review the Subgranting Terms and Conditions to confirm allowable uses of funds.

For the purposes of NEA subgranting awards, a Local Arts Agency subgranting federal funds is considered a “passthrough” entity. A subgrant relationship exists when NEA grant funds are regranted to subgrantees for activities conducted independently of the Local Arts Agency grantee. A Local Arts Agency grantee may not subgrant NEA funds to organizations through a fiscal sponsor.

Please be sure to review the Subgranting Terms and Conditions resource for additional information on the definition of subgranting, and requirements for subgrantee eligibility. This document outlines specific requirements related to subgranting federal funds, including guidance for review criteria and other compliance considerations.

The Subgranting project type includes additional eligibility, documentation, and reporting requirements.

Subgranting Eligibility:

In addition to the Grants for Arts Projects Applicant Eligibility requirements, to be eligible to subgrant NEA funds, a Local Arts Agency must be an arts agency that is a unit of city or county government or officially designated to operate as an arts agency on behalf of its local government. This designation will be demonstrated in the documentation outlined below.

In addition to the Applicant Eligibility section for all Grants for Arts Projects applicants, applicants for subgranting projects must have completed a history of grantmaking that occurred anytime within the ten-year period immediately preceding this program’s application deadline (i.e., February 9, 2013 if you are applying to the February 2023 deadline, or July 6, 2013 if you are applying to the July 2023 deadline). Organizations that do not meet this requirement are encouraged to contact NEA staff to discuss alternative project types.

Subgranting Documentation

1. Designation Documentation:

   A copy of the local government ordinance, resolution, charter, or contract that assigns your organization the authority to operate on your local government's behalf. Note: This document should demonstrate your eligibility to subgrant as a designated local arts agency.

   We recognize that local governments may formalize this designation through a variety of formats and with various timelines. We reserve the right to request additional information to verify eligibility.

   While we strongly encourage you to include this documentation with your application, the designation documentation may be submitted after the application deadline via email: send to: locals@arts.gov up until the following dates:

   • Applicants to the February 9, 2023 Grants for Arts Projects deadline may submit designation documentation via email to the NEA no later than July 31, 2023.
   • Applicants to the July 6, 2023 Grants for Arts Projects deadline may submit designation documentation via email to the NEA no later than December 31, 2023.

2. Grantmaking History:

   You must submit the following information by the application deadline:

   Paragraph 1: Briefly describe your organization’s grantmaking history, including dates for the grantmaking activities. This information should demonstrate the eligibility requirement that your organization has a history of grantmaking that took place anytime within the ten years immediately preceding this program’s application deadline (February 9, 2013 for the February 2023 deadline, or July 6, 2013 for the July 2023 deadline).

   Paragraph 2: Briefly describe the selection process for your most recent grantmaking activities, including review criteria definitions, review process and panelist selection, and grant program priorities.

   Paragraph 3: Briefly describe the applicant pool for your most recent grantmaking activities, including number of applicants, the artistic disciplines and/or communities represented, and the range of organizational budget sizes.

   Paragraph 4: Briefly describe the grantees awarded during your most recent grantmaking activities, including number of grantees, the artistic disciplines and/or communities represented, and the range of organizational budget sizes.

Subgranting Reporting

Subgranting applicants that are recommended for funding will have additional reporting requirements as grantees, including but not limited to the below. For a complete understanding of grantee requirements, see the Subgranting Terms and Conditions resource.

• Require their grantees to provide a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) before a grant can be made.
• Report subgrants of $35,000 or more in federal funds to the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act Subaward Reporting System (FSRS).
• Ensure that all subawards made with federal or cost share/matching funds are in compliance with the General Terms and Conditions for an award from the NEA, including requirements for pass-through entities as provided for under 2 CFR 200.331 and the NHPA/NEPA and accessibility requirements described below.

Deadlines

Grants for Arts Projects applications will be accepted at two deadlines. All project types (described above) are accepted at both deadlines. Generally, an organization is limited to one application per year in the Grants for Arts Projects category.

First Grants for Arts Projects Deadline:

Part 1 - Submit to Grants.gov	February 9, 2023 at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time
Prepare application material so that it’s ready to upload when the Applicant Portal opens
Part 2 - Submit to Applicant Portal	February 14-21, 2023 at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time
Earliest Announcement of Grant Award or Rejection	November 2023
Earliest Start Date for Proposed Project	January 1, 2024

Second Grants for Arts Projects Deadline:

Part 1 - Submit to Grants.gov	July 6, 2023 at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time
Prepare application material so that it’s ready to upload when the Applicant Portal opens
Part 2 - Submit to Applicant Portal	July 11-18, 2023 at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time
Earliest Announcement of Grant Award or Rejection	April 2024
Earliest Start Date for Proposed Project	June 1, 2024