Grant Amounts, Cost Share, and Matching Funds

Grants range from $25,000 to $150,000. We will award very few grants at or above the $100,000 level; these will be only for projects of significant scale and impact. Requests below the minimum award amount of $25,000 will be deemed ineligible and will not be reviewed.

Our grants cannot exceed 50% of the total cost of the project. All grants require a nonfederal cost share/match of at least 1 to 1. For example, if you are requesting the lowest amount of $25,000, you must show a minimum of $25,000 in cost share/matching funds, and your total project expenses must be at least $50,000. These cost share/matching funds may be all cash or a combination of cash and in-kind contributions. You may include in your Project Budget cost share/matching funds that are proposed but not yet committed at the time of the application deadline.

We reserve the right to limit our support of a project to a particular phase(s) or cost(s). All costs included in your Project Budget must be expended during your period of performance. Costs associated with other federal funds, whether direct or indirect (e.g., flow down through a state arts agency or pandemic relief funds), cannot be included in your Project Budget. Costs incurred before the earliest project start date of July 1, 2024 cannot be included in your budget or cost share/match.

Period of Performance

Our support of a project may start on or after July 1, 2024.

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 sufficient time to plan, execute, and close out its project, not to repeat a one-year project for a second year. 

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

Project costs that are incurred before July 1, 2024 will be removed from the Project Budget.

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