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Background & Purpose
The California Arts Council (CAC) is a statewide agency committed to serving California artists, arts organizations, and communities of all sizes and needs. Guided by racial equity principles, the CAC continuously evaluates its grantmaking practices to ensure fair and inclusive funding opportunities that sustain a vibrant, safe, and resilient creative ecosystem across the state.
Through regionally based Administering Organizations (AOs), the Individual Artists Fellowship (IAF) program uplifts and celebrates California artists across all disciplines and traditions, highlights their excellence and acknowledges their leadership in shaping traditional and contemporary cultures. The program includes three fellowship tiers with a different award amount:
CAC Emerging Artist Fellows – $5,000
Emerging artists are those in the beginning stages of making their work public and engaging the larger community in their practice.
CAC Established Artist Fellows – $10,000
Artists in the Established tier regularly make their work public and engage the larger community in their practice.
CAC Legacy Artist Fellows – $50,000
Artists in the Legacy tier can point to a significant body of work, produced over a substantial period of time, that has engaged their communities and that has made significant social impact.
The CAC approved eight regional AOs for the fellowship in September 2025. Each of the AOs has information and details regarding their Individual Artists Fellowship programs, including application deadlines. If you are an individual artist, apply to the statewide fellowship program through the Regional AO listed below that serves your county. Please note: Individual artists must live in the region they are applying to and may submit an application to only one region.
Region 2: Capital Administered by Teatro Nagual
The Capital Region Individual Artist Fellowship (IAF), administered by Teatro Nagual, in partnership with the California Arts Council, celebrate and support artists across disciplines who are shaping culture in the counties of Alpine, El Dorado, Sacramento, Solano and Yolo. This program provides unrestricted funding to individual artists at key moments in their careers, empowering them to deepen their practice, expand their impact, and continue contributing to their communities.
Background & Purpose
The California Arts Council (CAC) is a statewide agency committed to serving California artists, arts organizations, and communities of all sizes and needs. Guided by racial equity principles, the CAC continuously evaluates its grantmaking practices to ensure fair and inclusive funding opportunities that sustain a vibrant, safe, and resilient creative ecosystem across the state.
Through regionally based Administering Organizations (AOs), the Individual Artists Fellowship (IAF) program uplifts and celebrates California artists across all disciplines and traditions, highlights their excellence and acknowledges their leadership in shaping traditional and contemporary cultures. The program includes three fellowship tiers with a different award amount:
CAC Emerging Artist Fellows – $5,000
Emerging artists are those in the beginning stages of making their work public and engaging the larger community in their practice.
CAC Established Artist Fellows – $10,000
Artists in the Established tier regularly make their work public and engage the larger community in their practice.
CAC Legacy Artist Fellows – $50,000
Artists in the Legacy tier can point to a significant body of work, produced over a substantial period of time, that has engaged their communities and that has made significant social impact.
The CAC approved eight regional AOs for the fellowship in September 2025. Each of the AOs has information and details regarding their Individual Artists Fellowship programs, including application deadlines. If you are an individual artist, apply to the statewide fellowship program through the Regional AO listed below that serves your county. Please note: Individual artists must live in the region they are applying to and may submit an application to only one region.
Region 5: Central Coast Administered by Arts Council Santa Cruz County
The City of San Diego invites applications from eligible individual artists for the Individual Artist Fellowship (IAF), which provides unrestricted awards ranging from $5,000 to $50,000. The California Arts Council (CAC) has selected the City as an Administering Organization for this statewide initiative, supporting a two-year fellowship program for individual artists and culture bearers across all disciplines.
The Individual Artist Fellowship for Region 8 serves San Diego and Imperial Counties, an area spanning 9,008 square miles and home to 3.48 million residents. The program strengthens the regional arts workforce by investing directly in artists whose work contributes to the cultural vitality of their communities.
Background & Purpose
The California Arts Council (CAC) is a statewide agency committed to serving California artists, arts organizations, and communities of all sizes and needs. Guided by racial equity principles, the CAC continuously evaluates its grantmaking practices to ensure fair and inclusive funding opportunities that sustain a vibrant, safe, and resilient creative ecosystem across the state.
Through regionally based Administering Organizations (AOs), the Individual Artists Fellowship (IAF) program uplifts and celebrates California artists across all disciplines and traditions, highlights their excellence and acknowledges their leadership in shaping traditional and contemporary cultures. The program includes three fellowship tiers with a different award amount:
CAC Emerging Artist Fellows – $5,000
Emerging artists are those in the beginning stages of making their work public and engaging the larger community in their practice.
CAC Established Artist Fellows – $10,000
Artists in the Established tier regularly make their work public and engage the larger community in their practice.
CAC Legacy Artist Fellows – $50,000
Artists in the Legacy tier can point to a significant body of work, produced over a substantial period of time, that has engaged their communities and that has made significant social impact.
The CAC approved eight regional AOs for the fellowship in September 2025. Each of the AOs has information and details regarding their Individual Artists Fellowship programs, including application deadlines. If you are an individual artist, apply to the statewide fellowship program through the Regional AO listed below that serves your county. Please note: Individual artists must live in the region they are applying to and may submit an application to only one region.
Region 8: Far South Administered by Commission for Arts and Culture / Cultural Affairs, City of San Diego
The City of San Diego invites applications from eligible individual artists for the Individual Artist Fellowship (IAF), which provides unrestricted awards ranging from $5,000 to $50,000. The California Arts Council (CAC) has selected the City as an Administering Organization for this statewide initiative, supporting a two-year fellowship program for individual artists and culture bearers across all disciplines.
The Individual Artist Fellowship for Region 8 serves San Diego and Imperial Counties, an area spanning 9,008 square miles and home to 3.48 million residents. The program strengthens the regional arts workforce by investing directly in artists whose work contributes to the cultural vitality of their communities.
Background & Purpose
The California Arts Council (CAC) is a statewide agency committed to serving California artists, arts organizations, and communities of all sizes and needs. Guided by racial equity principles, the CAC continuously evaluates its grantmaking practices to ensure fair and inclusive funding opportunities that sustain a vibrant, safe, and resilient creative ecosystem across the state.
Through regionally based Administering Organizations (AOs), the Individual Artists Fellowship (IAF) program uplifts and celebrates California artists across all disciplines and traditions, highlights their excellence and acknowledges their leadership in shaping traditional and contemporary cultures. The program includes three fellowship tiers with a different award amount:
CAC Emerging Artist Fellows – $5,000
Emerging artists are those in the beginning stages of making their work public and engaging the larger community in their practice.
CAC Established Artist Fellows – $10,000
Artists in the Established tier regularly make their work public and engage the larger community in their practice.
CAC Legacy Artist Fellows – $50,000
Artists in the Legacy tier can point to a significant body of work, produced over a substantial period of time, that has engaged their communities and that has made significant social impact.
The CAC approved eight regional AOs for the fellowship in September 2025. Each of the AOs has information and details regarding their Individual Artists Fellowship programs, including application deadlines. If you are an individual artist, apply to the statewide fellowship program through the Regional AO listed below that serves your county. Please note: Individual artists must live in the region they are applying to and may submit an application to only one region.
Region 7: Inland Empire & South Coast Administered by Arts Orange County (ArtsOC)
Arts Orange County has been engaged by the California Arts Council to administer the application and jurying process for the Region 7 Individual Artist Fellowship, which includes Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Background & Purpose
The California Arts Council (CAC) is a statewide agency committed to serving California artists, arts organizations, and communities of all sizes and needs. Guided by racial equity principles, the CAC continuously evaluates its grantmaking practices to ensure fair and inclusive funding opportunities that sustain a vibrant, safe, and resilient creative ecosystem across the state.
Through regionally based Administering Organizations (AOs), the Individual Artists Fellowship (IAF) program uplifts and celebrates California artists across all disciplines and traditions, highlights their excellence and acknowledges their leadership in shaping traditional and contemporary cultures. The program includes three fellowship tiers with a different award amount:
CAC Emerging Artist Fellows – $5,000
Emerging artists are those in the beginning stages of making their work public and engaging the larger community in their practice.
CAC Established Artist Fellows – $10,000
Artists in the Established tier regularly make their work public and engage the larger community in their practice.
CAC Legacy Artist Fellows – $50,000
Artists in the Legacy tier can point to a significant body of work, produced over a substantial period of time, that has engaged their communities and that has made significant social impact.
The CAC approved eight regional AOs for the fellowship in September 2025. Each of the AOs has information and details regarding their Individual Artists Fellowship programs, including application deadlines. If you are an individual artist, apply to the statewide fellowship program through the Regional AO listed below that serves your county. Please note: Individual artists must live in the region they are applying to and may submit an application to only one region.
Region 4: Central Valley & Eastern Sierra Administered by Kern Dance Alliance (KDA)
California Arts Council (CAC) Individual Artists Fellowship is a statewide initiative; however, the KDA guidelines are specifically designed for artists living and working in the Central Valley and Eastern Sierra Region
KDA is the only Administering Organization awarding fellowship grants to Region 4: Central Valley & Eastern Sierra
KDA IAF Region: Amador, Calaveras, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare and Tuolumne counties
Citizen Security Research Initiative
IPA's Citizen Security Research Initiative (CSRI) supports rigorous impact evaluations, pilot studies, infrastructure and public goods projects, and foundational and contextual research to inform policies and programs on building safer communities and strengthening justice and law enforcement systems. Funding for CSRI comes from the United States Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).
Supported projects will generate actionable evidence to inform policy and programming in the citizen security and justice sector, with a focus on studies that challenge common beliefs, pioneer innovative interventions, and produce evidence where little currently exists. Priority areas of research include:
Budgets are expected to adhere to the budget caps outlined in our Call for Proposals (US$75,000 for pilots, US$400,000 for full impact evaluation studies, US$250,000 for infrastructure and public goods creation projects, US$75,000 for foundational and contextual research projects). In recognition that research in some locations or with some populations is more costly, on a case-by-case basis, we will consider budgets over the above award maximums with appropriate justification.
Awards are normally paid on a cost-reimbursable basis.
Taos Diplomats Scholarship
The Taos Diplomats Scholarship was first established in 2015 by Peter Winter (Taos High ’04) and Dori Winter, who have served as Foreign Service Officers with the U.S. Department of State. During college at the University of Southern California, Peter studied International Relations and Mandarin Chinese, later studying abroad in Beijing, China. Dori, a graduate of the University of South Carolina and Texas A&M University, studied in China and France. Both have represented the United States government at embassies and consulates around the world, including assignments in Northern Ireland, Egypt, Pakistan, China, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.
This award is open to graduating High School Seniors from Taos County (GPA of 3.0 or above) who are interested in pursuing a degree in fields such as international affairs, political science, public and government policy, global communications, international education and development, global health, international business, and foreign languages or studying abroad. This scholarship is open to those applying to 4 year colleges and universities as well as 2 year vocational/trade schools. The award ranges from $250.00 to $1,000.00 and is paid directly to the student’s account at the college or university attended.
Looking for quality of life grants in California?
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How common are grants in this category?
Common — grants in this category appear regularly across funding sources.
Over the past year, when are grant deadlines typically due for Quality of Life grants in California?
Most grants are due in the first quarter.
What's the typical amount funded for California?
Grants are most commonly $145,539.
What's the total number of grants in Quality of Life Grants in California year over year?
In 2024, funders in California awarded a total of 256,564 grants.
Among all the Quality of Life Grants in California given out in California, the most popular focus areas that receive funding are Education, Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations, and Human Services.
1. Education
2. Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations
3. Human Services
How is funding for Quality of Life Grants in California changing over time?
Funding has increased by -1.38%.
How does grant funding vary by county?
Los Angeles County, San Francisco County, and San Mateo County receive the most funding.
| County | Total Grant Funding in 2024 |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles County | $10,841,756,858 |
| San Francisco County | $5,409,542,294 |
| San Mateo County | $5,358,878,304 |
| Santa Clara County | $3,811,026,208 |
| Alameda County | $3,749,322,182 |