Search Through Grants for the Arts in New Hampshire in the U.S.

Health and healing for our society and planetThe Audrey Hillman Fisher Foundation is committed to caring for our communities through investment in big ideas that advance the arts, education, human services, and the environment. The Foundation has a targeted focus in Pittsburgh, Pa., Santa Barbara, Calif., and a small number of legacy partnerships in Squam Lakes, N.H.PrioritiesIn Pittsburgh, Pa. and Santa Barbara, Calif., the Audrey Hillman Fisher Foundation emphasizes the arts, education, and human services. The Foundation encourages big ideas and projects from new organizations that fit exclusively into these geographic areas. In the Squam Lakes, N.H. area, the Foundation focuses almost exclusively on conservation, environmental education and access through a small number of legacy partners.

Our Purpose

To make New Hampshire a more just, sustainable and vibrant community where everyone can thrive. We achieve our purpose by:

• Supporting nonprofit organizations that advance health and well-being, environmental protection, education, housing and other basic needs, arts and culture, civic health and economic security.
• Helping New Hampshire students fund the education they need to fulfill their dreams and potential.
• Connecting generous people with pressing community needs and effective ways to give.
• Collaborating, building relationships and learning from all of our community partners.
• Advocating and using our voice on important public issues.
• Investing charitable assets in alignment with our purpose and values and to ensure a perpetual source of philanthropic capital.

The Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund

The Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund supports projects in Coös County, NH and bordering communities in the United States and Canada that focus on sustainable community and economic development.

Requests that support projects and activities focused on the people and places of Coös County and surrounding communities are invited to apply. Projects should not extend past a year in length, however extensions can be granted.

Examples of awards:

• to provide marketing materials for a one-time community event
• to sponsor a school field trip
• to hire a consultant to support a project or activity
• to purchase or replace equipment or furniture

If you already have an award from the Large, Local or Empower Coös Youth Grants Program, you are still eligible to apply to the Dash – Grants Program.  There is no limit to how many times you are eligible to apply, but if you apply more than twice for the same project you may want to consider a different funding source.

Dash-grants program provides rapid grant awards ranging from $250 up to $2,000 to eligible organizations

Mission

The Nordson Corporation Foundation is dedicated to improving the quality of life in our communities by supporting educational programs and initiatives that enable individuals to become self-sufficient, thriving, active participants in the community.

Nordson Foundation Values

In the spirit of our corporate founders, the Nordson Corporation Foundation continues to operate on the belief that business, as a corporate citizen, has a social responsibility to share its success with the communities where it operates, and employees live. 

We pursue results-oriented opportunities that prepare individuals to thrive in strong, vibrant communities. While Nordson funds a variety of nonprofit program areas, our primary focus is education and offers support to non-profit organizations that cultivate educational curriculum and experiences that foster job readiness and paths to aspire to higher education. 

Nordson Foundation Goals

The goals of the Nordson Corporation Foundation are to insure that:

All children have access to and receive quality educational experiences from early childhood  

• All individuals have the opportunity to be self-sufficient members of society 
• There is a continuum of quality educational opportunities 
• Our communities are strengthened by the organizations we fund whether their focus is education, human welfare, civic or arts and culture

Funding Allocation

The Foundation board of directors determines how funds are allocated based on online grant applications submitted by the applicants. Note that currently funding applications are accepted by invitation only, supporting Nordson’s goal of building strong relationships, supporting employee engagement, and maximizing impact with existing community partners.

Our Mission - Grant Program Policy

The Norwin S. and Elizabeth N. Bean Foundation is a general purpose charitable foundation which awards grants in the fields of:

• arts and humanities,
• education,
• environment,
• health,
• human services, and
• public benefit

Project applications are sought from organizations which have defined a significant problem or opportunity in their field, have a well-planned approach to addressing the issue, and have skilled professional and voluntary leadership.

The Bean Foundation accepts requests for capital support. Contributions to capital campaigns will not exceed 3-4% of the total campaign goal. Exceptions have been made for organizations that serve low-income populations and have limited capacity for additional fundraising.

Background

In May of 1997, Merrimack County Savings Bank established the Foundation with an initial investment of $1,000,000. Five Trustees, selected from among the Bank’s Corporators and Board of Trustees, were chosen to administer the Foundation and its activities. The Trustees anticipate distributing 5% of the Foundation’s endowment, each year, in the form of grants to not-for-profit organizations.

Mission

The mission of the Merrimack County Savings Bank Foundation is to provide financial support to not-for-profit organizations that enrich and improve the quality of life of the residents living in the bank’s service areas. It was the donor bank’s intent to see that regardless of economic ups and downs, funding to these organizations be made available. While the bank’s service area at inception was Merrimack County, as the bank grows it will serve more communities, and, therefore, the Foundation’s geographic reach may continue to expand as the bank enters new markets.

About Us

The Kettering Family Foundation was founded by Eugene W. Kettering, son of Charles F. Kettering, and his wife Virginia W. Kettering in 1956. Today, the Foundation supports a broad range of charitable activities of interest to the Board of Trustees, which is composed of members of the Kettering Family.

Application Process

The Foundation trustees have historically approved grants in those areas where family members reside. At the same time 90%+ of the grants approved in recent years have been trustee endorsed, some of which are in areas that may be located outside of family residence areas. Family members live throughout the US, but there are larger concentrations between New York and New Hampshire, in addition to Colorado.

A trustee may choose to endorse a request at any time during the application review process; therefore, the Foundation is open to receiving Request Summaries that are not endorsed at the time of submission. Trustees may not be preemptively contacted to obtain an endorsement. The Kettering Family Foundation (KFF) will consider activities in the following categories:

Primary Areas of Support:

• Arts, Culture and Humanities
• Education
• Environment
• Health/Medical
• Human Services
• Public/Society Benefit

About Us

The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation is New Hampshire’s statewide community foundation, founded in 1962 by and for the people of New Hampshire.

Our Purpose

To make New Hampshire a more just, sustainable and vibrant community where everyone can thrive. We achieve our purpose by:

• Supporting nonprofit organizations that advance health and well-being, environmental protection, education, housing and other basic needs, arts and culture, civic health and economic security.
• Helping New Hampshire students fund the education they need to fulfill their dreams and potential.
• Connecting generous people with pressing community needs and effective ways to give.
• Collaborating, building relationships and learning from all of our community partners.
• Advocating and using our voice on important public issues.
• Investing charitable assets in alignment with our purpose and values and to ensure a perpetual source of philanthropic capital.

Greater Rochester Community Health Foundation - Targeted Grants Program

The Greater Rochester Community Health Foundation (“GRCHF”) is a supporting organization of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. It was established with the proceeds from the sale of the nonprofit Frisbie Memorial Hospital to HCA Healthcare, Inc. Its mission is to improve health and well-being and reduce the burden of illness of people in Strafford County and surrounding communities.

This grantmaking program awards up to $25,000 to nonprofit organizations focusing on increasing access to dental, maternal and mental/behavioral health care, serving Strafford County residents. If your organization provides services other than dental, maternal or mental/behavioral health care, please apply to the small grants program.

Grant Amount

Up to $25,000 for project support. These are nonrenewable, one-year grants.

Adelard A. and Valeda Lea Roy Foundation Grant

The AV Roy Foundation has historically supported a broad range of organizations working in the areas of arts and culture, churches, education, environmental education, food access, health, land trusts, museums, and social services. The Trustees prioritize grants serving greater Boston and underserved rural and urban communities in Massachusetts, with some additional grantmaking in other areas of Northern New England.

In an effort to ensure that applications to the Foundation closely match current giving priorities, the Trustees will give priority to Massachusetts and Northern New England applicants focused on the following:

• Environment: requests focused on land conservation, in particular projects close to completion and projects resulting in easements held by accredited land trusts; environmental education; and climate change
• Health and Welfare: basic human needs (with priority given to food security and housing); hospice and home health care
• Arts and Culture: in particular, arts access and education for disadvantaged, elderly, or youth populations, and historic preservation
• Education: schools serving youth from low income backgrounds, including independent schools
• Churches providing basic needs support and other social services programming, as well as capital needs for facilities or historic preservation

Funding

Grants typically range from $2,500 to $10,000. In 2023, the average grant was $3,800. The Trustees anticipate a slightly higher average grant size this year, and fewer grants in total.

Women and Girls of Color Fund

The Women and Girls of Color Fund aims to reverse the historic and persistent underinvestment in women and girls of color. The Fund augments our existing grantmaking and will provide low-barrier, faster turnaround grants to projects led by and serving women and girls of color in New Hampshire. 

Nationally, only 1.9% of philanthropic dollars go to organizations serving women and girls, and organizations serving women and girls of color receive just .5% of all foundation giving — that’s half a penny per dollar.

Women and girls of color in New Hampshire are thought leaders and problem-solvers, identifying community challenges and helping to design community-based solutions to local needs informed by their life experience. But they are still significantly under-resourced.

Equity and justice are part of New Hampshire Women’s Foundation’s core values, and we believe gender equity is inseparable from racial equity.

How does this program work?

While organizations serving women and girls of color can always apply to any and all of our grantmaking programs, including our annual community grants program, the Women and Girls of Color Fund will provide smaller, quarterly grants to quickly jumpstart new ideas and solutions.

How will the program work?

Eligible organizations may apply for up to $2,000 to support projects which boost the ability of women and girls of color to build and strengthen community. Additional funds may be available on a case-by-case basis. This funding is intended to serve as seed funding to establish or support projects which enhance racial justice and equity. Women and girls of color must have a significant role in planning and implementing the projects for which funding is sought, not simply serve as recipients of services. Types of projects may include peer support and mentoring, experiential learning projects, advocacy work, education initiatives and art projects related to racial equity, to name just a few.

Quarterly Application Cycle

Applications will be short and straight-forward and accepted quarterly. A conversation with the Director of Grantmaking prior to the application submission will ensure that we understand the project and applicant group well.

Fast Turnaround

Applications will be reviewed by a core group of reviewers, all with lived experience with racial disparity. Applicants will be notified of the status of their application within 4–6 weeks after submission, with funding to follow soon after. Eligible organizations may apply for up to two grants per year (once every 6 months) until funds are exhausted.

What We Support

The Rosamond Thaxter Foundation’s mission is to support charitable organizations in and around Kittery Maine, Portsmouth New Hampshire, and the Isles of Shoals. While the Foundation’s trustees have broad grant-making authority, they focus on supporting local non-profit organizations involved in the following areas:

• History; 
• Healthcare and Social Services;
• Land Conservation;
• Education;
• Museums and Libraries;
• The Arts.

Our Mission The Trust funds worthy charitable projects throughout New Hampshire. The trustees have broad discretion about what to fund and they endeavor to honor the memory of Mrs. von Weber by making impactful grants throughout the granite state to a wide variety of charitable organizations. The Trust, through its trustees, seeks innovative opportunities that will have a lasting effect on New Hampshire and its residents. Typically, the Trust funds sensible and well-conceived capital projects that promise to leverage the Trust’s investment.

• Environmental & Conservation Initiatives
• Music & the Arts
• Social Services

What We Fund The Trust funds worthy charitable projects throughout New Hampshire.Past projects have included support for energy efficiency initiatives to lower operating costs and provide a return on investment – projects that, over time, will have the ability to permit a grantee to sustainably expand its reach or achieve its charitable mission with greater efficiency or impact. Instances of the latter have been offering statewide challenge/matching grants to incent others to support fundraising for the arts, social service agencies and – occasionally – novel ideas that require unique funding to come to fruition.

Cultural Sustainability Grant

Cultural Sustainability is a one-time grantmaking and learning program nationally funded by The Wallace Foundation and delivered regionally by the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations. NEFA is delighted to offer substantial, non-matching operating support grants up to $100,000 to arts organizations of color with annual operating expenses under $500,000.

The goal of this initiative is to enable self-identifying arts organizations of color to sustain and expand their practices, impact the communities they serve, and provide meaningful arts and cultural experiences for larger, cross-cultural audiences. Arts organizations of color deserve to become long-lasting, well-resourced cultural pillars across New England.

Criteria

Cultural Sustainability is designed for and will prioritize applications from self-identifying arts organizations of color. While we realize that language that centers communities of color is ever evolving, for the purposes of this program, an arts organization of color would meet at least two of the following three criteria:

• Led by a person or persons of color, either artistically or administratively
• Predominantly in service of Black, Latine, Asian, Arab, Indigenous, Pacific Islander, and/or Caribbean communities, or another community of color.
• Founded by and for a community of color

Successful applications will:

• Demonstrate cultural impact in New England and beyond
• Model equitable practices in artistic and administrative activities
• Display clear planning and progress towards sustainability of services & programming
• Enthusiastically participate and contribute actively to a learning cohort
• Illustrate mission alignment with Cultural Sustainability 

Funding

Cultural Sustainability grants range from $20,000-$100,000, with partial funding opportunities to also fall within that range. No grantees will be awarded at less than 80% of their initial request. 

Organizations will request funding based on their annual operating expenses:

• Organizations with budgets under $100,000 can request up to $25,000.
• Organizations with budgets between $100,001 and $250,000 can request up to $50,000.
• Organizations with budgets between $250,001 and $500,000 can request up to $100,000.

New England States Touring (NEST) funds performances, readings, and screenings of work by regional, national, and international artists presented by New England-based nonprofit organizations.

Program Goals

• Expand direct access to high quality artists and aesthetic diversity for all New England communities by artists from New England, the nation, and across the globe.
• Stimulate opportunities for collaboration and partnerships among New England cultural organizations and between artists and organizations.
• Encourage projects that provide meaningful interaction between artists and communities, extending beyond the stage.

NEST Artists

NEST artists are professional artists from New England who meet the NEST artist requirements. They represent a wide range of disciplines, including dance, folk art, interdisciplinary work, media, music, musical theater, opera, poetry, storytelling, and theater. NEST artists must be available for public performances and must maintain a permanent residence in New England.

About the New England States Touring Grant Program

There are three distinct grant opportunities for New England nonprofit organizations: NEST 1, NEST 2, and NEST 3. Organizations serving rural communities and/or deeply engaging Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities are encouraged to apply.

NEST 1

Funds the public presentation and engagement of a New England artist presented by a New England nonprofit organization based in a different New England state from the artist’s home state. 

NEST 2

Funds the public presentation and community engagement activities of a New England artist presented by two New England nonprofit organizations. Tours must include one presenting organization based inside of the artist’s home state and one other organization from outside of the artist’s home state.

NEST 3

Funds tours, including public presentation and community engagement activities, of regional, national, or international artists presented by New England nonprofit organizations. Tours must include a minimum of three New England organizations in different communities presenting the same artist. The organizations applying must be from at least two different New England states. 

• Each organization is responsible for reviewing the program goals and criteria, negotiating the terms of the engagement with the artist, and completing a NEST 3 application.
• Organizations may submit up to three NEST 3 applications.
• The annual deadline is the first business day of March.
• Grants provide up to 60% of the artist fee to a maximum of $10,000.
  • Applications with artist fees under $2,000 may request the full artist fee.
• New England artists must be listed as NEST-eligible on CreativeGround.
• For non-New England artists, an artist work sample must be submitted by one of the touring partners.
• Grant period: Touring projects must occur between June 1, 2025 - August 31, 2026.

Deadlines

NEST 1 & 2 grant deadlines occur three times a year, as follows:

• First business day of August, for projects beginning on or after November 1.
• First business day of December, for projects beginning on or after March 1.
• First business day of March, for projects beginning on or after June 1.

The annual NEST 3 grant deadline is the first business day of March.   

About Us

The Fuller Foundation seeks proposals from qualified agencies that carry on the life interests of Alvan and Viola Fuller in the fields of the arts, wildlife, and youth-at-risk. 

Focus Area: The Arts

Areas of Interest:

• Programs that provide access to art, and art education, to traditionally underserved communities
• Efforts that beautify and inspire communities, including local arts festivals
• Programs involving symphony, opera, or theatre

Funding

Typical Grant Range: $5,000 to $7,500

About Us

The Fuller Foundation seeks proposals from qualified agencies that carry on the life interests of Alvan and Viola Fuller in the fields of the arts, wildlife, and youth-at-risk. 

Focus Area: Youth at Risk

We fund programs that help children and teens reach their potential and lead productive lives. There is an emphasis on serving lower-income youth between the ages of 6 and 18, with service to a minimum of 25 participants.

Areas of Interest

• Peer leadership, outdoor adventure education
• Alternative educational experiences
• Educational programs to prevent alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse

Funding

Typical Grant Range: $5,000 to $7,500

About Us

The Fuller Foundation seeks proposals from qualified agencies that carry on the life interests of Alvan and Viola Fuller in the fields of the arts, wildlife, and youth-at-risk. 

Focus Area: Wildlife, Endangered Species – Their Environment, And Animals Helping People

Areas of Interest:

• Species Protection: Programs that protect endangered species, the environment and habitat necessary for species survival, and programs that educate the public about their plight
• Animals Helping People: Horses, dogs, monkeys, and certain wildlife species interactions that better human lives
• Animal Shelters and Hospitals: Support for programs serving both wild and domestic animals

Funding

Typical Grant Range: $5,000 to $7,500

About the Foundation

The mission of the Northeast Delta Dental Foundation is to improve the access to, and the quality of, oral health care and education for the public and the dental communities in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. This mission is in harmony with the mission of Northeast Delta Dental to increase access to oral health education and dental services.

Delta Dental Plans of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont jointly do business as Northeast Delta Dental. The Northeast Delta Dental Foundation is funded by each of these companies and many businesses and individuals who appreciate and support our oral health mission.

The Foundation holds a golf tournament annually to spotlight the Foundation’s oral health mission and raise funds. We appreciate sponsors and participants. Gifts to the Foundation are welcomed at any time.

Healthy Smiles

The Northeast Delta Dental Foundation is on a mission to improve the education, quality and access to oral health care throughout Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Foundation funds directly engage the people in our communities and create a powerful impact.

Award Objectives

Award objectives will concentrate on supporting the following types of oral health initiatives:

• Educational programs enhancing the awareness of good oral health, with particular focus on children, the elderly, the indigent, or other populations with identified oral health needs.
• Oral health care programs that are preventive in nature and are aimed at decreasing the incidence, prevalence, and severity of dental disease.
• Dental clinics or centers established as a 501(c)(3) or Federally Qualified Health Center working to make oral health care more accessible and affordable to people in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Most typically, this takes the form of helping with the costs of equipment and dental supplies.
• The education of dental health professionals through scholarships and the continuing education of dental health professionals through financial support, particularly to enhance the availability and retention of such dental health professionals in the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
• Research efforts that will improve oral health by enhancing the art and science of dentistry, address an oral health disease or issue impacting one or more of our states, or that will lay a sound groundwork for oral health initiatives.
• Improve dental health workforce through scholarship and loan repayment programs.

Award Frequency and Amount

Typically, grants are awarded for one year, and an organization receives no more than one grant a year. Applications for additional years must be submitted annually, accompanied with an annual outcomes report.

Grants of more than $5,000 are less typical than those most often awarded by the Northeast Delta Dental Foundation. Especially as the amount of the grant for which the applicant is applying increases, the expectation is that the information required during the application process will be well documented and detailed, with particular attention to how the Foundation will be recognized for its financial support.

New Hampshire Nita M. Lowey 21st CCLC Grant

The Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program is a federal program funded under Title IV, Part B of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

This federal funding stream focuses on out of school time programming for expanded academic enrichment opportunities for children attending high poverty schools. Tutorial services and academic enrichment activities are designed to help students meet local and state academic standards in subjects such as reading and math. In addition, programs may provide youth development activities, drug and violence prevention programs, technology education programs, art, music and recreation, counseling, and character education to enhance the academic component of the program.

Program Purpose

The goal of the 21st CCLC program is to raise student academic achievement through the creation and expansion of community learning centers that provide students with academic enrichment opportunities as well as additional activities designed to complement their regular academic program. Families of 21st CCLC youth participants also have access to educational development opportunities through the program. Centers can be located in elementary, middle or secondary schools or similarly accessible facilities. They provide a range of high quality services to support student learning and development, including tutoring and mentoring, homework help, academic enrichment (e.g., hands-on science or technology programs), and community service opportunities, as well as music, arts, sports and cultural activities.

Authorized under Title IV B, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the specific purposes of the law are to:

• Provide opportunities for academic enrichment, including tutorial services to help students, particularly those who attend low-performing schools, meet state and local student performance standards in core academic subjects like reading and mathematics.
• Offer students a broad array of additional services, programs, and activities designed to reinforce and complement the regular academic program of participating students.
• Offer families of students served by community learning centers, opportunities for literacy education and related educational development.

Founded by brothers Luke and Matt Bonner in early 2013, Rock On Foundation (ROF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that serves to increase community artistic and athletic opportunities. Recently funded projects include:

• Municipal public basketball court renovations.
• Support of community music school financial aid programs.
• Development of an after-school art program.
• Funding for a life skills basketball camp for underprivileged youth.
• Funding of a Police Activities League.

New Hampshire State Council on the Arts

The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts (NHSCA) is a Division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Our enabling legislation charges us to ensure that the arts play a significant role in the welfare of people in the Granite State. Our mission is to promote the arts to protect and enrich New Hampshire’s unique quality of life.

The State Arts Council provides a wide variety of services, competitive grants, and technical assistance to non-profit organizations, schools, health care facilities and to individual artists, helping to ensure that the arts thrive in New Hampshire and are accessible to all. Funding for our grants and services is provided by the New Hampshire Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

Youth Arts Project Grants

Youth Arts Project Grants fund high-quality arts and cultural programs that encourage creativity, develop new arts skills and foster success for young people. Recognizing that opportunities to experience and engage in the arts, such as music, dance, theater, visual arts, crafts, photography and creative writing, may be limited in classrooms, this grant provides funding for artists to work directly with young people. The overall goal of this grant category is to afford all young people opportunities to engage in the arts so that they can develop creative problem solving skills, positive forms of personal expression, and become more engaged in their communities through the art.

Projects in this category are required to:

• Clearly articulate your plan for making the program accessible for youth of all abilities and underserved populations.
• Identify core participants, consult with special education professionals if applicable, and develop accommodations as needed.
• Compensate artists at a professional level.
• Describe how the program is responsive to the academic and cultural needs of the youth being served. For example, the program may:
  • Provide experiences in diverse artistic disciplines
  • Reflect the racial, cultural, and aesthetic background of the youth population
  • Broaden access to artistic disciplines from diverse cultural traditions
  • Be designed with input from the youth being served.

Sample Projects:

• Female identifying teens meet weekly for an afterschool creative writing club led by a local poet who encourages self-expression, tackling difficult issues, public speaking, and community engagement. The nonprofit that offers the writing club works with the school district to make the opportunity available to the students for academic credit as an Extended Learning Opportunity (ELO).
• A nonprofit string ensemble offers individual and group lessons in string instruments to an entire school district during the school day and afterschool.
• A Creative Youth Development organization works with guidance counselors to identify at risk teens to participate in an afterschool program led by professional artists in dance, theatre, and design. Participants devise their own unique and innovative theatre and dance productions while engaging in group mentoring and leadership development.
• A weekly afterschool African dance program allows new American and refugee students the opportunity to learn and perform dances which reflect their aesthetic cultural traditions.
• A teen center partners with city leadership to design and create a mural based on the cultural diversity of the community.
• A summer camp for youth in a rural community invites musicians and theatre professionals from across the state to work with campers for in-depth learning. 

Our Foundation

Since 2003, our annual Claremont Savings Bank Foundation has awarded grants totaling more than $2,700,000 to local non-profit organizations for a wide range of charitable initiatives. These grants, which typically range from $500 to $5,000 each, help to ensure the success of local programs and projects that benefit all of us as members of the community.

Each year we award grants to help ensure the success of charitable programs and projects dedicated to the betterment of the communities we serve.

Claremont Savings Bank Foundation Grant

Claremont Savings Bank Foundation makes grants one time each year to local non-profits that significantly enhance the quality of life and economic vitality in the communities that we serve. These grants are in addition to the bank’s regular contributions and the extraordinary volunteer efforts by our employees.

The sizes of our grants generally range from $500 to $5,000. Applicants may apply for amounts outside of these guidelines if documentation supports the nature of the request.

New Hampshire State Council on the Arts

The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts (NHSCA) is a Division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Our enabling legislation charges us to ensure that the arts play a significant role in the welfare of people in the Granite State. Our mission is to promote the arts to protect and enrich New Hampshire’s unique quality of life.

The State Arts Council provides a wide variety of services, competitive grants, and technical assistance to non-profit organizations, schools, health care facilities and to individual artists, helping to ensure that the arts thrive in New Hampshire and are accessible to all. Funding for our grants and services is provided by the New Hampshire Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

Public Value Partnerships

Public Value Partnerships provides grants for general operating support of nonprofit cultural organizations and are an investment in the cultural infrastructure and creative economy of New Hampshire.

The creative economy is made up of artists, not-for-profit organizations and creative businesses that positively impact quality of life in communities, generate jobs and produce revenue for municipalities, cities and the state. Public Value Partnerships also ensure that the arts are available and accessible to all New Hampshire citizens.

A limited number of competitive and matching grants will be awarded to nonprofit arts and cultural organizations that demonstrate excellence in planning, administration and programming. Grantees are expected to provide high quality and broadly accessible arts experiences, activities and services for New Hampshire citizens. They are also expected to promote the arts as integral to the local economy by developing and maintaining close relationships with other community-based organizations and businesses and policy makers.

Requests are for unrestricted operational funds and may be made for a two-year period.

New Hampshire State Council on the Arts

The State Arts Council was established in 1965 as the official state arts agency with legislation (RSA 19-A) designed "to insure that the role of the arts in the life of our communities will continue to grow and play an ever more significant part in the welfare and educational experience of our citizens." The NHSCA is advised by a 15-member council that meets at least four times a year. Councilors are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Executive Council.

Funding for competitive grants and program services to benefit New Hampshire's citizens is made possible through appropriations from the New Hampshire State Legislature and from a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. The State of New Hampshire also accepts private, tax-deductible donations and bequests that may be designated for the sole purpose of helping the Arts Council fulfill its enabling legislation.

The NHSCA carries out its mission based upon a strategic plan developed through public input. The plan is reviewed and revised periodically to insure that the agency is responsive to changing economic, social, and cultural circumstances.

The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts is a Division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.The grants, programs, and services of New Hampshire State Council on the Arts are guided by our Strategic Plan for the Arts, which is developed through a process that factors in the voices of the people we serve; the economic, social, and cultural circumstances of the times; and aligns with the resources we have available.

Conservation License Plate Program

The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts (NHSCA) provides grants under the Conservation License Plate Program, commonly called the “Moose Plate” program, for the conservation of publicly owned artworks, artistic elements of publicly owned historic cultural facilities that serve as sites for arts programming, projects that improve public access to significant publicly owned artwork or arts documents, and projects that make publicly owned historic cultural facilities and the arts programming that takes place in them, more accessible to the public. 

The NH Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) receives a percentage of the “Moose Plate” funds raised from the sales of Conservation License Plates. These funds are directed back into communities through grant programs facilitated by the State Library, Division of Historical Resources and the State Arts Council to promote, conserve, and protect New Hampshire's natural, cultural, and historic resources. Interested applicants should apply for funding from the Division whose criteria and eligibility requirements best match their project activities. In any given fiscal year, an organization can only apply to ONE Division (State Library, Historical Resources or State Arts Council) for a single project.

Sample Projects

• Conservation cleaning and treatment for a Civil War memorial in a national historic site located in New Hampshire.
• Conservation and exhibition of 19th century White Mountain School oil paintings and pencil sketches owned by a town library.
• Purchase of archival materials to store a collection of historic recordings of a contra dance caller from the 1940s donated to a state college or university archives.
• Preservation of original hand-painted stage curtains or scenery designed in the early 20th century for local opera houses or town halls

The Arts in Health project grant category responds to the Arts Council’s recognition that arts and culture facilitate the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional aspects of individual healing, and that when applied to public health, promote healthy environments and policies in communities by fostering empathy, awareness, and social cohesion through shared narrative and aesthetic experiences.

This category is designed in response to the Arts Council’s commitment to meet the needs of underserved populations, which can include the elderly, people with disabilities, people in recovery, incarcerated individuals, and people with mental health or other

acute or chronic health diagnoses. The Arts in Health project grant offers two tracks as described below. The Health & Healing Track supports non-clinical arts engagement that promotes and facilitates individual health and healing through participatory arts programs or artist residencies as a primary focus of the project. Arts activities may occur in health-based or community spaces and may incorporate professional development components for health care staff. The goal of the Health & Healing Track is to utilize the arts to enhance quality of life and promote environments conducive to healing for patients, facility residents/clients, caregivers, and health care staff. The Public Health Track supports arts activities that provide a public health benefit in New Hampshire communities as a primary focus of the project. Applicants are strongly encouraged to collaborate with public health agencies and/or health or social service organizations, and/or to embed experts in related health fields into their projects. Arts activities may occur in health-based or community spaces and may also directly or indirectly engage people who are affected by the identified public health priority. The goals of the Public Health Track are to utilize the arts to generate awareness of social and structural determinants of health; encourage and promote health as a topic of public discourse; promote the arts and artists as partners in health-related strategies; and to build healthy communities for all New Hampshire citizens. 

Background

The Franklin Savings Bank Fund for Community Advancement was formed in 1997 to provide support for substantial projects that will significantly enhance the lives of people in the communities that make up the primary market area of the bank. The Fund for Community Advancement has been established as a fund within the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.

Grant Categories

The Fund is very active in supporting a broad range of community activities.

Categories of support include but are not limited to:

• Affordable housing,
• health care,
• social services,
• arts and humanities,
• human services, and
• programs or services addressing the needs of children, adolescents, elders, and single parent families.

Priority consideration will be given to those programs and services that address the needs of low to moderate income families and individuals. The minimum grant award will be $1,000 and the maximum will be $10,000. An organization may submit an application for a given project a maximum of two (2) times.

New Hampshire State Council on the Arts

The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts (NHSCA) is a Division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Our enabling legislation charges us to ensure that the arts play a significant role in the welfare of people in the Granite State. Our mission is to promote the arts to protect and enrich New Hampshire’s unique quality of life.

The State Arts Council provides a wide variety of services, competitive grants, and technical assistance to non-profit organizations, schools, health care facilities and to individual artists, helping to ensure that the arts thrive in New Hampshire and are accessible to all. Funding for our grants and services is provided by the New Hampshire Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

Arts for Community Engagement Project Grants

Arts for Community Engagement (ACE) project grants support community enrichment and public benefit by providing access to high quality arts events and activities presented by community-based organizations, Main Street programs, and municipalities. The ACE grant supports a wide range of activities across a range of disciplines and includes performances, exhibits, workshops, community arts programming, and collaborative public art projects. The goals of this funding category are to engage and benefit New Hampshire residents and communities through the arts, especially people who are underserved or under-represented; encourage collaborative and cross-sector community partnerships; stimulate local economies through cultural tourism and the arts; and enhance the vibrancy of New Hampshire communities and quality of life for New Hampshire citizens. 

New Hampshire State Council on the Arts

The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts (NHSCA) is a Division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Our enabling legislation charges us to ensure that the arts play a significant role in the welfare of people in the Granite State. Our mission is to promote the arts to protect and enrich New Hampshire’s unique quality of life.

The State Arts Council provides a wide variety of services, competitive grants, and technical assistance to non-profit organizations, schools, health care facilities and to individual artists, helping to ensure that the arts thrive in New Hampshire and are accessible to all. Funding for our grants and services is provided by the New Hampshire Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

Folklife and Traditional Arts Project Grants

Folklife and Traditional Arts Project Grants support projects that focus on presenting and preserving folklife and traditional arts in New Hampshire. The goals of this funding category are to deepen the appreciation for and understanding of folklife and traditional arts so that they continue to be a meaningful and visible part of our community life and to support traditional artists and cultural communities so that they can continue to preserve these living traditions for future generations to benefit from.

Projects funded under this category can include festivals, workshops, conferences, lecture/performance series, media programming, and exhibits. All projects are required to:

• Be open to the public
• Include direct participation of traditional artists and appropriately compensate them at a professional level for performing, demonstrating, and/or teaching

The State Council on the Arts recognizes that traditional art forms are often preserved regionally. Therefore, half (50%) of the traditional artists, cultural specialists, community scholars, and/or folklorists for the project need to be residing in New Hampshire (and/or on the NH Traditional Arts & Folklife Listing) and the remaining half (50%) can be from our border states: Vermont, Maine, or Massachusetts. This requirement ensures the program directly benefits individuals and communities within the state and allows for a wide range of individuals to participate.

Amount

Requests may be made for $1,000 - $8,000. Matching funds will be waived for Fiscal Year 2026 (July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026) however, we encourage applicants to include in-kind and/or cash match as part of their budget to increase the strength of their application, collaboration with partners, and enhance the funding of their project. All grant categories and amounts are subject to change, depending upon availability of state and federal funds in any fiscal year.