Search Through Grants for Theater in the U.S.

Focus Areas

Entergy’s Open Grants Program focuses on improving communities as a whole. We look for giving opportunities in the areas of arts and culture, education and workforce development, poverty solutions and social services, healthy families, and community improvement.

Arts and Culture

The arts are expressions of ourselves – our heritage, feelings and ideas. To cultivate that, we support a diverse range of locally based visual arts, theater, dance and music institutions. Our long-term goal is to increase the access to contemporary art for a wider public, including children and the financially disadvantaged.

Community Improvement/EnrichmentEntergy supports community-based projects that focus community enrichment and improvement. A few examples include civic affairs, blighted housing improvements, and neighborhood safety. By giving to communities in this way, we actually help them become more self-sufficient.Healthy FamiliesChildren need a good start to grow into healthy, well-adjusted adults. With that in mind, we give to programs that have a direct impact on children educationally and emotionally. We’re also interested in family programs, like those that better prepare parents to balance the demands of work and home. The amount and nature of an organization’s request will determine which type of grant the organization would need to apply for.In considering requests for grants, priority is placed on programs in specific counties/parishes. 

Foundation's Purpose

The Enterprise Holdings Foundation was established by founder Jack C. Taylor to give back to the communities in which our partners and employees live and work. The Foundation provides charitable support to worthwhile, non-profit initiatives that are actively supported by Enterprise Holdings employees and their spouses/domestic partners. Contributions are made to thousands of local communities across the globe where the organization operates. 

The Foundation’s philanthropic and community relations mission is to ensure that we maintain our leadership position as a valued and responsible corporate citizen by enhancing the quality of life in our communities consistent with the organization’s business goals and objectives. The Foundation supports relief projects or causes that Enterprise Holdings deems important as they arise, such as natural disasters that affect our employees and partners. 

Enterprise Mobility™ Philanthropic Giving

At Enterprise Mobility, we’re focused on strengthening communities one neighborhood at a time. We do this by fostering a culture of community engagement as well as funding programs that protect the environment, drive social progress and empower the places where we live and work.  By leveraging our presence in thousands of communities, we are responding to natural disasters and helping address challenges such as hunger and social inequity through partnerships, grant programs, volunteerism and employee giving.

 Who can submit a grant application for funding? Only Enterprise Mobility team members and their spouse or domestic partner who regularly volunteer or serve on a Board or committee can apply for a grant on behalf of the community nonprofit organization that they are actively involved with that meet our Giving Guidelines.  If you are a team member trying to apply, the application link is located on the SharePoint site and look for “Grant Applications” on the right hand side. This is accessible only to team members. 

Vision

To promote wellness and access to opportunities so that individuals and communities can thrive.

Grounded in our work in Connecticut and New York, we support visionary leaders and nonprofit organizations that serve historically marginalized populations, help individuals contribute to their communities, and champion advancements and experiences that make it possible for all people to live healthy and joyous lives.

Our Story

The Tow Foundation was established in 1988 by Leonard and Claire Tow as a way to give back to the communities that shaped them.

Leonard and Claire’s three children, Andrew, Emily and Frank, joined the board of directors soon after its inception, and our initial investments were largely guided by the personal passions of the boardroom. With a focus on New York, our earliest grants went to innovative projects in the fields of medical research and higher education.

As our organization evolved, so did our areas of support. Emily Tow was hired as the Foundation’s president and first full-time staff member in 1995. Motivated by the belief that every child deserves an opportunity to thrive, our grantmaking expanded to include nonprofits with a focus on youth justice. As the years went by, the transformative power of theater and performing arts led us to add culture as a core area of interest.

Today, our five primary impact areas are

• Arts and culture,
• Higher education,
• Civic engagement,
• Equity and justice
• Medicine and public health.

What We Fund - Justice Initiatives

We must address the harm caused by unfair systems and work to build new ones grounded in equity and justice. To realize a future in which all people are healthy, safe, and free to lead a fulfilling life, there must be a commitment to racial equity and justice.

We invest in work at the policy-change level to end mass incarceration, mass criminalization, and other harmful systems. We also fund direct service organizations working to support and empower individuals and families who have been impacted by these systems.

• Advocacy, organizing, and coalition-building, led by directly impacted leaders
• Initiatives that affirm the humanity and dignity of people who are incarcerated and remove barriers to their success
• Opportunities, care, and resources for individuals impacted by the criminal legal system
• Cross-disciplinary, intersectional approaches to achieving equity and justice

Exelixis Cares

At Exelixis, making a difference goes beyond developing medicines for patients. To broaden our impact, we partner with organizations that are dedicated to the causes we care about. Together, we can do more for the communities and people we serve.

Our grants and giving initiatives benefit patients, healthcare providers, researchers and nonprofit organizations making a positive impact in the communities where we live and work.

Areas of Support

Exelixis currently supports grants and giving initiatives that fall within the certain key categories listed below:

• Community support donations: Monetary charitable contributions to support 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(6) non-profit organizations’ initiatives or general missions in support of local community causes. Community Support Donation proposals must be submitted at least 60 days prior to the program start date, if applicable.
• Healthcare-related charitable contributions: Monetary charitable contributions to support 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(6) non-profit organizations’ initiatives or general missions in support of oncology and cancer awareness, patient education and advocacy or to provide a general benefit to the healthcare community. Exelixis may not receive tangible benefits in return for such support. Healthcare-related charitable contribution proposals must be submitted at least 60 days prior to the program start date, if applicable. Healthcare-related charitable contributions do not include Independent Patient Assistance Foundation Donations.
• Independent patient assistance foundation:Monetary charitable contributions to support independent patient assistant foundations that provide financial assistance to help patients access available treatments for specific diseases or receive healthcare-related support.
• Medical education requests - Support for advancing scientific discourse and improving patient care through clinical, scientific or educational programs or activities including, but not limited to:
  • Independent medical education that is either accredited continuing medical education (CME) or non-accredited CME
  • Third party scientific and educational conferences and professional meetings for which no tangible benefit (exhibit booth, complimentary registrations, etc.) is provided
  • Grand rounds, journal clubs and tumor boards

Supported delivery formats include live events such as educational conferences, symposia or meetings, enduring educational materials and web-based or online educational activities. Exelixis may not receive tangible benefits for a medical education request apart from fair recognition of support. Medical education proposals must be submitted at least 90 days prior to the program start date and at least 60 days prior to the funding decision needed date.

• Sponsorships - General funding support of various scientific and educational activities or programs through the sponsorship and participation in activities including, but not limited to:
  • Scientific conferences and meetings
  • Non-profit professional societies supporting healthcare-related research and education
  • Corporate council memberships
  • Exhibits and medical informational booths
  • Product theaters
  • Other non-profit patient advocacy group programs

Exelixis may receive appropriate tangible benefits in return for such support, commensurate with the amount of funding provided as part of a sponsorship. Sponsorship proposals must be submitted at least 60 days prior to the program start date.

Exelixis welcomes proposals seeking support within the therapeutic area of oncology, with focus including, but not limited to renal cell carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, thyroid cancer and prostate cancer. Programs in other cancer indications or in therapeutic areas outside of oncology may be considered. Please note that submission of a request in the above therapeutic areas does not guarantee approval, as not all requests can be supported.

Mission

The mission of the Hearst Foundations is to identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States can build healthy, productive and satisfying lives. Through its grantmaking, the Hearst Foundations support well-established nonprofit organizations that address significant issues within their major areas of focus—culture, education, health and social service—and that primarily serve large demographic and/or geographic constituencies. In each area of funding, the Foundations seek to identify those organizations achieving truly differentiated results relative to other organizations making similar efforts for similar populations. The Foundations also look for evidence of sustainability beyond their support.

Whether providing a scholarship to a deserving student, supporting a rural health clinic or bringing artists into schools so children can see firsthand the beauty of the arts, the Foundations’ focus is consistent: to help those in need, those underserved and those underrepresented in society. Since the Foundations were formed in the 1940s, the scale and capabilities of the grant making have changed, but the mission has not.

Culture Grant

The Hearst Foundations fund cultural institutions that offer meaningful programs in the arts and sciences, prioritizing those that enable engagement by young people and create a lasting and measurable impact. The Foundations also fund select programs nurturing and developing artistic talent. Supported organizations include arts schools, ballets, museums, operas, performing arts centers, symphonies and theaters.

Funding Priorities in Culture

In the recent past, 25% of total funding has been allocated to Culture. Organizations with budgets over $10 million have received 60% of the funding in Culture.

The Hearst Foundations are only able to fund approximately 25% of all grant requests, of which about 80% is directed to prior grantees and about 20% is targeted toward new grantees.

Types of Support

Program, capital and, on a limited basis, general and endowment support

Indigo Oak Fund

The Indigo Oak Fund is a Colorado-based private foundation focused on education, the arts, women and children’s issues, and ensuring equal justice under the law. Our Mission is to recognize and advance individual potential and support effective programs which contribute to that purpose.

The Fund supports selected programs and initiatives which promote personal empowerment and achievement and which qualify as related to the above-named issues. We seek to contribute to a better world by recognizing and respecting the value of each individual, funding programs which have the potential to improve lives, fostering lifelong learning, and ensuring access to equal opportunity for all.

Our Focus

• Fostering Lifelong Learning
• Ensuring access to equal opportunity for all
• Improving the quality of lives
• Recognizing and advancing individual potential

Fostering Creative Expression - The Arts

Our foundation is committed to supporting the arts in a variety of forms and expressions and for every member of our community. We support programming for both youth and adults, amateurs and professionals. Past grants have supported funding for classes and camps, community theaters, internship programs, and one-time events in the fields of visual arts, music, writing, graphic design, and drama.

Public Understanding of Science & Technology

This long-standing multifaceted program aims to give people a keener appreciation for the increasingly scientific and technological world in which we live and to convey some of the challenges and rewards of the scientific and technological enterprise.

The program's primary aim is to build bridges between the two cultures of science and the humanities and to develop a common language so that they can better understand and speak to one another--and ultimately to grasp that they belong to a single common culture.

The Foundation has established a nationwide strategy that focuses on books, theater, film, television, radio, and new media to commission, develop, produce, and distribute new work mainstreaming science and technology for the lay public. 

Special Initiatives

Program goal: To support high-return projects that strengthen the scientific and technological enterprise as a social good.

• Strategy - 
  • This new program will seek to leverage opportunities where society can maximally benefit from science as a powerful source of breakthroughs, shared knowledge, and common values while being protected from any potential harms. Conceived in 2022, the program is currently surveying the landscape of grant opportunities and developing strategic priorities, though some exploratory grantmaking is expected as these priorities evolve. Potential grantmaking themes under consideration include privacy and security issues in the digital age; science as a transnational community linked by shared values; strengthening public access to information and protecting it from misinformation; and moral, legal, and privacy issues raised by recent developments in neurotechnology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology.
  • Select grantees in the Foundation’s recently completed Universal Access to Knowledge program, including Wikipedia and the Digital Public Library of America, and relevant grantees under the Public Understanding program, such as Consumer Reports, may continue to receive support though the Special Initiatives program.

Yip Harburg Foundation Grant

Mission Statement

The Yip Harburg Foundation funds projects to promote economic and social justice through grants and scholarships. The YHF preserves and enhances E.Y. (“Yip”) Harburg’s legacy of socially conscious songs and musical plays.

Funding

The foundation provides grants between $500 and $5,000 to registered 501c3 programs. 

Mission

The Alvah H. and Wyline P. Chapman Foundation was created in 1967 to honor and memorialize Alvah H. and Wyline P. Chapman and to perpetuate their charity and concern for others. The Foundation's primary stated objectives are to support religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes in areas where the descendants of Alvah H. and Wyline P. Chapman now reside or have interests. The Foundation currently makes grants in support of not-for-profit organizations where directors and members live and are involved in the community.

Focus Areas

The Foundation will consider requests for support from organizations that have developed successful, innovative and creative programs that support the following:

• Children and families, especially those at risk
  • Non-profit organizations and programs that support children and families.
  • Programs and initiatives that provide resources for parents and kids, effectively improving resources for safety and health.
  • Not-for-profit organizations and programs that promote community engagement, public awareness.
• Education at all levels
  • Non-profit organizations and programs that facilitate learning, knowledge and skills.
  • The Foundation provides support for school facilities and supplies, scholarships, student assistance projects, classroom enrichment, cultural  programs such as dance, music, theater, visual arts, literary arts.
• Multicultural understanding and Multiethnic harmony
  • Greater cultural awareness and harmony builds a strong and resilient community.
  • The Foundation supports non-profit organizations and programs that provide resources for multicultural awareness and understanding.
  • Programs that foster trust and respect for intercultural communication and cross cultural understanding are eligible for grant awards.
• Substance abuse prevention
  • Grants have previously been awarded to non-profit organizations and programs that support the prevention, treatment, recovery from alcohol and drug abuse.
  • The Foundation supports programs that provide paths to sobriety, school-based or community-lead prevention programs.
• Programs serving the homeless
  • Grants have previously been awarded to not-for-profit organizations and programs that seek to empower and serve the needs of the homeless.
  • The Foundation supports comprehensive and solutions-focused rehabilitation services for the homeless including shelters, medical, psychiatric care, education, workforce training, young adult workshops, childcare, playgrounds, facilities.
• Natural & Historical Conservation
  • The Foundation supports community outdoor programs, urban renewal and restoration projects that enhance the natural environment and landscape. 
  • Historic preservation endeavors that seek to conserve and protect buildings of significant heritage are eligible for grant awards.

Funding

The Foundation rarely makes awards over $15,000.00.

Jazz Road Tours

Emerging and mid-career jazz artists, take your music to places it's never been. Jazz Road Tours offer grants of up to $15,000 to develop tours into communities across the country.

Detailed Program Description

Designed for emerging and mid-career artists around the entire country, Jazz Road Tours supports small, three- to six-site tours at an array of venue types, often in rural communities and other areas traditionally underserved by the genre.

Jazz Road Tours supports small, three- to six-site tours at an array of venue types, often in rural communities and other areas traditionally underserved by the genre.

This artist-centric grant program—designed to support approximately 50 tours each year—is made possible with funds from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation with additional support from the Mellon Foundation.

Program Priorities

Providing jazz artists financial assistance for performances/tours that increases their ability to earn income by connecting with a diversity of communities in traditional and non-traditional venues

Giving artists business development tools to advance their careers beyond subsidies and grants. The goals are rooted in equitable pay and artist-centric programming as core values. South Arts believes that artists should receive fair pay for their time, work, and expertise, and that allowing artists (as opposed to venues/agents) to control engagements offers a unique level of creative autonomy and ownership; these goals are discussed in the Supplemental Questions document uploaded with this application.

Key Components Of Jazz Road Tours

• An artist may apply for a three-to-six site tour comprised of connected (contiguous) dates at an array of venue types anywhere in the U.S and its territories.
• Jazz Road believes that through a logical route of tour dates, the artists will experience the continuity and momentum of repeat engagements, solidify developing music, and establish band identity/sound through working with the same personnel over the course of the tour.
• An Offer Letter for each tour site is required as part of the application.
• Jazz Road also will prioritize applications that include engagements in rural areas or that reach typically underserved communities, especially those that lack opportunities to present live jazz.
• Applicants that make a compelling case for how the tour will impact their careers in new ways are more competitive.

Important Dates & Deadlines

For Tours Taking Place: October 1, 2024 - April 1, 2025

• Deadline: June 1, 2024

For Tours Taking Place: January 1, 2025 - July 1, 2025

• Deadline: September 2, 2024

For Tours Taking Place: April 1, 2025 - October 1, 2025

• Deadline: December 1, 2024

About the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music

Chartered in 1962 as a not-for-profit private foundation, the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music preserves and perpetuates the legacies of composer Kurt Weill (1900-1950) and his actress-singer wife Lotte Lenya (1898-1981). Based in New York City, it encourages an appreciation of Weill’s music through support of performances, recordings, and scholarship, while nurturing talent more generally in the creation, performance, and study of musical theater. It maintains the Weill-Lenya Research Center; the annual Lotte Lenya Singing Competition; Weill-Lenya Artist Sponsorships, the Julius Rudel/Kurt Weill Conducting Fellowship, and the Harold Prince/Kurt Weill Directing Fellowship. It has prepared and co-published twelve volumes of the Kurt Weill Edition, with more in preparation. It awards biennially the Kurt Weill Prize for scholarship about music theater. The Foundation’s ongoing communications include its semi-annual Kurt Weill Newsletter, monthly E-News, and lively presence on multiple social media platforms. Since 2012, the Foundation has also administered the musical and literary estate of Marc Blitzstein. The Foundation's eight-member staff happily assists individuals and institutions on a daily basis in response to inquiries about licensing, casting, performing materials, historical and biographical information, and other resources. Overseen and energized by a distinguished and diverse fourteen-member board of trustees, the Foundation functions imaginatively and responsibly as the heir, custodian, and administrator of the rights of Weill, Lenya, and Blitzstein.

Grants Program & Collaborative Initiatives

The Foundation's Grant and Collaborative Initiatives Programs award financial support to individuals and not-for-profit organizations for projects related to Weill, Lenya, or Marc Blitzstein. Since 1983 the Foundation has awarded more than $5,000,000 in grant funding to hundreds of organizations and individuals worldwide. Its Grants and Collaborative Initiatives Programs reflect the Kurt Weill Foundation's commitment to principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. As such, the Foundation ensures that its grant funding is awarded to organizations who have demonstrably committed to and implemented policies ensuring non-discrimination, diversity, and equality in its practices.

The Foundation's Grant Program accepts proposals in the following categories: Professional Performance, College/University and Amateur Performance, Media, Scholarly Symposia and Conferences, Publication Assistance, Research & Travel, and the Kurt Weill Dissertation Fellowship.

Media

Support may be requested from non-profit organizations for radio, television, video, film, audio, or multimedia projects that feature Kurt Weill’s, Lotte Lenya’s, or Marc Blitzstein’s life and/or music. Applications are reviewed by an independent advisory panel per the KWF’s Evaluation Procedures and Criteria.

About the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music

Chartered in 1962 as a not-for-profit private foundation, the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music preserves and perpetuates the legacies of composer Kurt Weill (1900-1950) and his actress-singer wife Lotte Lenya (1898-1981). Based in New York City, it encourages an appreciation of Weill’s music through support of performances, recordings, and scholarship, while nurturing talent more generally in the creation, performance, and study of musical theater. It maintains the Weill-Lenya Research Center; the annual Lotte Lenya Singing Competition; Weill-Lenya Artist Sponsorships, the Julius Rudel/Kurt Weill Conducting Fellowship, and the Harold Prince/Kurt Weill Directing Fellowship. It has prepared and co-published twelve volumes of the Kurt Weill Edition, with more in preparation. It awards biennially the Kurt Weill Prize for scholarship about music theater. The Foundation’s ongoing communications include its semi-annual Kurt Weill Newsletter, monthly E-News, and lively presence on multiple social media platforms. Since 2012, the Foundation has also administered the musical and literary estate of Marc Blitzstein. The Foundation's eight-member staff happily assists individuals and institutions on a daily basis in response to inquiries about licensing, casting, performing materials, historical and biographical information, and other resources. Overseen and energized by a distinguished and diverse fourteen-member board of trustees, the Foundation functions imaginatively and responsibly as the heir, custodian, and administrator of the rights of Weill, Lenya, and Blitzstein.

Grants Program & Collaborative Initiatives

The Foundation's Grant and Collaborative Initiatives Programs award financial support to individuals and not-for-profit organizations for projects related to Weill, Lenya, or Marc Blitzstein. Since 1983 the Foundation has awarded more than $5,000,000 in grant funding to hundreds of organizations and individuals worldwide. Its Grants and Collaborative Initiatives Programs reflect the Kurt Weill Foundation's commitment to principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. As such, the Foundation ensures that its grant funding is awarded to organizations who have demonstrably committed to and implemented policies ensuring non-discrimination, diversity, and equality in its practices.

The Foundation's Grant Program accepts proposals in the following categories: Professional Performance, College/University and Amateur Performance, Media, Scholarly Symposia and Conferences, Publication Assistance, Research & Travel, and the Kurt Weill Dissertation Fellowship.

Professional Performance

Funding may be requested by professional opera companies, theater companies, dance companies, orchestras, ensembles, and other concert groups for performances of musical works by Kurt Weill and/or Marc Blitzstein. Applications are reviewed by an independent advisory panel per the KWF’s Evaluation Procedures and Criteria.

About the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music

Chartered in 1962 as a not-for-profit private foundation, the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music preserves and perpetuates the legacies of composer Kurt Weill (1900-1950) and his actress-singer wife Lotte Lenya (1898-1981). Based in New York City, it encourages an appreciation of Weill’s music through support of performances, recordings, and scholarship, while nurturing talent more generally in the creation, performance, and study of musical theater. It maintains the Weill-Lenya Research Center; the annual Lotte Lenya Singing Competition; Weill-Lenya Artist Sponsorships, the Julius Rudel/Kurt Weill Conducting Fellowship, and the Harold Prince/Kurt Weill Directing Fellowship. It has prepared and co-published twelve volumes of the Kurt Weill Edition, with more in preparation. It awards biennially the Kurt Weill Prize for scholarship about music theater. The Foundation’s ongoing communications include its semi-annual Kurt Weill Newsletter, monthly E-News, and lively presence on multiple social media platforms. Since 2012, the Foundation has also administered the musical and literary estate of Marc Blitzstein. The Foundation's eight-member staff happily assists individuals and institutions on a daily basis in response to inquiries about licensing, casting, performing materials, historical and biographical information, and other resources. Overseen and energized by a distinguished and diverse fourteen-member board of trustees, the Foundation functions imaginatively and responsibly as the heir, custodian, and administrator of the rights of Weill, Lenya, and Blitzstein.

Grants Program & Collaborative Initiatives

The Foundation's Grant and Collaborative Initiatives Programs award financial support to individuals and not-for-profit organizations for projects related to Weill, Lenya, or Marc Blitzstein. Since 1983 the Foundation has awarded more than $5,000,000 in grant funding to hundreds of organizations and individuals worldwide. Its Grants and Collaborative Initiatives Programs reflect the Kurt Weill Foundation's commitment to principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. As such, the Foundation ensures that its grant funding is awarded to organizations who have demonstrably committed to and implemented policies ensuring non-discrimination, diversity, and equality in its practices.

The Foundation's Grant Program accepts proposals in the following categories: Professional Performance, College/University and Amateur Performance, Media, Scholarly Symposia and Conferences, Publication Assistance, Research & Travel, and the Kurt Weill Dissertation Fellowship.

Publication Assistance

Funding may be requested by authors and not-for-profit publishers to subvent expenses related to preparing manuscripts for publication in a recognized scholarly medium, including editing, indexing, design, and reproduction fees. Topics must be related to Kurt Weill, Lotte Lenya, and/or Marc Blitzstein. All publications must have been subject to peer review. Publication Assistance may be awarded to scholars previously funded with a Research and Travel Grant or a Dissertation Fellowship. Applications are reviewed by an independent advisory panel per the KWF’s Evaluation Procedures and Criteria.

Our mission is to work towards a world of thriving and equitable communities in which the promise and power of the arts flourish, and where healthy oceans sustainably support the human and other animal species that depend on them. The foundation was created in 2011 to honor Paul M. Angell, and strives to embody the legacy of his compassion, ingenuity and industriousness.

Priority Areas

The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation (PMAFF) makes grants in three priority areas: Conservation, Performing Arts, and Social Impact.

Performing Arts

The PMAFF Performing Arts program supports the presentation, perpetuation, and propagation of performing arts events, focusing on classical music and theater. Grantee organizations include professional performers, presenters (including broadcasters), and educators. We are currently considering grants to the Chicago area, Cleveland, Detroit, and the Mid-Atlantic Region (from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia, PA).

Types of Support

• General Operating
  • This is the most flexible type of grant. Funds may be applied in any manner in which the organization sees fit, subject to its mission.
• Program/Project Grants
  • These grants are targeted to a specific program or goal. Applicants must submit a program budget and narrative to support their applications.

About The Foundation

Since its inception in 1962, the Actors' Equity Foundation — a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization — has remained steadfast in its mission to support the professional theatre community, from emerging artists to seasoned vets, while promoting and investing in the theatre and the performing arts.

The Foundation carries out its theatrical mission by giving grants to over 150 nonprofit theatres across the nation annually and to agencies and institutions serving the arts community — AIDS and health care programs, diversity initiatives and career transition services are just a few of the programs we encourage and support. 

Theatre Grants

Actors’ Equity Foundation offers grants to non-profit theaters and organizations who support the arts community. We give to over 150 organizations nationwide.

The goal of our Venturous Capital Grants program is to support writers of bold, experimental, and/or large-scale new plays by giving theaters the ability to say “yes” instead of “no” to writer-driven projects that are unusually heavy lifts, i.e., that are perceived as especially challenging. While we do not fund routine production costs, we offer grants to support specific extraordinary costs that might otherwise make venturous plays difficult or impossible to produce. 

Productions We Support

We make grants to small and medium-sized not-for-profit theater companies to support productions of text-based, author-driven new plays that are

• ambitious in scale,
• epic in scope,
• challenging in form,
• controversial in subject matter,
• experimental in concept,
• (and/or) unabashed in their theatricality.

In short, new plays that are venturous.

Specific Costs These Grants Fund

Our grants cover extraordinary integral expenses necessary for the production of a new play—specific expenses without which the play could not be produced. 

• Extraordinary – beyond standard producing expenses;
• Integral – costs without which the play could not be produced; and
• Essential – we do not support enhancements to raise the level of production or to accommodate a particular production concept.

These grants are intended to remove perceived obstacles to production by underwriting unusual expenses.

Eligible extraordinary expenses typically include:

• Cast size—support for additional performers in large-cast productions
• Extraordinary technical requirements
• Additional production elements
• Unusual casting challenges
• Puppets, video, etc.
• Other expenses—you tell us.

Specific examples of supported costs from successful past applications:

• AEA compensation and fringe for additional performers in large-cast productions
• Out-of-town expenses for artists in unusual circumstances
• Musicians and choreographers for plays that involve music, dance, movement, etc. as an integral narrative element, but that are not musicals
• Additional rehearsal time due to unique production requirements
• Costs involved in mounting multiple productions of individual authors’ works (plays staged in rep, commitment to produce 3-5 plays, etc.)
• Interactive technology for the cast or audience members’ use during performances.

Sizes of Grants

$5,000 – $35,000

Public Understanding of Science & Technology

This long-standing multifaceted program aims to give people a keener appreciation for the increasingly scientific and technological world in which we live and to convey some of the challenges and rewards of the scientific and technological enterprise.

The program's primary aim is to build bridges between the two cultures of science and the humanities and to develop a common language so that they can better understand and speak to one another--and ultimately to grasp that they belong to a single common culture.

The Foundation has established a nationwide strategy that focuses on books, theater, film, television, radio, and new media to commission, develop, produce, and distribute new work mainstreaming science and technology for the lay public.

Books

Program goal: To support authors in the research and writing of a wide range of books aimed at public understanding of science and technology.

About

Books are critical entry points for the entire Public Understanding program. They allow us to delve deeply into any subject and uncover or synthesize new knowledge while imparting the profoundest understanding of issues and individuals. Books also frame important questions and concerns for the public in an enlightened and accessible context. The Foundation remains committed to books, both for their intrinsic value as a matrix of uniquely rich experience and deep learning, and for their adaptability to other media for broader dissemination and popularization.

The current book program began in 1996 and has supported over 200 authors. For the prior two decades, the Foundation supported the Sloan Series of Scientific Autobiographies in the 1980s and the Sloan Technology Series, begun in 1994, which was continued under the current program.

Strategy - Grantmaking usually takes the form of direct support to authors or support via a host institution such as a university. Supported books tend to fall into the following categories:

• ​Books that elucidate important subjects where the science is confusing or controversial;
• Books that profile important figures in science and technology;
• Books relating science and technology to daily life;
• Books exploring the numerous connections between science, technology, and art;
• Books about the relationship between women and science and technology;
• Books about the culture and philosophy of science.

​The Foundation will sometimes deviate from these categories for book projects of unusual scientific, artistic, or cultural importance.

Funding

Book grants are typically $60,000 or less.

Shakespeare in American Communities

Shakespeare in American Communities is a theater program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. Through grants to theater companies that produce Shakespeare’s works, this program supports high-quality productions and educational activities in middle schools, high schools, and juvenile justice facilities throughout the United States. The program has two opportunities available for eligible applicants.

Schools Program: Project Requirements

• Perform a professional production of a play by Shakespeare; an adaptation of Shakespeare’s text; or a production that incorporates scenes, monologues, and/or sonnets by Shakespeare.
• All productions should offer students the opportunity to view Shakespeare’s text in performance.
• The actors in the production must be professionals, paid at no less than the prevailing minimum compensation. (This requirement is in accordance with the regulations issued by the Secretary of Labor in part 505 of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations.) It is not required that actors be part of an Actors’ Equity contract.
• Performances may be held in a theater company’s facility, a school, a community venue, or virtually.
• Conduct related educational activities with students that further explore and address Shakespeare’s work in modern context.
• Activities must be led by experienced teaching artists, educators, or actors with strong credentials and training.
• Examples include workshops, pre- or post-performance discussions/talkbacks, curriculum-based residencies, or other activities that offer interaction between students and teaching artists or actors. Study guides do not qualify as an activity.
• Activities must be related to the production being performed for students.
• Virtual and/or pre-recorded activities are eligible as long as students have the opportunity to interact live and in real-time with teaching artists in some capacity.

• Reach five or more middle and/or high schools with a performance and related educational activities.
• Activities must be facilitated in partnership with middle and high schools, rather than through summer camps, performing arts centers, universities, or other.
• The majority of schools must educate students from underserved communities. Factors include but are not limited to:
  • Title 1 eligibility
  • National School Lunch Program statistics
  • Geographic location (rural or urban areas)

Juvenile Justice Program: Project Requirements

• Conduct educational theater programming that explores and illuminates Shakespeare’s text, addressing his work in modern context through frequent contact over a significant number of visits.
  • Examples of activities may include workshops, discussions, seminars, and residencies.
  • Activities may be in-person, socially distanced, or virtual.
• Partner with at least one facility to reach youth in the juvenile justice system.
  • Examples of eligible facilities include detention centers, correctional facilities, court-appointed programs, treatment centers, transition centers, group homes, or educational schools/programs specifically for juvenile offenders or incarcerated youth.
  • Juvenile offenders are defined as youth (age 17 or younger) who have been found guilty of committing a delinquent act.
• Engage a minimum of two teaching artists, staff, or personnel in theater education programming.
  • Activities must be be led by experienced teaching artists, staff, or personnel with strong credentials and experience working within the justice system.
  • Teaching artists will be required to complete a survey at the conclusion of the programming to evaluate the impact on youth.

The Princess Grace Foundation-USA is dedicated to upholding the legacy of Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco, (née Grace Kelly). Her commitment to advance the arts in the United States is sustained by the Princess Grace Awards which supports and elevates extraordinary early career artists in theater, dance and film through game-changing grants; and nurtures and supports Princess Grace Award winners throughout their careers.

 Funding

The Princess Grace Award is an unrestricted cash grant of $15,000 paid directly to the artist.

Funding Priorities & Restrictions

The Jim Henson Foundation awards grants each year for the creation of innovative new works of contemporary puppet theater. Our definition of a puppet is an object that is given the appearance of life through direct or indirect manipulation by the human hand. The Foundation’s Board of Directors judges applications based on the excellence of the puppetry including puppet design, manipulation and theatrical execution. 

There are three Artist Grants available Workshop Grants ($3,000), Production Grants ($7,000), and Family Grants ($4,000). All Artist Grants are to be used towards puppetry. This includes the building and performing of the puppets and the integration of the puppets in the piece.

Production Grants of $7,000 are awarded for the production of new works ready to premeire in the coming year. Workshop Grants of $3,000 are for the development and workshopping of these pieces. Workshop Grants and Production Grants can be combined over a two year period for the greatest benefit to the piece; keep in mind, however, that a Production Grant does not need to be preceded by a Workshop grant and a Workshop Grant in no way ensures a future Production Grant.

Family Grants of $4,000 fund the development of new and innovative work specifically for children, families, and teenagers ready to premiere in the coming year. Please keep in mind that Family Grants will be evaluated by the same high artistic standards as works for adults.

Since The Jim Henson Foundation began awarding grants in 1982, there has been astonishing growth in both the quantity and quality of puppet theater in this country. This has made it increasingly difficult to narrow the applicant pool, so we have instituted a policy that we hope will more evenly distribute our funds among the many artists worthy of support. Artists who received a grant in the previous year are not eligible to submit a proposal in the current year. Artists who received a Workshop Grant in the previous year are eligible to apply in the current year, but only for a Production Grant to further develop the previously funded piece.

Grants are made only for the development of new full-length works of excellent live puppet theater. The Foundation does not award funds for the presentation or remounting of existing work. Grants cannot be applied retroactively; substantial portions of a proposed project must take place after the funds are awarded.

About Us

The Puffin Foundation, Ltd. seeks to open the doors of artistic expression by providing grants to artists and art organizations who are often excluded from mainstream opportunities due to their identities or social philosophies.

Why the Puffin?

The Puffin, once endangered in the northeastern United States, was returned to its native habitats through the efforts of a concerned citizenry. Our name is a metaphor for how we perceive our mission in the arts: to join with other concerned groups and individuals to ensure that the arts not merely survive, but flourish at all levels of our society.

Environmental Artistic Activism Grant Program

We will be accepting application request forms for environmental artistic activism projects in all of our eligible genres:

• film/video, fine arts, music, photography, theater.

This category is for projects focusing on solutions to environmental issues and the climate crisis in any artistic genre or discipline that Puffin funds. Please note that the project methodology and materials should also take into account environmental concerns. If your project involves, for example, plane travel, or utilizes a lot of raw material, or in other ways seems to be contributing to rather than addressing the existential issues of human-caused climate change, our reviewers will take this into account.

Theater includes any type of live dramatic performance, including plays, performance art, storytelling, poetry slams, and staged readings. Film and video includes traditional media meant for a theater or television broadcast as well as radio shows, podcasts, on demand and streaming productions. Traditional radio shows, podcasts, and web-streamed content (in both audio-only as well as video format) are eligible for Foundation funding under our film/video genre. Content may be documentary, theatrical or in the general public interest. We’re interested in art that educates the public on topical issues.

Funding

The maximum grant size is $3,500. While some projects will receive full funding, a typical grant is about half that amount.

Program Description

Jazz Road Creative Residencies is one component of the larger program, Jazz Road. Jazz Road is a 4-year national jazz initiative directed by South Arts, funded by the Doris Duke Foundation with additional support from the Mellon Foundation. Jazz Road features a coordinated partnership with the other five Regional Arts Organizations. All work together to deliver technical assistance and grants that enhance jazz artists’ livelihoods through residencies in communities across the country. 

Purpose

To remove the financial barriers that keep professional jazz artists from investing deeply in their creative practice, attending to their artistic and professional growth, and experimenting across a wide range of artistic and community engagement possibilities throughout the US.

Background

Jazz Road Creative Residencies is an artist-centric program that responds to what artists have called for while promoting flexibility for how “residency” can be defined.

Artists have expressed their need for time and resources to drive new creative visions, explore collaborations; and connect their music to communities in socially relevant and lasting ways. Support in these areas is viewed as crucial for musicians to reach new artistic and professional heights while building jazz partnerships and audiences throughout the US.

Program Goal

To provide financial support for professional jazz artists from across the US in self-defined residency activities that advance their artistry, creative exploration, community engagement, and lifework in jazz.

Residency project examples include, but are not limited to:

• Create/compose, revisit/rehearse existing and/or new music independently or with partner organizations; in isolation or with additional artistic personnel and/or new collaborating artists
• Utilize site resources, equipment and materials for creative development and production either for purchase or as provided by host organizations
• Promote, produce, and perform live and/or virtual public and/or community engagements.  
• Record new work (via sound, video or other)  
• Document (via video or other) residency creative and/or community engagement outcomes and/or residency-in-process
• Introducing Jazz to new audiences at conferences, festivals etc.
• Produce an extended engagement residency at commercial and/or nonprofit clubs and lofts to showcase new work and artistic collaborations
• Create opportunities to connect with communities which impact the artist’s creativity, foster new points of entry for artist-community cultural exchange, and potentially build jazz audiences
• Plan community engagement work that will encompass apprenticeships or creative collaborations with elder musicians and prioritize a pursuit for communal/cultural knowledge  
• Self-produce in conventional venues (i.e., artist studio/black box theatre) and/or alternative spaces (i.e., sidewalks to warehouses; parks to corner stores) to enhance diverse performance and audience experiences
• Partner with host organizations that provide a comprehensive pool of resources for a larger scale of co-production required to: commission and/or develop new multi-disciplinary work, foster artistic collaboration and community engagement, and/or present public performances
• Reside and perform in chosen locations that personally resonate for the artist (such as a return to home or creative partnership) and/or remote areas of the country rarely exposed to live jazz performance
• Explore imaginative performance strategies in re-purposed spaces, the outdoors, and other environments.

Mission Statement

NPN contributes to a more just and equitable world by building artists’ power; advancing racial and cultural justice in the arts; fostering relationship-building and reciprocity between individuals, institutions and communities; and working towards systems change in arts and philanthropy.

We envision a world in which:

• artists have greater power and resources for meaningful, sustainable careers;
• strong networks maximize their collective wisdom, resources and leadership;
• cultural infrastructure reflects deeper partnerships and more equitable practices;
• and communities have greater opportunity and capacity for civic engagement, representation and joy.

Creation & Development Fund

The Creation & Development Fund supports the creation, development and mobility of new artistic work that advances racial and cultural justice and results in live experiential exchange between artists and community.

The fund provides a framework for relationships to develop, over time, among diverse artists, arts organizations, and communities. Through the investment of commissioning funds from arts organizations and NPN direct subsidies, each project is eligible for multi-level support.

Phase I - Creation Fund

Vision & Purpose

The Creation Fund supports artists creating a new work in its earliest stages, fostering relationships between artists, presenters, and communities. It provides a minimum of $15,000 in unrestricted funding to support the process and labor that goes into creating a new artistic work. Projects are eligible to receive multi-level support through co- commissioners and direct NPN subsidies.

The Creation Fund:

• Fosters Equity:
  • Promotes racial and cultural justice within the arts.
• Supports Artist Development:
  • Provides comprehensive support for the entire creative process.
• Expands Access:
  • Increases access to commissioning opportunities, ensures equitable funding distribution, and addresses geographic disparities.
• Cultivates Meaningful Partnerships:
  • Encourages long-term relationships and fosters new, authentic collaborations between artists, communities, and commissioners.
• Strengthens Organizations:
  • Builds the capacity of organizations to develop artistic work.
• Maximizes Impact:
  • Leverages additional funding, presentation opportunities, and national recognition to amplify the impact of supported projects

Phase II - Development Fund

Additional Development Funds are earmarked for every Creation Fund Project. NPN invites artists who have received Creation Fund support to apply for development support through the Development Fund. 

Phase III—Public Engagement

Once a work is developed, co-commissioners support artists through a public engagement of the new work, focused on an in-person, virtual, or hybrid exchange between artists and communities. NPN offers access to, but does not guarantee, Artist Engagement Funds for NPN Partners to support artist fees for Phase III. NPN remains flexible with the definition of public engagement.

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards recognize fundamental contributions in a broad array of areas of scientific knowledge, technology, humanities and artistic creation, as listed in point 2 of these call conditions.

The disciplines and domains of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards are:

• Basic Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics)
• Biology and Biomedicine
• Information and Communication Technologies
• Climate Change and Environmental Sciences
• Economics, Finance and Management
• Humanities
• Social Sciences
• Music and Opera

The Climate Change and Environmental Sciences award recognizes both research endeavors in these two areas and impactful actions informed by the best science. The Music and Opera category encompasses composition, instrumental and vocal performance, musical and stage direction, and video art creation associated with musical or operatic works.

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards consist of 400,000 euros, a diploma and a commemorative artwork in each of their eight categories.

In the event that an award is shared by more than one person, its monetary amount will be divided equally among all recipients.

All awards, in whatever category, will be subject to the withholding and other taxes prescribed by current legislation, which will be deducted from their total amount.

About Decolonizing Wealth Project 

Established in 2018, Decolonizing Wealth Project (DWP) is committed to bringing truth, healing, and repair to our global community. Reparative Philanthropy, our signature framework, is at the heart of our work and aims to transform wealth into collective wellbeing. DWP operates through three key strategies: sector transformation, storytelling and culture, and reparative giving. Our work has radically transformed the philanthropic sector and has facilitated the distribution of nearly $1 billion for truth, healing, and reparative efforts. Liberated Capital, DWP’s fund and donor community, has directly granted over $23 million to support economic solidarity, wellbeing, and earth and climate efforts primarily led by communities most impacted. 

Youth Mental Health Fund - Anchor Grant

Background

Decolonizing Wealth Project is excited to launch a new culturally responsive care fund focused on supporting and expanding mental health care for youth in the United States, prioritizing access for LGBTQ+ youth and youth of color. The fund will redistribute a minimum of $15 million in grants over three years starting this year.

Throughout history, young people have been drivers of social change. They have led efforts from Selma to Standing Rock, inviting us all to imagine a better future. Youth today face a world of compounding challenges with the changing technology and social media, climate crises, income inequality, and deadly extremist violence in the United States and beyond. However, the burden of these challenges is not carried equally. Young people of color and queer youth are often forced to navigate a world that refuses to honor their brilliance and embrace their identities. As a result, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, or even suicide.

Suicide is the leading cause of death for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders ages 10-24, and the second leading cause of death for young Black or African Americans (CDC, 2023; NAMI, 2023; ACAMH, 2023) and nearly half of all LBGTQ youth considered suicide, and 60% of those who sought mental health support were not able to access it (The Trevor Project, 2022).

One of the most significant barriers to supporting BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth mental health is the lack of access to culturally responsive care. Youth of historically marginalized identities are in dire need of access to mental health providers who actively implement culturally responsive practices and care in affirming spaces that honor their identities. Culture also carries unique protective factors, and centering these strengths will ensure healing for both young people and society. 

The Opportunity

A Community-Aligned Fund that Centers Marginalized Youth

In collaboration with an external advisory committee composed of youth leaders and experts and practitioners in the field of adolescent mental health, DWP is launching the Youth Mental Health Fund (YMHF) – a culturally affirming initiative focused on expanding access to community-based mental health care for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth between the ages of 12-24. In addition to supporting community-based programs and partnerships, YMHF will also fund work to shift narratives around care and programs that offer culturally grounded healing experiences that center the unique needs and strengths of marginalized youth living at the intersections.

The YMHF fund will invest at least $15 million in grants over the next 3 years, for a minimum of $5 million annually. Alongside grantmaking, DWP will invest in capacity-building opportunities for grantee partners and elevate critical issues undergirding the Fund through communications and field-building efforts.

Fund Priorities: Culturally Responsive Care

Decolonizing Wealth Project seeks to nurture healing, belonging, and empowerment for youth. We will prioritize initiatives that are community-led or engage young people directly in decision-making processes and efforts. Examples of meaningful youth leadership may be in staffing, youth steering committees, youth boards, and processes that generate regular feedback from youth. An external, intergenerational Advisory Committee will review every eligible application.

Applications will be accepted across the following three priority areas:

• Community-Based Programs -
  • Increasing access to culturally responsive mental health care by providing services in places where youth live, learn, and play (e.g. in schools, churches, community centers, particularly in rural areas, etc). (Note: in the case of partnerships between community-based organizations and clinics/health care system units, grants will be awarded to the community-based nonprofit).
  • Youth-led organizations that provide programs to improve mental wellbeing outcomes, such as peer support, skill-building, and youth advocacy. These programs should create spaces where youth can connect, share experiences, and learn coping strategies, while advocating for changes in policies and practices that impact their mental well-being.
• Cultural-Based Healing -
  • Innovative culturally relevant delivery models that promote connection to belonging, culture, and improve mental health care. This may include programs that use creative expression such as: language, movement, art, music, dance, and theater as therapeutic tools to explore identity, process trauma, and build resilience.
  • Storytelling projects that amplify communal and personal stories of mental health journeys to foster solidarity and representation.
  • Heritage-based wellness programs that integrate cultural practices, rituals, and spirituality into mental health approaches for young people.
• Awareness and Advocacy Campaigns -
  • Community-based education programs tailored to equip youth, families, providers, and educators with tools to recognize and address mental health challenges.
  • Campaigns that challenge cultural and systemic stigmas around mental health care and identity, and work to expand access to services and support, as well as post-traumatic growth and joy.
  • Support for organizations working towards systemic change in mental health services and care delivery to dismantle inequities in mental health care systems impacting youth; Priority given to programs that train youth as advocates for systemic change in mental health policies and systems.

Funding

In this first year of grantmaking, we will use the following approach to grant $5 million:

• There are two grant types organizations can apply for (this grant page focuses on the Anchor Grant)
  • Anchor Grants: General operating support grants ranging from $100,000-$250,000 for youth mental health organizations or projects that have been operating for 5 years or more with organizational budgets over $2,000,000.

About Decolonizing Wealth Project 

Established in 2018, Decolonizing Wealth Project (DWP) is committed to bringing truth, healing, and repair to our global community. Reparative Philanthropy, our signature framework, is at the heart of our work and aims to transform wealth into collective wellbeing. DWP operates through three key strategies: sector transformation, storytelling and culture, and reparative giving. Our work has radically transformed the philanthropic sector and has facilitated the distribution of nearly $1 billion for truth, healing, and reparative efforts. Liberated Capital, DWP’s fund and donor community, has directly granted over $23 million to support economic solidarity, wellbeing, and earth and climate efforts primarily led by communities most impacted. 

Background

Decolonizing Wealth Project is excited to launch a new culturally responsive care fund focused on supporting and expanding mental health care for youth in the United States, prioritizing access for LGBTQ+ youth and youth of color. The fund will redistribute a minimum of $15 million in grants over three years starting this year.

Throughout history, young people have been drivers of social change. They have led efforts from Selma to Standing Rock, inviting us all to imagine a better future. Youth today face a world of compounding challenges with the changing technology and social media, climate crises, income inequality, and deadly extremist violence in the United States and beyond. However, the burden of these challenges is not carried equally. Young people of color and queer youth are often forced to navigate a world that refuses to honor their brilliance and embrace their identities. As a result, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, or even suicide.

Suicide is the leading cause of death for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders ages 10-24, and the second leading cause of death for young Black or African Americans (CDC, 2023; NAMI, 2023; ACAMH, 2023) and nearly half of all LBGTQ youth considered suicide, and 60% of those who sought mental health support were not able to access it (The Trevor Project, 2022).

One of the most significant barriers to supporting BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth mental health is the lack of access to culturally responsive care. Youth of historically marginalized identities are in dire need of access to mental health providers who actively implement culturally responsive practices and care in affirming spaces that honor their identities. Culture also carries unique protective factors, and centering these strengths will ensure healing for both young people and society. 

The Opportunity

A Community-Aligned Fund that Centers Marginalized Youth

In collaboration with an external advisory committee composed of youth leaders and experts and practitioners in the field of adolescent mental health, DWP is launching the Youth Mental Health Fund (YMHF) – a culturally affirming initiative focused on expanding access to community-based mental health care for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth between the ages of 12-24. In addition to supporting community-based programs and partnerships, YMHF will also fund work to shift narratives around care and programs that offer culturally grounded healing experiences that center the unique needs and strengths of marginalized youth living at the intersections.

The YMHF fund will invest at least $15 million in grants over the next 3 years, for a minimum of $5 million annually. Alongside grantmaking, DWP will invest in capacity-building opportunities for grantee partners and elevate critical issues undergirding the Fund through communications and field-building efforts.

Fund Priorities: Culturally Responsive Care

Decolonizing Wealth Project seeks to nurture healing, belonging, and empowerment for youth. We will prioritize initiatives that are community-led or engage young people directly in decision-making processes and efforts. Examples of meaningful youth leadership may be in staffing, youth steering committees, youth boards, and processes that generate regular feedback from youth. An external, intergenerational Advisory Committee will review every eligible application.

Applications will be accepted across the following three priority areas:

• Community-Based Programs -
  • Increasing access to culturally responsive mental health care by providing services in places where youth live, learn, and play (e.g. in schools, churches, community centers, particularly in rural areas, etc). (Note: in the case of partnerships between community-based organizations and clinics/health care system units, grants will be awarded to the community-based nonprofit).
  • Youth-led organizations that provide programs to improve mental wellbeing outcomes, such as peer support, skill-building, and youth advocacy. These programs should create spaces where youth can connect, share experiences, and learn coping strategies, while advocating for changes in policies and practices that impact their mental well-being.
• Cultural-Based Healing -
  • Innovative culturally relevant delivery models that promote connection to belonging, culture, and improve mental health care. This may include programs that use creative expression such as: language, movement, art, music, dance, and theater as therapeutic tools to explore identity, process trauma, and build resilience.
  • Storytelling projects that amplify communal and personal stories of mental health journeys to foster solidarity and representation.
  • Heritage-based wellness programs that integrate cultural practices, rituals, and spirituality into mental health approaches for young people.
• Awareness and Advocacy Campaigns -
  • Community-based education programs tailored to equip youth, families, providers, and educators with tools to recognize and address mental health challenges.
  • Campaigns that challenge cultural and systemic stigmas around mental health care and identity, and work to expand access to services and support, as well as post-traumatic growth and joy.
  • Support for organizations working towards systemic change in mental health services and care delivery to dismantle inequities in mental health care systems impacting youth; Priority given to programs that train youth as advocates for systemic change in mental health policies and systems.

Funding

In this first year of grantmaking, we will use the following approach to grant $5 million:

• There are two grant types organizations can apply for (this grant page focuses on the Opportunity Grant)
  • Opportunity Grants:
    • General operating support grants ranging from $30,000– $100,000 for organizations or projects that have been operating for less than 5 years; or
    • Project-specific grants for new innovative solutions, pilots, convenings, one-time special opportunities, etc.

About Us

The Puffin Foundation, Ltd. seeks to open the doors of artistic expression by providing grants to artists and art organizations who are often excluded from mainstream opportunities due to their identities or social philosophies.

Why the Puffin?

The Puffin, once endangered in the northeastern United States, was returned to its native habitats through the efforts of a concerned citizenry. Our name is a metaphor for how we perceive our mission in the arts: to join with other concerned groups and individuals to ensure that the arts not merely survive, but flourish at all levels of our society.

Annual Artist Grant Program

Funding Focus

This year,  we will be funding proposals in the genres of:

• video/film
• theater

Theater includes any type of live dramatic performance, including plays, performance art, storytelling, poetry slams, and staged readings. Film and video includes traditional media meant for a theater or television broadcast as well as radio shows, podcasts, on demand and streaming productions. 

Applications in other disciplines will not be considered. Please note that the primary focus of your proposal must be one of these genres. For example, please do not apply for a video/film grant if you are composing a musical score for a film, or for a theater grant if you are creating the set for a theater production.

Our genres rotate in 2 year cycles, meaning that each genre is open for project proposals every other year.

Funding

The maximum grant size is $3,500. While some projects will receive full funding, a typical grant is about half that amount.