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Best Grants for Visual Artists

Find grants for visual artists supporting exhibitions, residencies, public art, and career development.

674

Available grants

$19.7M

Total funding

$6K

Median grant

674 grants
$19.7M total
$6K median

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674 Results based on applied filters

Elaine Sirkin Forbes Scholarship Fund

Pittsburgh Foundation
Private
United States
US $1,000

The Pittsburgh Foundation

Established in 1945, The Pittsburgh Foundation is one of the nation’s oldest community foundations and as of 2022 is the 18th largest of more than 750 similar foundations across the United States.

As a community foundation, its resources comprise endowment funds established by individuals, businesses and organizations with a passion for charitable giving and fulfilling the Foundation’s mission of improving quality of life for all in the region. The Foundation currently manages about 2,500 individual donor funds and, together with its supporting organizations and its affiliate, The Community Foundation of Westmoreland County, has assets of $1.386 billion (2022). Grantmaking benefits a broad spectrum of basic needs and development opportunities within Pittsburgh and beyond.

Scholarships

The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Community Foundation of Westmoreland County provide scholarship opportunities for local students to pursue their educational goals. Scholarships are available for graduating high school seniors, undergraduates, graduate, medical and professional school students who are attending community colleges, four-year universities and career/technical schools.

Elaine Sirkin Forbes Scholarship Fund

The Elaine Sirkin Forbes Scholarship Fund was created at The Pittsburgh Foundation to provide scholarships for high school seniors graduating from Allegheny County Schools who wish to major in visual, performance or media art.

Award Type: Single-Year Award

Education - Higher Education Performing Arts Media Arts +1 more

Veterans Arts Services Grant

Fulton County Department of Arts & Culture
State/Local Government
Fulton County, Georgia
Unspecified amount

Veterans Arts Services Grant

The Fulton County Department of Arts & Culture (FCAC) is pleased to announce a dedicated funding opportunity for nonprofit organizations that serve veterans through arts-based programs and activities.

As part of the 2026 Contracts for Services (CFS) funding cycle, FCAC is now accepting proposals under the Veterans Arts Services category. This funding opportunity supports arts programming that enhances the well-being, engagement, and creative expression of veterans across Fulton County.

Applicants may propose arts project activities taking place between January 1 and December 31, 2026. 

Military & Veterans Services Art & Culture Visual Arts +2 more

Legal Grant & Lawyer Referral Program

Greater Columbus Arts Council
Private
Franklin County, Ohio
US $300

About GCAC

The Greater Columbus Arts Council supports artists and arts organizations through a spectrum of grant programs, workshops, networking events and services. GCAC also shares a host of resources such as calls for artists, job opportunities, nonprofit board openings and listings of spaces for rent. Subscribe to our newsletters to stay up-to-date on GCAC grant deadlines, workshops and events.

Legal Grant & Lawyer Referral Program

GCAC recognizes that artists confront a range of legal matters critical to their career sustainability and the protection of their creative works. In 2026, GCAC is offering a grant to assist with some legal expenses related to an artist’s art practice and art business. In addition, GCAC established a Lawyer Referral Service with attorneys who guarantee to provide our legal program grantees a flat fee of $300 per eligible legal service.

Purpose:

Assist artists with protecting their artwork and art business.

This Grant is open to:

Individuals who work in the following disciplines: dance, fashion, film, literary, music, theater, visual and multidisciplinary arts who meet GCAC’s definition of a working artist.

Award Amount:

$300 to pay an attorney for eligible services

Art & Culture Music Performing Arts +4 more

Artist Projects Grants

Greater Columbus Arts Council
Private
Franklin County, Ohio
Up to US $25,000
The Greater Columbus Arts Council's Artist Projects grant supports original, artist-led projects in all disciplines within Columbus. It aims to foster artistic creation and ensures that artists have the freedom to define their project's goals. Eligible artists must be working in various art forms, including dance, film, and visual arts, and demonstrate community value. Awards can reach up to $10,000 for artists and $25,000 for filmmakers, promoting a vibrant arts scene in the city.
Art & Culture Music Performing Arts +4 more

Funds for Artists

Greater Columbus Arts Council
Private
Franklin County, Ohio
Up to US $750
The Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC) offers the 'Funds for Artists' program to support individual artists in various disciplines, including dance, music, and visual arts. This grant assists with costs for materials, professional development, and marketing, providing up to $750. Eligible applicants must be working artists, residents of Franklin County, and over 18 years old. Notably, those enrolled in undergraduate programs or residing outside Franklin County are not eligible. The initiative aims to foster new artistic creations and enhance skills.
Art & Culture Music Performing Arts +4 more

Ann N. MacGregor Scholarship

Kalamazoo Community Foundation
Private
United States
Unspecified amount

Ann N. MacGregor Scholarship

This fund was established in 2007, through a gift from the estate of Ann N. MacGregor, to provide scholarship assistance for incoming freshmen, undergraduate or graduate students enrolled in a visual arts curriculum. Demonstrating financial need is not required, but preferred. Additional application materials are required for this scholarship.

Scholarship payments are sent directly to your institution. 

This scholarship is a one-time award, meaning that it will not repeat in subsequent years. The money awarded can be applied to your education costs alongside other scholarships or funding that you may receive, and there are no necessary steps once funds are sent.

Education - Higher Education Visual Arts

Melissa Wroblewski Scholarship

Kalamazoo Community Foundation
Private
United States
Unspecified amount

Melissa Wroblewski Scholarship

The Melissa Wroblewski Memorial Scholarship was established in loving memory of Melissa Wroblewski, a graduate of Kalamazoo Central High School. This award is presented annually to a graduating senior from Kalamazoo Central or Loy Norrix High School who desires to pursue studies in the visual arts.

KZCF scholarships may be applied to any items under your school’s cost of attendance (COA). Each school has a different COA that may include items such as tuition, fees, housing, transportation, food, health insurance, etc. Scholarship payments are sent directly to your institution.

This scholarship is a one-time award, meaning that it will not repeat in subsequent years. The money awarded can be applied to your education costs alongside other scholarships or funding that you may receive, and there are no necessary steps once funds are sent.

Education - Higher Education Visual Arts

Festivals Grants

South Carolina Arts Commission
State/Local Government
South Carolina
Up to US $7,500

South Carolina Arts Commission

The mission of the South Carolina Arts Commission is to expand access to the arts and foster creativity for all South Carolinians.

For more than 50 years, the agency has worked to build a thriving arts environment that benefits all South Carolinians, regardless of their circumstances or where they live.

We help artists and arts providers offer unique arts experiences to residents and visitors. From free poetry readings and gallery crawls to sweetgrass basketry workshops and ticketed dance, music, or theatre performances, they create an environment that contributes to quality of life from three “corner” counties of Oconee, Horry, and Beaufort to the 43 arranged inside.

Since 1967, the SCAC has awarded more than $132 million in grants to artists, arts organizations, school districts, schools, and teachers!

Festivals Grants

Purpose

To provide support for a broad range of arts activities at festivals that take place in—and have an impact on—S.C. communities, increasing opportunities for public engagement and participation in arts and culture.

A festival is a day or period of celebration or gathering of people that:

  • Happens in a condensed period of time (i.e., an annual celebration or anniversary or an organized series of concerts, plays, movies, or performances held in the same place).
  • Has an easily identifiable or unifying theme or specified focus.

Restrictions

  • The festival cannot span the duration of more than two (2) consecutive weekends (no more than 14 consecutive days).
  • Seasonal series of presented works, as well as freestanding installations, productions or exhibitions, are ineligible activities for this program.
  • Applicants may submit only one (1) application per deadline.

Requirements

  • The festival must be held in South Carolina.
  • The festival must have identifiable arts activities (visual, media, performing, literary, and/or folk and traditional arts).
  • The festival must compensate visual, media, performing, literary, and/or folk and traditional artists.
  • The festival must be open to the public and include some aspect of free arts programming.

Funding type: Reimbursement

Matching Requirements

1:1 (grantee:SCAC)

  • Up to 50% of the grantee’s match may be through an in-kind donation of materials and/or contracted services.
  • An example of “in-kind” is a contracted fee that is waived or discounted as a donation to your project.
  • Another SCAC grant and/or federal funds may not be used to match your award.

Indirect Cost Limitation

No more than 10% of the total grant funds may be used for indirect costs (general overhead expenses not directly tied to the project). The remaining 90% must go toward direct costs, which are necessary to carry out the funded project.

  • Examples of direct costs: Artist fees, program supplies, travel for project activities, and venue rental.
  • Examples of indirect costs: Administrative salaries not directly working on the project, office rent, utilities, and general office supplies.

This ensures that most of the funding directly benefits the project while allowing some flexibility for necessary overhead costs.

Compliance with State and Federal Laws

All grant applicants must ensure their applications, proposed projects, and any related materials comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws. This includes SC Code § 16-15-305 (2024), which prohibits the dissemination of obscene materials.

Obscene content is strictly prohibited in grant applications and any proposed project activities. Applications that include materials or activities determined to be obscene will not be reviewed or considered for funding.

No component of an SCAC-funded project, including those funded with SCAC funds and those funded with matching funds, can fall into this category. Failure to comply with these regulations may result in the termination of funding and other legal consequences.

We strongly encourage all applicants to carefully review the full legal text of SC Code § 16-15-305 (2024), to ensure their proposals are in full compliance.

Arts / Culture Access & Participation Music Festivals Art Festivals +5 more

Cody Albert Memorial Scholarship

Community Foundation of the Endless Mountains (CFEM)
Association/Society
United States
Unspecified amount

Community Foundation of the Endless Mountains

Our mission at the Community Foundation of the Endless Mountains is to improve the region’s quality of life through the power of philanthropy. We do this by offering individuals, families, and businesses the most effective charitable giving tools available in the marketplace today. Founded in 1998, the Community Foundation of the Endless Mountains is honored to work with hundreds of donors, nonprofits, advisors, and civic leaders to achieve dreams for making the Endless Mountains region of Northeastern Pennsylvania an even better place to live for everyone.

Scholarships

Many generous individuals, families, and businesses have established scholarship funds to provide support to graduates in our region. Scholarships are available to graduating high school seniors.

Cody Albert Memorial Scholarship

Established by Dale and Linda Albert in memory of their son Cody to provide a college scholarship to students from Susquehanna County who will major in the Visual Arts, Psychology, or Physical Therapy and who have overcome anxiety, depression, or other adversity.

Education - Higher Education Psychology Physical Therapy +1 more

George A. Bragg Scholarship

Beckley Area Foundation
Private
West Virginia
Unspecified amount

Beckley Area Foundation

Beckley Area Foundation was established in January 1985 by ten community-minded citizens. It began with a gift of $1.1 million from the Dr. Thomas Walker Memorial Health Foundation as “seed” money for this Raleigh County project. BAF assets have grown to over $70 million with over 500 different funds managed by our three trustee banks. Today, Beckley Area Foundation is one of West Virginia’s largest community foundations.

Since its inception, BAF has distributed over $23 million to charities and other worthy projects in the fields of education, public recreation, health & human services, the arts, animal services and beautification.

Scholarships

The Beckley Area Foundation proudly manages scholarship funds established by individuals, businesses, and organizations dedicated to helping students pursue higher education. Many of these scholarships are tailored for specific schools, fields of study, or graduates from local high schools, while others offer broader opportunities. No matter the path, our scholarships aim to support students from our region as they work toward achieving their educational goals.

Most of these scholarships must be awarded to students from our geographic area or at least preference given to such students. While the majority of scholarships benefit Raleigh County applicants there are others designated for Fayette, Summers, Webster, and Wyoming students. 

George A. Bragg Scholarship

West Virginia high school graduate attending a West Virginia college or university pursuing a degree in criminal justice, creative writing, or visual art; Awarded based educational merit with a minimum of a 3.0 GPA.​

This scholarship is not renewable.

Education - Higher Education Writing & Literature Visual Arts +1 more

Paul Collins Scholarship

Grand Rapids Community Foundation
Private
United States
Unspecified amount

Generally the Community Foundation's scholarships are awarded to applicants who have high financial need. Applicants with household income exceeding $100,000 are less likely to be awarded, but applying will allow you to be considered for targeted scholarships.

Paul Collins Scholarship

Open to undergraduate students who are residents of Kent County who will study visual or performing arts and have a minimum 2.5 GPA.

Education - Higher Education Performing Arts Visual Arts

Arts Council of Greater Grand Rapids Minority Scholarship

Grand Rapids Community Foundation
Private
Michigan
US $2,000 - US $5,000
The Arts Council of Greater Grand Rapids Minority Scholarship, funded by the Grand Rapids Community Foundation, supports full-time undergraduate students of color from Kent County, Michigan. With a minimum GPA of 2.5, applicants pursuing Visual or Performing Arts are encouraged to apply. This scholarship aims to eliminate barriers to education and empower local students to achieve their academic and career goals while contributing to a vibrant, inclusive community.
Education - Higher Education College Success / Persistence Educational Access & Equity +4 more

Joe Williams Music Scholarship Program

United Negro College Fund Inc
Private
Bamberg County, South Carolina, Davidson County, Tennessee +30 more
Up to US $6,000

Joe Williams Music Scholarship Program

The Joe Williams Music Scholarship Program was created to help provide funding to students who desire to major in the study of music.

Individual Award

  • Up to $6,000

This scholarship will be disbursed for the current 2025-2026 school year. 

Education - Higher Education Performing Arts Visual Arts

Artists in Residence – Laila Twigg-Smith Art Fund

Hawai'i Community Foundation
Private
Hawaii
Up to US $20,000

Hawai‘i Community Foundation

Hawai‘i Community Foundation invests charitable funds in communities across the State primarily through nonprofit organizations. Our core programs are designed to support a stronger nonprofit sector as we believe that these organizations are one cornerstone of a vibrant civic society.

We administer a number of grantmaking programs with targeted purposes or an island-based focus. Hawai‘i Community Foundation also assists several private foundations in delivering their grantmaking programs according to their specific strategies.

Artists in Residence – Laila Twigg-Smith Art Fund

Artists in Residence

HCF is currently accepting applications for the Artists in Residence 2026 grant program. Hawaiʻi nonprofit organizations/programs can apply to host artists in residence for a defined period. During the residency, the artists in residence focus on developing their own artistic practice while engaging with Hawaiʻi-based artists and the broader community through dynamic, meaningful interactions that have the potential for long term impact. Artist(s) in residence should be widely recognized, outstanding artists, including visual artists, writers, musicians, dancers, and other performing artists. Artists may be based in the continental United States, foreign countries, or Hawaiʻi. For Hawai’i-based artists, the residency must support new relationships with a host organization/program and new forms of community engagement; ongoing or existing collaborations are not eligible.

Laila Twigg-Smith Art Fund

The Laila Twigg-Smith Art Fund (LAF) was created to carry her ambition forward, for the benefit of the arts and artists of Hawaiʻi and beyond. It aims to nurture and promote Hawaiʻi as a global center for the exchange of contemporary arts and artists. LAF is intended to support projects and initiatives that afford artists opportunities to immerse themselves in new environments, to absorb different influences, and to realize fresh visions.

LAF has an advisory committee of volunteer community members with expertise in the arts who provide recommendations on the fund’s strategy and recommend grant funding.

Performing Arts Visual Arts Artist Training & Development +4 more

Furer-Barag-Wolf Post 126 Jewish War Veterans Scholarship Award

Jewish Community Foundation
Private
United States
Unspecified amount
The Furer-Barag-Wolf Post 126 Jewish War Veterans Scholarship Award supports children or grandchildren of JWV Post 126 members, providing merit-based assistance for college or vocational education. Eligible applicants must reside in specific counties in New Jersey or be related to a JWV member. The scholarship covers tuition, books, and living expenses and is open for reapplication annually. This initiative by the Jewish Community Foundation fosters educational opportunities for deserving students.
Education - Higher Education Military & Veterans Services Academic Scholarship Programs +6 more

Allied Arts Fund

Renton Regional Community Foundation
Private
United States
US $500 - US $1,000

Allied Arts Fund

These awards help talented young students further their training in their artistic field. Students must live within the boundaries of the Greater Renton Area or have a Renton address and are between the ages of 12-19. The categories under which a student may apply are all areas of visual or performing arts. Awards may be used for tuition, school fees or academic expenses such as music, lessons, books, painting supplies, etc.

Awards

  • $500 - $1000
Performing Arts Visual Arts Education - Higher Education

South Arts, Inc.: Arts in Community Grants

South Arts, Inc.
Private
Alabama, Florida +7 more
US $2,000 - US $10,000

South Arts Inc

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, South Arts is a nonprofit regional arts organization empowering artists, organizations, and communities, and increasing access to arts and culture.

In partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the State Arts Agencies of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee — with additional funding from other public and private donors such as the Doris Duke Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and Mellon Foundation — South Arts supports artists and organizations through a rich and responsive portfolio of grants, fellowships, and programs. Why? Because South Arts believes that the arts elevate the region, increasing connectedness and inspiring meaningful change in the process.

Our mission: Advancing Southern vitality through the arts.

Arts in Community Grants

Program Description

Arts in Community Grants are designed to support deeper engagements between Southern communities and artists. Through these grants supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, we aim to increase access to the arts, expand audiences for artists, and broaden our reach. Eligible projects require a Southern artist/company visiting another Southern state for public activities, offering access to arts programming by professional artists. Funding supports Southern film directors, traditional artists, visual artists, performing artists, or writers:

  • film (documentary, fiction, experimental, and animation),
  • traditional arts (music, dance, storytelling, and visual arts/crafts),
  • visual arts (crafts, drawing, experimental, painting, photography, sculpture, and mixed media),
  • performing arts (theater, music, opera, musical theater, and dance), and
  • literary arts (fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry).

Projects require an artist or artist ensemble and a host or partner organization. Project must include at least two in-person or live, virtual public activities – both a public presentation (a film screening, performance, reading, or exhibition) and an educational/community engagement activity (a workshop, demonstration, lecture, facilitated discussion, or master class). The grant requires a dollar-for-dollar cash match.

Performing Arts Film Media Arts +8 more

Valerie Lamb Smith Art Scholarship

Chester County Community Foundation
Private
United States
US $5,500

About the Chester County Community Foundation

Our Mission

The Chester County Community Foundation connects people who care with the causes that matter, so their philanthropy makes a difference now and forever.

Valerie Lamb Smith Art Scholarship

Mission

The purpose of this fund shall to be to ensure that more Chester County students benefit from art instruction, regardless of family income or the schools they attend.

About Valerie

Valerie Lamb Smith was a dedicated teacher and artist from Newtown Square, PA. She taught oil and watercolor painting to young, aspiring artists at Wayne Art Center. Valerie’s personal work was a chronicle of her own life and observations. She centered her art around time and the lost but recent past. Her work centered around the figurative but was also decorative. Valerie was also a flower painter and at one paint had a large exhibition at Longwood Gardens.

Born in Quakertown, PA on April 26th, 1937, Valerie always had a love for the arts. She attended Solebury School in New Hope, PA and graduated in 1954. She followed her passion to Smith College in Northampton, MA where she studied Art and Art History. Valerie met her husband, Langhorne Smith, while he was a student at Yale University. They married in 1958.

After college, Valerie and Langhorne settled in Pennsylvania where Valerie taught Art at various schools on the Main Line. During this time, Valerie pursued her Masters Degree at The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. Valerie was the proud mother of three children, two sons and a daughter.

Valerie passed away in 1997 after a courageous battle with cancer. Her loving husband, Langhorne Smith, complied with her request that an art fund be established in her name. This fund, supported by her family and close friends and colleagues, helps young people from Chester County explore the world of art, regardless of their families income or the resources of their schools.

Education - Higher Education Art Education Educational Access & Equity +2 more

Margot Eiseman Scholarship Fund

Akron Community Foundation
Private
United States
US $1,000 - US $3,000

Margot Eiseman Scholarship Fund

Established to carry on Margot Eiseman's legacy as an artist and educator by helping young artists pursue their dreams of an education and career in art.

Amount: Varies

  • $1,000-$3,000

Number of awards:

  • Varies

Renewal:

  • Must reapply annually by submission of a new application.
Education - Higher Education Career / College Preparation Visual Arts +1 more

Frankenthaler Climate Initiative: Technical Assistance Grant

Helen Frankenthaler Foundation Inc
Private
American Samoa, Guam +4 more
Up to US $50,000

Helen Frankenthaler Foundation

The Helen Frankenthaler Foundation supports the artist’s legacy through a variety of initiatives, including exhibitions, loans of artworks, research and publications, conservation, grants, educational programs for the public and the scholarly community, and the publishing of a catalogue raisonné. It is dedicated to promoting greater public interest in and understanding of the visual arts.

Established and endowed by the artist during her lifetime (1928-2011), the Foundation became active in 2013, on the closing of Frankenthaler’s estate. As the principal beneficiary of Frankenthaler’s estate, the Foundation maintains an extensive collection of her work in a variety of mediums, as well as her collection of works by other artists and original papers and materials pertaining to her life and work.

Frankenthaler Climate Initiative

The Frankenthaler Climate Initiative (FCI) is a pioneering grantmaking program established by the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation. Since its inception in 2021, FCI has distinguished itself as the foremost private national initiative in the United States dedicated to combating climate change specifically within the visual arts sector.

FCI provides visual arts institutions with up to $100,000 to undertake ambitious sustainability and energy efficiency initiatives that directly address carbon reduction and energy efficiency. The scope of its support is broad, encompassing everything from modest, rapid-response projects to comprehensive efficiency audits and feasibility studies, and extending to financial contributions for significant infrastructural renovations and strategic planning for new buildings and major initiatives.

Building on the core values of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, the initiative aligns a commitment to environmental stewardship with a belief in the vital importance of the visual arts and arts education. Through strategic funding and partnerships focused on tangible infrastructure, FCI aims to catalyze a sector-wide shift toward zero carbon operations, promoting a future where the visual arts thrive—while contributing to a more sustainable and ecologically conscious world.

Who We Fund

FCI funds nonprofit institutions in the United States and its territories whose primary focus rests in the visual arts. The visual arts includes but is not limited to painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and installations in clay, glass, metal, wood, fiber, paper, film, and mixed media.

Most of our grantees are art museums, nonprofit galleries, archives, noncollecting institutions, art schools, university museums, and artist-endowed foundations.

What We Fund

FCI funds energy efficiency and clean energy generation projects.

FCI meets arts institutions at every stage of the work, through four kinds of grants:

  • Catalyst — first actions and stand-alone projects with a quick turnaround
  • Scoping — energy audits and assessments that establish a baseline
  • Technical Assistance — detailed planning for technically demanding projects
  • Implementation — comprehensive capital work addressing a building's environmental impact at multiple levels

Technical Assistance Grants

Technical Assistance grants support projects that have finished initial assessments, and need procurement and financing support for an identified efficiency project. This may include providing designs, specifications, or fees for working with energy services companies (ESCOs) for project support. These grants also support more complex studies or analysis required for pursuing major implementation projects. At the conclusion of a Technical Assistance grant, the applicant should be sufficiently informed to implement a project.

Energy Efficiency & Conservation Visual Arts Film +3 more

Friends of Andrew Bucci Fund: Art Supply Grant

Community Foundation For Mississippi
Private
Mississippi
Up to US $500

About the Community Foundation for Mississippi

We Are Better Together. We Are Mississippi.

Mississippi is one of the most charitable states in the nation. Our state is full of generous people who want their communities to be great places to live. Helping communities harness their philanthropic potential is what we do. We work alongside community leaders, philanthropists, and community partners to make meaningful and lasting change in our state. Because, truly, we are better together.

Friends of Andrew Bucci Fund: Art Supply Grant

The Friends of Andrew Bucci Fund’s 2026 Art Supply Grant cycle is now open. Mississippi art teachers may apply for grants of up to $500 to purchase supplies that support visual arts instruction for students in pre-K through 12th grade.

The fund was created to honor the memory of Andrew Bucci, one of Mississippi’s most celebrated visual artists. Grants help teachers provide hands-on opportunities for students to create and explore art using supplies such as paper, paint, paintbrushes, pencils, markers and clay.

Education - K through 12 Visual Arts Art Education

The Manzer-Keener-Wefler Scholarship Fund

Stark Community Foundation
Private
United States
More than US $500

Stark Community Foundation

Since 1963, Stark Community Foundation has been helping individuals, families, businesses and nonprofits like you support the causes you care about.

In addition to personalized donor services, we manage a competitive grantmaking program and award grants to address local needs. Today, the Foundation stewards over 1,000 charitable funds totaling $485 million in assets and has granted more than $300 million to nonprofits in our community and beyond.

Scholarships

Stark Community Foundation is one of the area’s major sources of college scholarship support— thanks to the generosity of caring individuals, families and businesses that have created scholarship funds.

The Foundation currently manages more than 100 scholarship funds that support hundreds of deserving students each year from Stark and Carroll counties.

The Manzer-Keener-Wefler Scholarship Fund

The Manzer-Keener-Wefler Scholarship Fund assists applicants with a field of study in or related to photography, visual arts (including graphic design). 

This scholarship is renewable.

Education - Higher Education Visual Arts Design +1 more

Research & Development Grant

Chicken & Egg Pictures Inc
Private
United States
Up to US $20,000

About

Chicken & Egg Films shapes a more equitable and just world with the catalytic power of documentary films by providing funding, mentorship and industry access to a global community of women and gender-expansive filmmakers. Founded in 2005 by Julie Parker Benello, Wendy Ettinger, and Judith Helfand, and helmed today by CEO Jenni Wolfson, our goal is to disrupt and dismantle barriers to filmmaking caused by gender bias.

Research & Development Grant

Now in its fourth year, the Research & Development Grant supports filmmakers from around the world who have directed at least one feature-length documentary and are in the research & development stage of their next feature-length film.

With continued grant-making support by Netflix, the Research & Development Grant supports directors to ideate and plan for their next feature-length film. Many filmmakers invest their personal resources into their films and face funding challenges when entering into the research & development stages of new projects. It is hard to secure funding for a new project without significant sample material, yet producing material without external funding can be almost impossible. To address this challenge, the Research & Development Grant provides financial support to directors during a filmmaking stage that is too often unpaid and unsupported. 

A total of $450,000 USD will be awarded in the following grant amounts:

  • $10,000 USD grants for Research
  • $20,000 USD grants for Development

The final number of Research Grants vs. Development Grants disbursed will be determined during the selection process, based on the characteristics and strength of the applicant pool for each category.

The purpose of the Research & Development Grant is to support projects at the early stages of their lifecycle. If you have already raised a significant amount of capital (over 35% of your film’s total budget) and have shot and/or edited a substantial amount of footage, you may not be competitive for this grant, unless you can demonstrate very specific needs for the project (such as previously overlooked research activity). 

We have separated the Research Grant from the Development Grant to allow early-stage projects to receive support without the need to submit all the deliverables required for projects in the development phase. 

We recognize that each documentary is unique and that processes for research and development, fundraising, and production can vary widely. The information provided here is not intended as strict eligibility criteria, but rather as general guidelines to help applicants understand the stage at which we aim to provide support for projects. 

The 2026 Chicken & Egg Films Research & Development Grant is generously supported by Netflix.

Film Media Arts Visual Arts

Hallie Ford Fellowship in the Visual Arts

The Ford Family Foundation
Private
Oregon
US $35,000

The Ford Family Foundation

The Ford Family Foundation is a nonprofit, private foundation proudly headquartered in Roseburg, Oregon, serving rural Oregon and Siskiyou County, California. Our investments through grants, scholarships and community building create the conditions for children to have the family, educational and community supports they need to succeed in life.

Visual Arts Program

Support for arts fellowships, residencies and grants

The Visual Arts Program seeks to support Oregon’s established visual artists who are at pivotal points in their practice of art. We offer several opportunities and experiences aimed at accelerating an enhanced quality of artistic endeavor and significant advancements in artists’ work.

Hallie Ford Fellowship in the Visual Arts

The Foundation awards up to three unrestricted Hallie Ford Fellowships in the Visual Arts per calendar year to Oregon visual artists who have demonstrated a depth of sophisticated practice and potential for significant future accomplishment. These fellowships honor the late Hallie E. Ford, co-founder of The Ford Family Foundation, who strongly believed that artists should have the opportunity to realize their talents.

Artists who apply but are not selected for a Hallie Ford Fellowship are encouraged to reapply annually.

Visual Arts Artist Training & Development

1905 Legacy Award

The Ford Family Foundation
Private
Oregon
US $50,000

The Ford Family Foundation

The Ford Family Foundation is a nonprofit, private foundation proudly headquartered in Roseburg, Oregon, serving rural Oregon and Siskiyou County, California. Our investments through grants, scholarships and community building create the conditions for children to have the family, educational and community supports they need to succeed in life.

Visual Arts Program

Support for arts fellowships, residencies and grants

The Visual Arts Program seeks to support Oregon’s established visual artists who are at pivotal points in their practice of art. We offer several opportunities and experiences aimed at accelerating an enhanced quality of artistic endeavor and significant advancements in artists’ work.

1905 Legacy Award

The 1905 Legacy Award honors outstanding Oregon artists whose life-long career and sustained excellence has significantly impacted the artistic community of Oregon. The Foundation grants one unrestricted award every five years.

About the Award

Named in honor of Hallie E. Ford’s birth year, the 1905 Legacy Award in Visual Arts is a new and valuable component of the Foundation’s Visual Arts program, which is designed to accelerate an enhanced quality of work by established Oregon visual artists and to enrich Oregon’s visual arts ecology. It is bestowed by nomination and reviewed by an anonymous panel of arts professionals.

Artists will be considered by nomination.

Use of funds

Fellowship funds are unrestricted and intended to assist with work and life expenses. This includes, among other things, purchase of materials, production costs of artwork and to supplement living or travel costs during the year of exploration, conceptualization and creation of new work.

Artist Training & Development Visual Arts

Visual Arts & Education Grant

Helen Frankenthaler Foundation Inc
Private
United States
US $5,000 - US $100,000

Helen Frankenthaler Foundation Inc

The Helen Frankenthaler Foundation supports the artist’s legacy through a variety of initiatives, including exhibitions, loans of artworks, research and publications, conservation, grants, educational programs for the public and the scholarly community, and the publishing of a catalogue raisonné. It is dedicated to promoting greater public interest in and understanding of the visual arts.

Established and endowed by the artist during her lifetime (1928-2011), the Foundation became active in 2013, on the closing of Frankenthaler’s estate. As the principal beneficiary of Frankenthaler’s estate, the Foundation maintains an extensive collection of her work in a variety of mediums, as well as her collection of works by other artists and original papers and materials pertaining to her life and work.

Visual Arts & Education Grant

The Helen Frankenthaler Foundation supports public engagement with the visual arts through philanthropic, educational, curatorial, and research initiatives. It has expanded its grantmaking to sustain museums and visual arts institutions, supporting exhibitions, scholarship, and education across the field. The Foundation’s grantmaking priorities are currently organized across three areas:

  • Climate Action and Sustainability
  • Cultural Resilience
  • Visual Arts & Education
    • Project-based support for exhibitions, publications, public programs, and academic initiatives that advance the presentation, study, and interpretation of the visual arts.
    • The Foundation supports discrete, institutionally grounded projects that advance the presentation, study, and understanding of the visual arts. Competitive proposals typically include:
      • Exhibitions, publications, and public programs focused on modern and contemporary art
      • Projects that expand access to collections, archives, and curatorial research
      • Academic and institutional initiatives in art history, studio practice, visual studies, museum and curatorial studies, conservation, and related areas of scholarship and teaching—particularly those involving university museums, galleries, and special collections
      • Conferences, programs, or initiatives led by professional organizations whose missions address the visual arts
      • Exhibitions and scholarly or public programs related to the 2028 centennial of Helen Frankenthaler
      • Projects must be clearly defined in scope, duration, and outcomes, and supported by appropriate institutional capacity. Requests for Visual Arts & Education funds should not be framed as general operating support. 
Education Visual Arts

Cultural Resilience Grant

Helen Frankenthaler Foundation Inc
Private
United States
US $5,000 - US $100,000

Helen Frankenthaler Foundation Inc

The Helen Frankenthaler Foundation supports the artist’s legacy through a variety of initiatives, including exhibitions, loans of artworks, research and publications, conservation, grants, educational programs for the public and the scholarly community, and the publishing of a catalogue raisonné. It is dedicated to promoting greater public interest in and understanding of the visual arts.

Established and endowed by the artist during her lifetime (1928-2011), the Foundation became active in 2013, on the closing of Frankenthaler’s estate. As the principal beneficiary of Frankenthaler’s estate, the Foundation maintains an extensive collection of her work in a variety of mediums, as well as her collection of works by other artists and original papers and materials pertaining to her life and work.

Cultural Resilience Grant

The Helen Frankenthaler Foundation supports public engagement with the visual arts through philanthropic, educational, curatorial, and research initiatives. It has expanded its grantmaking to sustain museums and visual arts institutions, supporting exhibitions, scholarship, and education across the field. The Foundation’s grantmaking priorities are currently organized across three areas:

  • Climate Action and Sustainability
  • Visual Arts & Education
  • Cultural Resilience
    • Unrestricted support to sustain institutional capacity and core programming across the visual arts field. 
    • The Foundation provides unrestricted support to organizations whose core work is centered in the visual arts. These grants are intended to sustain exhibitions, programs, and institutional activities; support staffing, operations, and organizational capacity; and to maintain continuity during periods of reduced public funding and broader pressures affecting the arts and culture sector.
      • Cultural Resilience support is not project-based and does not require a defined initiative. 
Visual Arts Museums & Cultural Institutions

Grants for Visual Artists Highlights

Grants for visual artists provide funding to support creative projects, exhibitions, and professional development. The following grants help artists gain resources, promote their work, and make a lasting impact on cultural and artistic communities.


Search Instrumentl's Visual Artists Grants Database


Explore 136 funding opportunities for visual artists, with $8.5M in resources. Instrumentl helps artists and organizations navigate funding options with deadline notifications, refined search tools, and funder insights to foster creative growth.

Last updated: October 5, 2026. Next update: November 1, 2026.

Grant Insights : Grants for Visual Artists

Grant Availability

How common are grants in this category?

Common — grants in this category appear regularly across funding sources.

100+ Grants for Visual Artists grants for nonprofits in the United States, from private foundations to corporations seeking to fund grants for nonprofits.

25 Grants for Visual Artists over $25K in average grant size

17 Grants for Visual Artists over $50K in average grant size

38 Grants for Visual Artists supporting general operating expenses

100+ Grants for Visual Artists supporting programs / projects

600+ Grants on Instrumentl focused on Visual Arts

25 Grants on Instrumentl focused on Middle Eastern / North African Culture & Heritage

Grant Deadline Distribution

Over the past year, when are grant deadlines typically due for grants for Visual Artists?

Most grants are due in the first quarter.

Q1
28.9%
Q2
26.0%
Q3
27.3%
Q4
17.7%

Typical Funding Amounts

What's the typical grant amount funded for Grants for Visual Artists?

Grants are most commonly $8,400.

$250 $250 Min.
$8,400 $8.4 K Median
$81,463 $81.5 K Average
$5,400,000 $5.4 M Max.

Frequently asked questions

Major funders of visual artist grants that contribute to the $2.7M in funding available include agenies such as the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and state arts councils.

Grants for visual artists are available to individual artists, nonprofit arts organizations, museums, and visual arts collectives. These grants provide funding for creative projects, exhibitions, and professional development, helping artists access resources, showcase their work, and make a lasting impact on cultural and artistic communities. Many funders prioritize projects that foster artistic excellence, expand public access to art, and support emerging artists.

Based on Instrumentl’s live grant database for visual artists, grant deadlines are most common in Q1, accounting for 28.9% of all submission dates. The slowest period for new grant opportunities in this category falls in Q4, making it a less competitive time for preparation and strategic planning.

Visual artist grants support projects, exhibitions, artist residencies, and arts education programs. These grants encourage innovation, leadership, and the exploration of art’s cultural impact on society. Funders seek to foster creativity, provide financial support to artists, and enhance cultural engagement within communities.

Funding for grants for visual artists grants varies widely, with award amounts ranging from a minimum of $250 to a maximum of $5,400,000. Based on Instrumentl’s data, the median grant amount for this category is $8,400, while the average grant awarded is $81,463. Understanding these funding trends can help nonprofits set realistic expectations when applying.

To improve their success rate, artists and art organizations that are interested in virtual artist grants should consider the following in their proposals:

  • Present a clear artistic vision – Clearly state the artistic purpose of the project or program and explain the creative goals and the type of work you aim to produce or support (e.g., visual arts, mixed media, public installations). It is important to communicate a strong creative identity while showing how the artistic work will engage and inspire the intended audience.
  • Demonstrate community engagement – Explain how local residents, artists, or organizations will participate in the creation, presentation, or promotion of the project. Consider mentioning any collaborations with schools, community centers, or local businesses, and explain how these partnerships will increase the project’s reach and impact.
  • Provide a compelling portfolio of past work – Include projects that align closely with the goals and scope of the grant you are applying for. Include professional photographs, videos, or digital files that clearly capture the quality and detail of the work, and organize the images or files in a clean, consistent format. The goal is to present a visually engaging, well-organized, and outcome-focused portfolio that highlights both the artistic quality and community impact of the work.

For additional guidance, explore our step-by-step guide to crafting compelling grant proposals.

Instrumentl simplifies the grant application process by offering an intuitive platform that helps artists and art organizations discover relevant funding opportunities, track deadlines, and analyze funder-giving patterns. The platform's automated alerts ensure users never miss a deadline, while detailed funder insights help organizations tailor their applications to align with grantor priorities. See how Phoenix Children's Foundation saves three hours per week on grant prospecting with Instrumentl.