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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:
Restrictions
Requirements
Funding type: Reimbursement
Matching Requirements
1:1 (grantee:SCAC)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
This scholarship will be disbursed for the current 2025-2026 school year.
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.
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
The Tom Woodward Memorial Visual Arts Scholarship
The Tom Woodward Memorial Visual Arts Scholarship benefits students pursuing postgraduate studies at an accredited two-year or four-year college, university, or trade school. Art is not a required major for eligible applicants. This scholarship is renewable.
Application Requirements:
About NPCF
The Northern Piedmont Community Foundation (NPCF) began in December 2000 when nine concerned citizens from Virginia’s Piedmont region were searching for solutions to the charitable needs in Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison, and Rappahannock counties. With modest beginnings, our funds have grown to over $39 million in support of local charities, scholarships and community need in our northern Piedmont region.
NPCF manages a wide variety of funds established by local individuals, families, businesses, or charitable institutions. Through our investment strategies, the returns from these funds are put back into the community through grant cycles, and scholarships, along with the personal causes the fund holder holds dear.
On the nonprofit side, the staff at NPCF is committed to building deep bonds with our region’s nonprofits, educating and supporting them in their health as businesses and their resilience in their missions of supporting our most vulnerable.
We believe that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. By working on both sides of the equation — growing our citizens’ resources while maximizing local nonprofits’ use of those resources — NPCF is ensuring that each link in the chain is healthy, strong, and contributing to the wellness of the Northern Piedmont community.
Scholarships
Northern Piedmont Community Foundation manages the scholarship application process for dozens of scholarships for students in Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison, and Rappahannock counties (as well as a handful serving students from surrounding counties too).
Tom And Dot Hand Scholarship (Universal Application)
This scholarship award was established to assist Culpeper and Eastern View High School students pursuing further education for Visual or Performing Arts at a public college in Virginia. One $1,000 scholarship may awarded. Applicants should demonstrate good community standing and possess a record that displays initiative and commitment to their chosen field of study.
About Us
Our Mission
The Tennessee Arts Commission was created in 1967 by the Tennessee General Assembly with the special mandate to stimulate and encourage the presentation of the visual, literary, music and performing arts and to encourage public interest in the cultural heritage of Tennessee. TN Arts Commission Governing Policies can be found here.
The mission of the Tennessee Arts Commission is to cultivate the arts for the benefit of all Tennesseans and their communities. Our vision is a Tennessee where the arts inspire, connect and enhance everyday lives.
The Commission is supported by in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Individual Artist Fellowship
Recognition and acknowledgement of outstanding professional Tennessee artists who, through their work add to the cultural vitality of the state.
Fellowships provide those individuals who by education, experience, or natural talent engage in a particular art form or discipline, and live and work in Tennessee. To qualify, an artist must be financially compensated for his or her work, and this compensation must be a significant source of support for their livelihood.
No matching funds are required and no specific project has to be carried out with the funds. The Commission anticipates that each fellowship recipient will be awarded $5,000. In a year, the Tennessee Arts Commission may award approximately 1-3 fellowships each in Craft, Media, Visual Art, Dance, Music, Theatre, and Literary Arts.
About the Foundation
The MxCC Foundation Supports CT State Middlesex and Meriden Campuses
The purpose of the Middlesex Community College Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) public charity incorporated in Connecticut, is twofold:
Removing financial obstacles that bar or inhibit student access to education is the Foundation’s driving force. Scholarships address not only the growing need for financial assistance, but also our perennial wish to celebrate student achievement.
The MxCC Foundation’s charge is to develop external resources that contribute support to student and academic programs, as well as efforts that foster student success.
Tom Melbert Annual Award in Humanities
Recipient must be enrolled in English studies or another humanities area and have an interest/love of literature, painting, the arts or travel.
Mission & Vision
Rochester Area Community Foundation, in partnership with generous philanthropists and community partners, works to improve the quality of life for people who live and work in the eight-county region through its leadership and strategic grantmaking.
Our Mission:
We are cultivating a thriving Greater Rochester region — powered by philanthropy, grounded in community, and sustained across generations.
Our Vision:
We envision a Greater Rochester region transformed by enduring philanthropy, where every person, neighborhood, and future generation can thrive.
Elvira Caroselli Creative Spirit Award
Purpose of Scholarship
The Elvira Caroselli Creative Spirit Award will provide small awards to encourage the creative spirit and endeavors of junior and senior high school students.
Number and Size of Awards
Number of recipients and award amounts vary; paid in one lump sum in the Summer. Maximum award $1,500.
Donor Information
Mrs. Caroselli loved creating, designing, and experimenting. This remarkable woman dropped out of school in the eighth grade to help support her family. Despite a lack of formal education, she sold an invention to a major manufacturer when she was 70 years old.
The Alaska Community Foundation
The Alaska Community Foundation connects people who care to the causes that make a difference and matter most to them. We encourage and nurture philanthropy through building and managing permanent endowments, convening stakeholders, working with partners to strengthen Alaskan communities, and providing donors with flexible giving options that are strategic to their philanthropic objectives.
Scholarships at ACF
Each year, more than 60 scholarships are available to Alaska students—and it all starts with one simple application. With one login and one application, you’ll be considered for every scholarship you may be eligible for. Whether you’re taking your first step toward college, training for a career, or continuing your education, these scholarships are here to help carry you forward, backed by donors who believe in Alaska’s students and the futures they’re building.
Alaska Native Students in Arts and Media Fund
The purpose of the Alaska Native Students in Art & Media Fund (ANSAM) is to support Alaska Native students who want to pursue higher education in media and/or visual arts. This includes, but is not limited to photography, videography, journalism, writing, graphic & digital design, drawing, painting. This annual scholarship will provide one student $5,000 to help acquire and build the skills to tell their own personal and cultural stories through visual and other media. The scholarship can be used for university level courses or professional development workshops.
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:
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.
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.
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
Number of awards:
Renewal:
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:
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.
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.
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.
Explore 100+ funding opportunities for visual artists, with $8.3M in resources. Instrumentl helps artists and organizations navigate funding options with deadline notifications, refined search tools, and funder insights to foster creative growth.
How common are grants in this category?
Common — grants in this category appear regularly across funding sources.
Over the past year, when are grant deadlines typically due for grants for Visual Artists?
Most grants are due in the third quarter.
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 Q3, accounting for 28.5% 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 $80,160. 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:
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.