The list below is not meant to be a comprehensive gathering of ALL funding sources that exist to artists, creatives, and makers in the City. Opportunities exist to elicit funding from City, State, Federal, and private sources and it would be nearly impossible to list them all. With that being said, the list below provides a great place to start, in some cases linking to notice boards and blogs that are continually updated. We also encourage you to sign up for our Viva Arts & Culture newsletter for featured opportunities.
Last updated: January 3, 2022
FEATURED
- Fellowships: direct grants to individual artists in a variety of categories
- Traditional Arts Apprenticeships: grants for the teaching of traditional arts
- Local Cultural Council Program: grants to artists and groups in local communities
- STARS Residencies: grants to schools to fund residencies, including those by artists
Mass Humanities – Mass Humanities funds the development of thought-provoking public humanities projects for Massachusetts audiences, bringing people together to explore the history, culture, values and beliefs that matter to communities in our state. Current opportunities listed.
Four new funding opportunities from Mass Humanities seek to respond to the challenges facing the people of Massachusetts. Part of a new three-year strategic plan, the foundation’s 2022 grants calendar prioritizes support for projects and local organizations serving historically marginalized communities.
Mass Humanities offers four ways for non-profits and tribal entities to seek funding in 2022:
- Expand Massachusetts Stories Grants: Up to $20,000 for projects that seek, share, and/or interpret stories of Massachusetts, using the humanities to improve our shared understanding of the Bay State.
- Staffing the Humanities Grants: $7000-$20,000 grants to small museums, humanities, and community cultural organizations to increase staffing to grow, create, or bring back humanities programs.
- Reading Frederick Douglass Together Grants: Up to $1200 for communities to host shared public readings of Frederick Douglass’s speech on the meaning of the 4th of July.
- Bridge Street Sponsorships: Up to $1500 for history centers, societies, and historic sites to host online or hybrid programs during the 2022 calendar year.
The grants are made possible through support from Mass Cultural Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and individual donors.
TDI Creative Catalyst
MassDevelopment’s TDI Creative Catalyst Grant program is a competitive grant program through which individuals and organizations in current and graduated Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) districts can apply for grants of between $20,000 to $40,000 to support public-facing projects that serve to enhance local arts and cultural infrastructure. Click here for more information and to apply.
MAIN LIST
Actors Fund Emergency Relief Fund – To assist everyone who works in performing arts and entertainment across the country, the Actor Relief Fund is collaborating with the community to help people to navigate these challenging times. The Actors Fund has distributed more than $16 million in emergency financial assistance to 13,559 people in our industry.
Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant – The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant program is intended to provide interim financial assistance to qualified painters, printmakers, and sculptors whose needs are the result of an unforeseen, catastrophic incident, and who lack the resources to meet that situation.
AGMA Relief Fund – American Guild of Musical Artists – The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) Relief Fund provides support and temporary financial assistance to members who are in need.
Alliance for Artist Communities – The Alliance was created, to recognize creative process and the exploration of new ideas as essential to human progress. Based in Providence, RI, The Alliance membership now includes more than 400 organizations and individuals, in 50 U.S. states and 20 countries, and speaks collectively on behalf of the more than 1,500 residency programs worldwide. Since 2004, the Alliance has provided more than $4 million in direct grant funding to artists and artist residency centers.
American Society of Journalists and Authors: Emergency Assistance Fund – One-time grants for writers to cover medical bills.
The Art Guide: A List of Art Calls – Find an art call in your state with The Art Guide’s directory.
Artists Fellowship – The Artists’ Fellowship, Inc. is a 501 (c)(3) private charitable foundation that financially assists professional visual artists and their families in times of emergency, disability or bereavement. Assistance is given without expectation of repayment. One does not need to be a member of the Fellowship to receive assistance nor does membership in the Artists’ Fellowship entitle one to assistance from the foundation.
Artist Communities Alliance – A directory of residencies for artists of all disciplines.
Authors League Fund – The Authors League Fund helps professional authors, journalists, poets, and dramatists who find themselves in financial need because of medical or health-related problems, temporary loss of income, or other misfortune.
The Awesome Foundation Grant – Each fully autonomous chapter supports awesome projects through micro-grants, usually given out monthly. These micro-grants, $1000 or the local equivalent, come out of pockets of the chapter’s “trustees” and are given on a no-strings-attached basis to people and groups working on awesome projects.
BARR Foundation – The Barr Foundation focuses on three areas: Arts & Creativity, Climate, and Education. This is complemented by grantmaking to strengthen New England’s social sector, and by targeted, time-limited Special Initiatives. Founded in 1997, Barr has contributed more than $1 billion to charitable causes. The Foundation’s grantmaking budget for 2020 is $95 million.
The Blues Foundation HART Fund – for Blues musicians – The Blues Foundation established the HART Fund (Handy Artists Relief Trust) for Blues musicians and their families in financial need due to a broad range of health concerns.
Boston Center for the Arts – Public Art Residency – BCA’s Public Art Residency program supports two artists or artist teams each year to activate our public plaza and other areas across BCA campus with interactive, temporary public art. This process-oriented residency provides an opportunity for artists to experiment with their craft, develop focus, and engage in active public dialogue. We encourage residents to connect with the public not only through the completed artwork, but also throughout the process of developing and realizing the project.
Boston City Hall: Call to Artists & Art Organizations – Seeking artists and artist organizations that live or create in Boston to exhibit at Boston City Hall.
Carnegie Fund for Authors – Carnegie Fund for Authors awards grants to American authors who have been published by a mainstream publisher and who are in need of emergency funds.
Citizen’s Bank – Citizens supports opportunities where our funding can have a significant and measurable community impact.
Coca-Cola Foundation -All requests for community support in the form of grants or sponsorships must be submitted through an online application system.
Digitizing Hidden Collections: Amplifying Unheard Voices – This is a national grant competition administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) inviting proposals to digitize materials that deepen public understanding of the histories of people of color and other communities and populations whose work, experiences, and perspectives have been insufficiently recognized or unattended.
Emergency Survival Fund for LGBTQ2S artists, performers & tip-based workers – This is a fund to help LGBTQ2S people who cannot pay for food, medicine, rent, and necessities because most of their income doesn’t come from an employer. Grants based on need and available funds. Rolling until expended.
Eyebeam Center for the Future of Journalism – Grants – Supports a variety of work, including: text, photography, audio and video. Artists and artist-journalist teams with longer-term, research-intensive projects are also encouraged to apply. Application deadline: rolling.
Fall River Cultural Council – The Fall River Cultural Council works under the umbrella of the Mayor’s Office. Every year, we distribute funds from the City of Fall River and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Local Cultural Council Grant Application typically opens in September, with a mid-October deadline. These funds support innovative arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences programming. The goal is to enhance the quality of life in the City of Fall River.
Fully Funded Residencies – Fully Funded Residencies is an online platform for research and knowledge-sharing that gathers, archives and shares fully funded residencies, awards, grants and mobility funds.
Foundation for Contemporary Arts – Emergency Grant – Provide urgent funding for visual and performing artists who: have sudden, unanticipated opportunities to present their work to the public when there is insufficient time to seek other sources of funding, incur unexpected or unbudgeted expenses for projects close to completion with committed exhibition or performance dates. Grants range in amount from $500 to $3,000, and the average grant is now $1,700. Application deadline is rolling.
Fund for Investigative Journalism – The Fund for Investigative Journalism provides grants and other support to independent journalists and news organizations to produce high-quality, unbiased, nonpartisan investigative stories that have an impact.
International Arts Movement: Hilary Teachout Grants – Hilary Teachout Grants offer artists relief during the coronavirus pandemic. Named the Hilary Teachout Grants, they honor the memory of the wife of theatre critic Terry Teachout; she passed away during the COVID-19 crisis due to an illness that required a double lung transplant. One-time grants of $500 are provided.
Independent Journalism Grant – The Economic Hardship Reporting Project is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that produces journalism to raise awareness about income inequality and economic unfairness in America. They commission op-eds, personal essays, investigative reports, rich narrative features, podcasts, nonfiction cartoons, photo essays, and documentaries about the United States. Grants generally range from $500 for an op-ed to $10,000 for a documentary.
International Women’s Media Foundation – United States Journalism Emergency Fund – This fund will directly support U.S. journalists in need so they can resume work essential to our functioning democracy. Made available to U.S. based journalists regardless of gender. Applicants must be U.S. journalists with journalism serving as their primary profession and must provide proof of their financial need. Funding is available to both staff journalists and those working independently.
Jazz Foundation Musicians Emergency Fund – The Jazz Foundation’s Musicians’ Emergency Fund provides housing assistance, pro bono medical care, disaster relief, and direct financial support in times of crisis.
The Learned Fangirl Freelance Emergency Fund – The Learned Fangirl has created the TLF Freelance Emergency Fund to support freelance culture writers who have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.
Leveler: Peer to Peer Wealth Distribution – People seeking financial assistance may apply and someone in a better financial position will provide an emergency fund for them. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Max’s Kansas City Project – The Max’s Kansas City Project provides emergency funding & resources to professionals in the creative arts. Individuals who have made their living through their art form either professionally or personally and demonstrate a financial need for medical aid, legal aid or housing.
MASS MoCA’s Assets for Artists – Space Finder – Selected links for resources on artist space rentals or ownership opportunities, with a focus on Massachusetts.
Millay Arts Multidisciplinary Artist Core Residencies – From April through November, Millay Arts hosts 6-7 multidisciplinary artists, selected through a blind jury process.
Musicians Foundation – Grant – Grants for medical and dental bills, living expenses, and other essentials in cases of emergency. This is not a COVID-19 assistance or unemployment grant. To qualify, you must be applying for reasons other than lost or cancelled work. Grants typically range in amount from approximately $500-$3000. Application: rolling.
National Endowment for the Arts – NEA awards cost/share matching grants to nonprofit organizations for a wide variety of arts projects, literature fellowships for published creative writers and translators, and Partnership Agreements with the 62 state/jurisdictional arts agencies and regional arts organizations.
New England Foundation for the Arts – NEFA offers 15+ grants to artists and organizations to support the creation and presentation of work. Current opportunities listed.
Newport Festivals Musician Relief Fund – Musicians that have lost income from a canceled gig/performance due to the pandemic may apply to this grant. Priority will be given to musicians who played the Newport Jazz or Folk Festivals and those in the Rhode Island community.
Pen America – Emergency Funds for Writers List – A listing of national and regional emergency grants available to writers in acute financial crisis.
Philanthropy Massachusetts – Founded in 1969, Philanthropy Massachusetts is a diverse and vibrant membership association of highly engaged philanthropic organizations and individuals with interests in Massachusetts. We connect new and established donors, their trustees and staff to each other, to their communities and to emerging and relevant issues in the field. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Philanthropy MA delivers excellent opportunities in learning, networking, access to resources and tools, skill-building, and community-building and serves as a bridge between funders and fund applicants for better understanding, efficiency and impact.
Pollock-Krasner Foundation – The Foundation welcomes, throughout the year, applications from visual artists who are painters, sculptors, and artists who work on paper, including printmakers. There are no deadlines. The Foundation will review expenditures relating to an artist’s professional work and personal expenses and amounts range up to $30,000. Professional exhibition history will be taken into consideration. Artists must be actively exhibiting their current work in professional artistic venues, such as galleries and museum spaces.
Pop Culture Collab – Pop Culture Collaborative grants are awarded to United States–based nonprofit organizations, for-profit companies, and individuals (with fiscal sponsorship) working to drive transformative experiences for mass audiences (i.e., more than 1 million people) through pop culture stories, media, and social networks. These include initiatives focused on the development and distribution of content, design of audience engagement strategies, and the creation of immersive narrative environments through cultural, narrative, and behavioral change approaches.
P0STB1NARY – Mutual Aid Directory – This is a growing directory of independent artists impacted by COVID-19. Most on this list identify as Black, Indigenous, non-white & Trans or Queer (listed first). Supporters: Check out these artists’ work, commission them, donate directly to them, and spread the word! Artists: Fill out this form to be added to the directory.
Red Sox Foundation – The Red Sox Foundation partners with nonprofits across New England and Lee County, FL, to support the important work of hundreds of organizations in our communities. Our work with programmatic grantees focuses on critical support in health, education, and recreation, and our financial support ranges from $1,000 – $5,000.
ResArtis -Res Artis is a 28 year old network of arts residency centres from around the globe.
Socrates Sculpture Park – Fellowship and art space in Long Island City, Queens. The 2022 program focuses on the present day ecological conditions and challenges that our globe faces.
SouthCoast Community Foundation – The SouthCoast Community Foundation offers several competitive grant programs that invest in communities throughout Southeastern Massachusetts, with the aim to support the causes of nonprofit organizations in our area.
SpeakArt -Promoting funded artist residency programs and fellowships.
Stochastic Labs – Residency Application – Stochastic Labs awards fully sponsored residencies to exceptional engineers, artists, scientists, and entrepreneurs from around the world. Residencies are of variable length and include a private apartment at the mansion, co-working and/or dedicated work space, shop access (laser cutter, 3D printer etc), a $1k monthly stipend and a budget for materials.
Sweet Relief COVID-19 Fund – DONOR-DIRECTED FUND with a limited amount of funds available to be used specifically for musicians and music industry workers affected by the Coronavirus. Funds raised will go towards medical expenses, lodging, clothing, food and other vital living expenses to those impacted due to sickness or loss of work. Application deadline is rolling.
The Funding Update – The Funding Update is a listing of funding opportunities, recent grant awards, announcements, and news from local, state, federal, and private sources. Sign up online.
The Greater Sum, Nonprofit Resources –The Greater Sum Foundation supports innovation in the nonprofit sector by providing funding, subject matter expertise, networking, & professional development opportunities to early stage nonprofits.
Theatre Community Benevolent Fund – This fund provides between $500 and $1,500 to individuals involved in theater, and between $1,000 and $6,000 to companies in the greater Boston area. Rolling deadline, application reviewed weekly.
The Theater Offensive’s QTPOC Artists and Youth Relief Fund 2.0 – TTO has established a fund of $10,000 to provide temporary financial assistance to Greater Boston’s QTPOC performing artists and youth affected by the pandemic. A limited number of $250 grants while resources last. Applications reviewed biweekly.
Thespian Relief Grant – The Thespian Relief grants program offers two types of grants to help school theatre programs: $500 grants for schools towards troupe dues. $1000 grants to assist school theatre programs that have been negatively impacted by the cancellation of events or loss of projected revenue, and help with any other issues related to getting a program up and running again this school year. Deadline: Rolling.
Walmart – Local Community grants range from a minimum of $250 to a maximum of $5,000.
We Need Diverse Books – Emergency Fund for Diverse Creatives in Publishing – WNDB provides emergency grants to diverse authors, illustrators, and publishing professionals who are experiencing dire financial need.
Wells Fargo – In the communities we serve, we primarily invest in nonprofit organizations aligned with our four focus areas: financial health, housing affordability, small business growth, and sustainability and environmental justice. We may consider grants to support other critical local needs and initiatives. Priority is placed on nonprofit programming supporting low- to moderate-income communities, addressing racial and social equity, and accelerating an inclusive economy.
Women Arts – WomenArts is dedicated to increasing visibility and opportunities for diverse women artists in all art forms
<Last Updated 01/03/2022>