Nationwide Grants
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has received supplemental funding to provide emergency relief to institutions and organizations working in the humanities that have been affected by the coronavirus. In keeping with Congress’s intent in enacting the CARES Act, proposed short-term projects should emphasize retaining or hiring humanities staff.
NEH invites applications from eligible organizations seeking support for at-risk humanities positions and projects that have been impacted by the coronavirus. Through this funding opportunity, NEH will award grants to museums, libraries and archives, historic sites, independent research institutions, professional organizations, colleges and universities, and other cultural organizations across the country to help these entities continue to advance their mission during the interruption of their operations due to the coronavirus pandemic. Learn more
Artist Relief
Artist Relief is an emergency initiative launched in April 2020 to support artists facing dire financial emergencies due to the global health crisis. Artist Relief is an emergency, non-restricted fund that will grant $5,000 to individual artists facing financial hardship. To apply visit
artistrelief.org
Actors Fund – Entertainment Assistance Program
With a focus on support and education, our Entertainment Assistance Program services include:
- One-on-one counseling and referrals to helpful resources
- Support for issues around sexual harassment
- Assistance in locating legal and health services
- Information on affordable housing and advice in dealing with landlord/tenant issues
- Seminars and groups on topics such as financial wellness and coping with depression
- Emergency financial assistance for basic living expenses such as rent or medical expenses
Any performing arts or entertainment professional may call on the Entertainment Assistance Program for support, information or referrals to community agencies.
Eligibility for financial assistance requires an application, documentation of your professional earnings and an interview and in general is based on:
- A minimum of five years of industry paid employment with earnings of at least $6,500 for three out of the last five years, or
- Twenty years of industry paid employment with a minimum of ten years of earnings of at least $5,000 for each of those years, and
- Financial need
We provide assistance nationally. Please contact our regional office closest to you.
New York City
212.221.7300, ext. 119
intakeny@actorsfund.org
Chicago
312.372.0989
intakechicago@actorsfund.org
Los Angeles
323.933.9244, ext. 455
intakela@actorsfund.org
Learn more
CERF+ COVID-19 Relief Grant
[Posted: 6/16] CERF+ is launching the COVID-19 Relief Grant program to provide financial assistance to professional artists working in craft disciplines who are facing dire circumstances from the COVID-19 crisis.
As part of CERF+’s broader COVID-19 crisis response strategies, this special program will provide one-time $1,000 grants to meet urgent food, housing and/or health insecurities. The grants will be awarded in two cycles: the application opens July 8th and the deadline for the first round will be July 29th, the second will be September 9th. Priority will be given to eligible artists facing the most severe financial pressures, and CERF+ will ensure that funds are dispersed throughout the country.
Learn more
CERF+ Emergency Assistance (For Artists)
Have you or an artist you know experienced a recent, career threatening emergency, such as an illness, accident, fire or natural disaster?
CERF+ emergency assistance includes grants and/or brokered assistance, such as booth fee waivers and discounts or donations on supplies and equipment.
Artists interested in CERF+ emergency assistance must first complete an inquiry form. If it is determined that you may be eligible for assistance, you will be invited to apply for assistance. Before filling out an emergency assistance inquiry form, carefully read through the eligibility criteria and supporting documentation requirements. Learn more
Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants Program
The New York Foundation for the Arts has partnered with Robert Rauschenberg Foundation to administer the Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants program, which provides one-time grants of up to $5,000 for unexpected medical/dental/mental health emergencies. Emergencies are defined as taking place within the last six months (January 1, 2020 or later). The grants are available to visual and media artists and choreographers who live anywhere in the U.S., its Territories, and the District of Columbia. Artists of color and those living outside of the East and West coasts are encouraged to apply.The program does not cover lost wages/income. The July/August application cycle closes Monday, August 31. Full details: https://bit.ly/3cNXpnb.
Foundation for Contemporary Arts
Created in 1993 to further FCA’s mission to encourage, sponsor, and promote work of a contemporary, experimental nature, Emergency Grants 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
Emergency Grants is the only active, multi-disciplinary program that offers immediate assistance of this kind to artists living and working anywhere in the United States, for projects occurring in the U.S. and abroad.
Each month FCA receives an average of 95 Emergency Grant applications and makes approximately 12-15 grants. Grants range in amount from $500 to $2,500, and the average grant is now $1,600.
We recommend that artists review all of our eligibility guidelines and FAQs before applying. You may also complete our Eligibility Questionnaire, but please note that the questionnaire is not a substitute for a thorough review of program guidelines. Learn more
Freedimensional – Distress Services
Distress Services are intended for activists and culture workers in situations of distress as a result of their professional work. Distress situations may include verbal threats, imprisonment or legal persecution, violent attack, professional or social exclusion, or harassment. Services include a safe haven program, emergency grants, and referrals to other resources. Learn more
The Haven Foundation
The Haven Foundation gives financial assistance to provide temporary support needed to safeguard and sustain the careers of established freelance artists, writers, and other members of the arts and art production communities who have suffered disabilities or experienced a career-threatening illness, accident, natural disaster or personal catastrophe. Learn more
Author League Fund
The Authors League Fund helps authors, dramatists, journalists, and poets. Recipients must be career writers with a substantial body of work in one of more of the following categories:
- Book authors with at least one title published by an established traditional publisher. Authors with multiple titles are given priority.
- Dramatists whose full-length plays have been produced in mid-size or large theaters and/or published by established dramatic presses.
- Journalists, critics, essayists, short story writers, and poets with a substantial body of work in periodicals with a national or broad circulation. Whether print or online, these periodicals must have strong editorial oversight and a sizable readership. This category does not include copywriting, blogging, public relations, and writing for non-periodical websites and corporate clients.
The Fund does not typically assist self-published writers unless they have a record of critical and financial success with their publications.
While it is not necessary that the applicant subsists solely on his or her income from writing, or have published in recent years, the applicant’s status as a professional writer is vital. Please list awards, fellowships, and other forms of recognition in your application.
The Authors League Fund helps writers living in the United States, regardless of citizenship, and American writers living abroad. Learn more
Carnegie Fund for Authors
The applicant must be an American author who has published at least one full-length work — fiction or nonfiction — that has been published by a mainstream publisher. Applicants cannot have eligibility determined by a work that they paid to have published. A work may have been published in eBook format only, or in hardcover or softcover format, or in more than one format.
An applicant must demonstrate need; the emergency may be because of illness or some other urgent need such as fire, flood, hurricane, etc. Documentation should be included with the application: a doctor’s letter or other proof of the emergency situation.
If you believe you qualify for a grant, you should take the next step and register with the site. Decide whether you want to download an application to send in or to apply online. Learn more
PEN America Writers’ Emergency Fund
The Writers’ Emergency Fund is for acute emergencies only and exists to help writers in a difficult period in their lives. Most grants are given to those who have short-term medical or housing situations that they are financially unable to resolve independently. The Writers’ Fund cannot attempt to solve the complicated issues of chronic poverty or long-term medical expenses.
- Candidates must be permanent U.S. residents and/or citizens.
- The Writers’ Emergency Fund does not exist for research purposes, to enable the completion of writing projects, or to fund publications or organizations.
- The Writers’ Emergency Fund is for writers whose primary professional occupation is writing.
- Self-published authors or those published by vanity presses are not eligible.
- Writers do not have to be Members of PEN America to apply or to receive a grant.
The Writers’ Fund uses the following guidelines when evaluating applicants’ professional credentials (combinations of these criteria are acceptable):- at least one book by a reputable publishing house. Authors published by self-publishing presses (Create Space, Xlibris, Author House, etc) are not eligible.
- ten or more essays, short stories, or poems in literary anthologies or literary journals in the last two years
- a full-length play, performed in a theater of over 250 seats by a professional theater company
- employment as a full-time professional journalist, columnist, or critic by a reputable print periodical OR 12 or more literary reviews in a nationally recognized print periodical in the last two years
- editors and agents who have been professional for the last five years
Important: For forthcoming books, essays, short stories, poems, or articles, applicants must provide contact information for each publishing house or periodical; those published by vanity presses or self-publishing houses are not eligible for the Writers’ Fund. Learn more
Musicians Foundation
Eligibility
To qualify for aid from the Musicians Foundation, you must meet the following conditions:
- You (or the person for whom you are applying) must be a musician of any genre in a time of acute need, due to personal, medical, dental, or family crisis, natural disaster, or other emergency situation.
- You must have worked in the United States as a professional musician for at least five (5) years.
- You must currently reside in the United States.
- You must be able to provide tax documentation detailing that for five (5) or more years, your principal income has been derived from your work as a musician.
- You must submit an application, which will be reviewed by the Musicians Foundation screening committee.
Please note:
- We give grants for medical and allied living expenses in emergencies, and pay these debts on behalf of the musicians we help. We do not write checks directly to musicians.
- Our grants typically range in amount from approximately $500-$3000.
- We do not give grants for scholarships, loans, or private unemployment benefits.
- If necessary, applications may be filled out by friends or family of the musician in need. We also aid musicians who need assistance supporting their family members in times of emergency.
Learn more
American Guild of Musical Artists Relief Fund (For AGMA Members only)
AGMA is aware of the major effects resonating in the performance sector regarding the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak. We are deeply saddened that it is resulting in loss of work and moneys due to theater closures and travel restrictions. We know that many of our artists, especially soloists, travel extensively and have been affected by this crisis. We want to let you know that we are monitoring the spread of the coronavirus and are doing what we can to prepare for its potential impact on our industries. AGMA is having the appropriate conversations with our employers on how we can maintain business continuity, and related issues, if an outbreak becomes more severe. Learn more
d an online weekly group, “Coping with COVID: A Financial Support Group” that provides financial counseling to creative individuals and others as they deal with the financial challenges as part of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hosted by Elaine Grogan Luttrull, CPA-PFS, AFC, this supportive weekly conversation is a great place to bring your questions to find community support. Please email 
