Q. How long has this grant program been in existence?
A. This program began in 2014, with one grant being awarded that year. The program was later revamped to what it is today.
Q. How often do you award grants?
A. We currently average approximately 5 grant cycles per year. Funds are awarded approximately 2-3 weeks after grant announcements are made. The next application deadline is June 30, 2024 at 11:59PM (CST).
Q. Is this grant program only open to United States artists?
A. Yes, you must be a U.S. citizen or a permanent legal resident. Verification will be required if you are a winner.
Q. How old do I have to be to apply for a grant?
A. You must be at least 18 years of age.
Q. What type of artists do you focus on?
A. There is no specific type of artist that we focus on or primarily support. Creative expression comes in a wide variety of artistic disciplines and genres. We love to see how you are inspired to create.
Q. What do you look for in an applicant?
A. We are looking for passion and excellence in your craft. Tell us why your work is important to you and how you hope it will impact others. We also look for effort, clarity and we review your application for completeness. We recommend submitting your application before the deadline date, so that we may notify you if we need any additional information. Incomplete submissions will be disqualified (if not complete by the application deadline date).
Please Note: Applications or work samples containing profanity or vulgarity will be disqualified.
Q. Should I apply for the individual artist grant or the nonprofit grant for my program or project?
A. If this is your own individual program or project, please apply as an individual artist. As an individual artist, you may apply for anything that assists you in the process of creating art, including supplies, rehearsal or performance space, studio time, a residency, etc. You may also apply for community service projects which are artistic, and collaborative projects with other individual artists. An artist may also apply as an individual to do a program or project with a nonprofit organization (as long as the artist is NOT an employee of the organization or on an extended contract). If you work for a nonprofit and are applying for an internal program or project of the charity, please apply through the nonprofit program. The same proposal (by artist and organization) to each grant program is not allowable. A decision must be made as to who applies. It is our recommendation that the nonprofit apply, as more funds will be received if awarded.
Individual artist grants are generally $250 and will be made payable to the individual. Nonprofit grants are generally $350 and will be made payable to the nonprofit.
Q. Am I allowed to apply multiple times in an application cycle?
A. We don’t stop applicants from applying more than once per application cycle (with different grant proposals), but we would recommend only applying once per application cycle.
Q. If I apply in an application cycle and don’t receive a grant award, am I automatically enrolled for the next application cycle?
A. We typically only consider the applicants that apply within a specific application cycle's time frame. However, we reserve the right to make an exception to award an applicant from a previous application cycle.
Q. If I'm awarded a grant, how soon may I apply again?
A. Please wait at least 12 calendar months to apply for another grant. You must submit a different grant proposal when applying.
Q. Why do you charge a $10 application review fee?
A. The fee makes the review of your application possible, as there are many expenses associated with running this program. This fee is only waived for IACA members. For more information about the benefits of an IACA Artist Membership, click here. If you would like to become a member, please apply when completing a grant application and the $10 review fee will be waived.
If your questions are not covered on this FAQ page, please feel free to contact us. We are always happy to assist.