guides

The Working Artist’s Guide to Grants

Working Artist

— 5 min read
The Working Artist’s Guide to Grants
Illustration by Anna Lustberg

I. Why This Guide Exists

Finding and applying for grants as an artist is increasingly difficult in our current era. The arts grant ecosystem has taken a major hit due to the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts in funding to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Nevertheless, artists continue to need grants to fund their lives and work. This guide is intended to be a starting point for artists trying to navigate the current grant landscape. It will be updated as legislation and lived realities shift over time. 

II. Searching for Grants In Person

Here at Working Artist, we are big fans of building community on the ground and bringing artists and their allies together at in-person events. If you are part of a community of artists, the best way to start finding grants is to tell your friends that you’re looking. Though it can be intimidating to put yourself out there—especially if you’re just starting out—asking people you know to put their feelers out is the best way to get trustworthy recommendations. Speaking to a more experienced artist in your field about what kinds of grants or opportunities they received when they were at a similar point in their career is also a great way to get more personalized recommendations for how to apply from someone who has successfully done what you are trying to do. This kind of conversation can also help build a foundation for a mentoring relationship. 

III. Searching for Grants Online

After you’ve had some in-person conversations, it might be time to head online. Searching for grants online that are a good fit for you takes a great deal of time and effort simply because you need to filter through so many to find what you’re looking for. It’s good practice to start by narrowing your search based on the following criteria:

  • your career stage (emerging artist, mid-career artist, established artist)
  • the type of art you create, your subject matter, your degree of local/community engagement
  • your identifying factors: location, age, race, gender etc.

Most grants will specify what kinds of artists they are looking for based on one or more of these criteria, or encourage a particular group of people to apply. The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) website does a great job of putting applicant criteria front and center:

Image Source: nyfa.org

Check out this page for more details on the Queens Arts Fund: Arts Access Grant.

However, other websites—particularly government-run ones or large databases—can require a bit more digging. Take this entry, from grants.gov, a large, government-run database that clearly puts less emphasis on web design than NYFA:

Source: grants.gov

Check out this page for more details on the FY 2025 Arts and Music Envoy opportunity

At face value, it’s difficult to know what this opportunity entails. When searching in larger databases like this, it takes more digging through fine print to figure out which grants might be a good fit for you. The upside is that the grants that are harder to find tend to get fewer applicants. If you put in the legwork, your odds of receiving a niche grant are typically far higher than they would be with a grant where you’re competing with thousands of other applicants. Once you find something you’re interested in, it’s worth taking the time to scope out the work and CVs of past winners to make sure you are a good fit.

Finally, before you apply for a grant, make sure that you’re clear on what you can use the money for. Some grants have no strings attached, others have many. Conserve your time and energy by figuring out early on which ones will work with your needs and vision.

Illustration by Anna Lustberg

IV. Emergency grants

In case of emergency, there are organizations that have funds set aside to support artists. These grants allow for a much shorter period of time between applying for and actually receiving the grant, due to the sudden and unexpected nature of the emergency itself. 

Most emergency grants cover healthcare-related expenses. At Working Artist, we believe that artists should not have to rely on emergency grants to cover basic healthcare costs. Nevertheless, while we work towards a more equitable future, we are here to highlight this critical resource for artists across the U.S. 

On a lighter note, some “emergency” grants can be for more positive life events. Let’s say a sudden opportunity comes along to present work to the public, but you have some associated unexpected expenses. Thanks to the Foundation for Contemporary Arts there’s an emergency grant for that exact scenario. The NYFA has a good list of emergency grants for artists on this page that includes both grants for medical expenses and those for other unexpected life events. 

V. Advocacy & Donation

Though grants can help alleviate some of the financial pressure on working artists, the reality is that many artists are struggling because they cannot afford to live in increasingly expensive cities across the U.S. Here in NYC, where Working Artist is based, we have a mayoral election coming up. It’s looking like it’ll be a close one, and every vote will count. Voting and volunteering for candidates who care about affordability is one way to push back against the unaffordable status quo. For those who can afford to do so, donating to granting organizations or getting involved in mutual aid networks more locally are crucial ways to help working artists continue to create.

VI. Final Words

While finding grants is certainly a challenge, it is only the tip of the iceberg re: getting funding as a creative. We plan to publish additional guides outlining next steps in the grant writing process and stories of artists persevering in spite of rejection. Though some people like to search systematically for grants, it can also be valuable to take things slow and begin by subscribing to newsletters or listings in your niche and your local area. Fractured Atlas has a free monthly newsletter with information about upcoming grants and their deadlines (here’s the one for August 2025). We also have a free newsletter! 

At Working Artist, we are committed to updating this guide and supporting artists in getting paid fairly for their work. If you have received any grants or other awards that have helped you along your artistic journey please do let us know. Email us at workingartist2000@gmail.com and we will pass along your recommendation to our readers. 

VII. Resources!

This is an NYC-based living list of grants that will be continually updated and geographically expanded as we get more recommendations from our community. This list was last updated in July 2025.

Large Databases:

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