NEA FY2018 Grant Deadlines Approaching
By Suzanne Lynch, Director of Marketing and Development –
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has several grant opportunities for organizations, schools and arts educators that have upcoming deadlines. A statement posted on the NEA website reads “The President’s FY 2018 budget blueprint proposes the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts. With that said, our FY 2017 operations remain unchanged. We continue to make FY 2017 grant awards and will continue to honor all obligated grant funds made to date. In addition, we will continue to accept grant applications for FY 2018 at our usual deadlines. The President’s budget request is the first step in a very long budget process. The agency continues to operate as usual and will do so until a new budget is enacted by Congress.”
The following is a list of current grant opportunities available to arts educators and schools, among others:
Program Solicitation: NEA Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High School Students
The purpose of this Program Solicitation is to select an organization to coordinate and administer the 2017-2018 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High School Students in conjunction with the NEA. Deadline to apply: May 3, 2017.
Complete program solicitation and instructions
ART WORKS Guidelines: Creativity Connects Projects
Creativity Connects is an initiative that shows how the arts contribute to the nation’s creative ecosystem, investigates how support systems for the arts are changing, explores how the arts can connect with other sectors that want and utilize creativity, and invests in innovative projects to spark new, collaborative ideas. Deadline to apply: May 4, 2017.
Grant program description
CHALLENGE AMERICA
The Challenge America category offers support primarily to small and mid-sized organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations — those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. Age alone (e.g., youth, seniors) does not qualify a group as underserved; at least one of the underserved characteristics noted above also must be present. Grants are available for professional arts programming and for projects that emphasize the potential of the arts in community development. Deadline to apply: April 13, 2017.
Grant program description
Video: The NEA highlights their commitment to arts education, featuring NEA grantee Center of Creative Arts (COCA) and interviews with performer/writer Larry Wilmore, NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr., and NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman.
