Funding for the arts and culture can be extremely competitive on the local and regional levels, but even more so on the national level. Still, since the 1960s, there has been a proliferation of federal funding for the arts. For both individuals and institutions, receiving a grant can enable you to take on an ambitious project that would not be possible otherwise, thereby increasing the chances of bringing your work to a larger audience.
National Endowment for the Arts
With its famous motto "a great country deserves great art," the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is perhaps the most famous and extensive source of federal funding for the arts and culture in the United States. Since 1965, the NEA has given out more than 128,000 grants totaling more than $4 billion (as of 2010). The organization offers grants for artist communities, arts education, dance, design, folk and traditional arts, literature, local arts agencies, media arts, museums, music, musical theater, opera, presenting, state and regional, theater and visual arts. A chairperson selected by the president of the United States governs the NEA.
nea.gov
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) was established in 1965 as a means for supporting research, education, preservation and public programs in the humanities and culture via grants. Like the NEA, a chairperson who is selected by the president of the United States governs the NEH. Some of the organization's more important cultural grants support documenting endangered languages, sustaining cultural heritage collections, saving America's treasures and fellowships for advanced social science research on Japan. The NEH has also launched a $2.5 million program called Bridging Cultures, offering grants for individuals and institutions working toward enriching Americans' understanding of their cultural heritage.
neh.gov
John Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
The John Guggenheim Memorial Foundation offers prestigious mid-career grants to individuals who have already established successful careers in the arts. Of the some 4,000 applications that the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation receives each year (as of 2010), 220 are rewarded fellowships. The Guggenheim offers two competitions for grants: one to citizens of the United States and Canada, and the other to citizens of Latin America and the Caribbean. The selection process is extremely rigorous. Many recipients of the Guggenheim Fellowship have gone on to win such prestigious awards as the Nobel Prize.
gf.org
