Grant Program Summary: The NEA is committed to supporting excellent arts projects for the benefit of all Americans. Activities funded through Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) enable Americans throughout the nation to experience the arts, foster and celebrate America’s artistic heritage and cultural legacy, and benefit from arts education at all stages of life. We also support arts and health programs, including creative arts therapies, that advance the well-being of people and communities. We strongly encourage applications for arts projects that focus on one or more agency funding priorities. We welcome applications from first-time and returning applicants; from organizations serving rural, urban, suburban, and tribal communities of all sizes; and from organizations with small, medium, or large operating budgets.
We fund arts projects in the following disciplines: Arts Education, Challenge America, Dance, Design & Our Town, Folk & Traditional Arts, Literary Arts, Local Arts Agencies, Museums, Music, Opera, Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works, Theater & Musical Theater, and Visual & Media Arts.
Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) is the NEA's principal grants category, providing project-based funding for organizations. Grants are available for arts projects of all sizes in a wide variety of artistic disciplines. Projects may take place in any part of the nation’s 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. jurisdictions.
A full grant program description can be found here: Grant Program Guidelines. For detailed instructions on how to apply, see Application Instructions.
Access for individuals with disabilities:
Contact [email protected] to request an accommodation or an alternate format of the guidelines at least 2 weeks prior to the application deadline.
Review the GAP Program Guidelines document below for full details. Organizations eligible to apply include:
- Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), U.S. organizations;
- Units of state or local government; or
- Federally recognized tribal communities or tribes.
Applicant organizations must have completed at least 5 years of arts programming prior to the application deadline. An applicant organization must have had a minimum of $20,000 in organization operating expenses in its most recently completed fiscal year.
Generally, an applicant may submit one application per calendar year.
Funding is not available in this category for individuals, applications submitted by a fiscal sponsor, commercial/for-profit enterprises, or State Arts Agencies and Regional Arts Organizations.
Important Dates
Applications are accepted during two funding cycles each year.
February Cycle (GAP 1)
July Cycle (GAP 2)
Grant Program Details and Application Instructions Published
Early December 2025
Early December 2025
Part 1 Application Package Available on Grants.gov
Early December 2025
Mid-May 2026
Part 1 Grants.gov
Submission deadline
February 12, 2026
11:59 pm Eastern
Time
July 9, 2026
11:59 pm Eastern
Time
Part 2 NEA Applicant Portal
Opens to applicants
February 18, 2026
9:00 am Eastern
Time
July 14, 2026
9:00 am Eastern
Time
Part 2 NEA Applicant Portal
Submission deadline
February 25, 2026
11:59 pm Eastern
Time
July 21, 2026
11:59 pm Eastern Time
Notification of recommended funding* or rejection
November 2026
April 2027
Earliest project start date
January 1, 2027
June 1, 2027
*If your project is recommended for funding, you must submit additional information to the NEA for approval before an award can be finalized. Review the GAP Program Guidelines for more information. Specific due dates will be included in the tentative funding recommendation notice.
