The NEA strengthens the dance ecosystem by supporting applicants doing essential work in their own organizations and local communities that contribute to a more robust, equitable, and accessible dance field; that centers and reflects a vibrant, diverse spectrum of dance artists; and that ultimately creates resilient, artful communities. We value proposals from organizations of all budget sizes, located in rural, suburban, urban, and tribal communities.

The following are eligible to apply:

• Non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), U.S. organizations;
• Units of state or local government; or
• Federally recognized tribal communities or tribes.
• Applicants may be arts organizations, local arts agencies, arts service organizations, local education agencies (school districts), and other organizations that can help advance the NEA’s goals.
  

To be eligible, the applicant organization must:

• Meet the NEA’s Legal Requirements including non-profit, tax-exempt status at the time of application.
• Have completed a three-year history of arts programming prior to the application deadline.
• For the purpose of defining eligibility, programming may have taken place prior to when the organization incorporated or received non-profit, tax-exempt status.
• You will be asked to provide examples of previous programming in the application.
• For applicants to the February 2024 deadline, programming must have started in or before February 2021.
• For applicants to the July 2024 deadline, programming must have started in or before July 2021.
• Programming is not required to have taken place during consecutive years.
• Organizations that previously operated as a program of another institution may include arts programming it carried out while part of that institution for its three- year history.
• Eligible organizations that received American Rescue Plan (ARP) or CARES Act funding may apply to this program as long as there are no overlapping costs during the same time period.
• An organization whose primary purpose is to channel resources (financial, human, or other) to an affiliated organization may only apply if the affiliated organization does not submit its own application. This prohibition applies even if each organization has its own 501(c)(3) status. For example, the “Friends of ABC Museum” may not apply if the ABC Museum applies.
• All applicants must be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM, www.sam.gov), have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), and maintain an active SAM registration until the application process is complete–and should a grant be made, throughout the life of the award.

The following are not eligible to apply:

• Individuals;
• Applications through a fiscal sponsor/agent (organizations must apply directly on their own behalf, see more information on fiscal sponsors/agents); or
• Designated state and jurisdictional arts agencies (SAAs) and their regional arts organizations (RAOs).
• SAAs and RAOs may serve as partners in projects. However, they may not receive NEA funds (except as provided through their designated grant programs), and SAA/RAO funds may not be included as part of the required cost share/match. SAAs and RAOs are eligible to apply through the Partnership Agreements guidelines.
• Late, ineligible, and incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
  

Project Types:

• Applications must be for projects only. A project may consist of one or more specific events or activities. A project should not cover an entire season of programming as we do not fund seasonal or general operating support.
• We encourage applications for projects that address one or more of the following:
  
• Disability-led projects or projects that meaningfully engage disabled artists and/or students in pursuit of artistic and creative goals;
• Preservation, documentation, and archiving of choreography, performances, and other aspects of dance history in ways that increase the diversity of artists, forms, and cultures in existing archives using archival practices that demonstrate cultural integrity;
• Professional artist development and services to the field that strengthen the professional non-profit dance ecosystem for artists, such as programs that give artists time and space to make their work, convenings for artists and arts workers, arts leadership training and mentorship programs, and professional development services for artists that build their capacity to sustain a career in dance;
• Creation and development of new dance works, especially by artists and companies who have historically been underrepresented, through commissioning, rehearsal periods, residencies that support artistic research, creation, or technical staging, and works made in collaboration with community members;
• Restaging of existing dance works, including in ways that reimagine and recontextualize works that have historically had harmful depictions of cultures and communities;
• Presentation and touring of dance, especially in communities with fewer opportunities to experience affordable, live dance, and/or by artists whose work broadens the scope of dance available to audiences;
• Education projects specifically designed to serve youth in their communities, especially in places where there are few opportunities for wide-ranging dance experiences;
• Cross-sector projects with non-arts organizations that bring dance into the realm of science, technology, agriculture, and other fields through mutually beneficial partnerships;
• Advancing the health and well-being of individuals and communities through projects incorporating dance;
• Digital capacity-building for organizations to create virtual or hybrid programming, increase overall accessibility, and or/collaborate with other organizations using digital technology with dance.
• Competitive dance proposals will address elements as stated in the application review criteria, as well as one or more of the following:
  

DEADLINE: July 11, 2024