Piedmont Council for the Arts serves as a resource for regional, governmental and private foundation grants. Significant sources for arts funding are listed below. For additional information on scholarships, grants, and internships, check PCA’s Arts Reach listings.

Arts & Healing Network

Arts & Healing Network offers a list of funding opportunities with the hope that it will support the creation of more art and healing work in the world. Grants are listed alphabetically by funder and are sortable by location and media.

For more information, visit www.artheals.org.

The Charlottesville Area Community Foundation

Grants are made to tax-exempt public charities under Section 501c(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and to government agencies. Grants are limited to projects in the Charlottesville area unless otherwise requested by a donor.

CACF is one of the largest grant-makers in the area, with assets of $50 million. CACF manages its own Community Endowment, as well as administering numerous Donor-Advised Funds established by individuals, families or groups. The donors of these funds make their own decisions on grant recipients (the Bama Works Fund of Dave Matthews Band is an excellent example of a Donor-Advised Fund). In 2005 CACF and its Donor-Advised Funds made total grants of over $3 million. To learn about the various grant opportunities through the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, visit their website at www.cacfonline.org or call 434-296-1024. CACF reaches citizens in the city of Charlottesville and counties of Albemarle, Greene, Orange, Louisa, Fluvanna, Buckingham, and Nelson (east of the Blue Ridge Mountains.)

College Arts Association

CAA offers a number of annual and biannual grants and fellowships, including Professional-Development Fellowships, Annual Conference Travel Grants, the Millard Meiss Publication Fund, the Wyeth Foundation for American Art Publication Grant, and others.

For more information, visit www.collegeart.org.

Fender Music Foundation

The Fender Music Foundation makes the gift of music available to people across the country by providing funding and resources to music academies, schools, local music programs and national music programs. Qualifying applicants are established, ongoing and sustainable music programs in the United States, which provide music instruction for people of any age who would not otherwise have the opportunity to make music. The intent of the program must be music instruction, not music appreciation or entertainment, and the participants/students cannot be professional or career musicians.

For more information, visit www.fendermusicfoundation.org.

The John Ben Snow Memorial Trust

The mission of the Memorial Trust is to make grants within specific focus areas to enhance the quality of life in many geographic areas. The Memorial Trust responds to the ever-changing needs of various segments of the population, especially to the needs of young people and people who are disadvantaged either physically or economically.

It is the Memorial Trust’s general policy to give preference to proposals seeking funds for new or enhanced programs, one-time, short-term grants to sustain a program until funding is stabilized, matching grants used to encourage the participation of other donors, and “last dollars” towards a capital campaign.

The Memorial Trust will not accept proposals from individuals or for-profit organizations. Additionally, the Memorial Trust does not encourage proposals from religious organizations or proposals for endowments, contingency funding, or debt reduction. There are no minimums or maximum grant amounts; however, most grants range from $10,000 to $25,000.

For additional information, visit www.johnbensnow.com.

Junior League of Charlottesville

The Community Grants program of the Junior League of Charlottesville awards grants, up to $2,500, to help non-profit community organizations meet immediate community needs. This program provides financial support to a diverse group of organizations throughout our community. The Community Grants Committee reviews applications and awards grants in both the fall and spring.

For more information, visit www.jlcville.org.

The Kresge Foundation

The Kresge Foundation awards grants to small, mid-size, and large nonprofit organizations in community development, arts and culture, education, and human services. For more information, visit their website.

The Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation

The Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation provides funding opportunities and services to artists and arts organizations in the Mid-Atlantic states to encourage the growth and development of arts and cultural activities throughout the region. For more information visit the website at www.midatlanticarts.org.

National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts provides grant support in the following disciplines/fields: Arts Education, Dance, Design, Folk and Traditional Arts, Literature, local Arts Agencies, Media Arts (Film/ Radio/ Television), Museums, Music, Musical Theater, Opera, Presenting, State and Regional, Theater, and Visual Arts. Funding is usually limited to organizations. Direct awards to individuals are made only through Literature Fellowships, NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships, and NEA National Heritage Fellowships in the Folk & Traditional Arts.)

To access information about present and upcoming NEA funding opportunities, go to the NEA website, www.nea.gov.

Robert Lehman Foundation

The Robert Lehman Foundation operates exclusively in the field of the visual arts. Grants are made on an individual basis to museums, arts organizations, educational institutions and other cultural organizations with the goal of enhancing the role of the visual arts within American and world culture. Within these broad parameters, the Foundation is open to a wide range of projects, from major museum exhibitions to lectures to the construction of fine arts facilities to scholarly publications to art school curricula.

The Foundation reviews proposals in October and May. Proposals to be considered in May must be received by April 1. Proposals to be considered in October must be received by September 1.

For more information, visit www.robertlehmanfoundation.org.

Tremaine Foundation

The Tremaine Foundation honors its founder and her unique artistic vision through the contemporary art program. The Marketplace Empowerment for Artists program empowers visual artists with the professional skills necessary to sustain successful lives and careers in the arts. The Emily Hall Tremaine Exhibition Award offers curators the support to research, redefine, and push new themes in contemporary art exhibitions. Visit the Tremaine Foundation online or email them for more information.

The Virginia Bader Fund

The Virginia Bader Fund provides Artist Grants for Visual Artists, ages 40 and older. Visit the Bader Fund online or email grants@baderfund.org for more information.

Virginia Commission for the Arts

VCA funds individual artists and arts organizations through a variety of grant programs. The Commission provides fellowships for individual artists to help create new work as well as advance the careers of artists and the art forms in which they work. These fellowships are awarded in rotating disciplines.

The Commission provides on-going support for established arts organizations and assists in the development of new ones that fill a community need. It funds both professional and non-professional organizations that strive for artistic excellence. VCA offers General Operating Support, as well as Technical Assistance and Technical Enhancement grants for arts organizations.

Grants for educational programs are also provided by VCA. These include artist residencies in schools, projects that integrate the arts with non-arts curricula, and educational programs of non-profit arts organizations. For information on the Virginia Commission for the Arts, it grants and application forms, visit the VCA website at www.arts.state.va.us/grants or email VCA at arts@arts.virginia.gov.

Artists in Residency Grant Program

The Virginia Commission for the Arts invites PK-12 public and private schools, school divisions, and tax-exempt organizations (which may apply in partnership with schools or school divisions) to apply to the Artists in Residency Grant Program. More information is available at www.arts.virginia.gov.

Funding through the Artists in Residency Grant Program is used to place professional visual and performing artists in PK-12 public and private schools in Virginia. The goal of the program is to provide support for school/artist collaborations that foster increased quality arts experiences for children in VA schools. Residencies may last from a minimum of three school days to up to an entire school year. This program is a matching grant. VCA will award up to 50% of the residency cash expenses. If you are a first-time applicant, VCA will award 2/3 of the eligible cash expenses.

Virginia Foundation for the Humanities

The VFH grant program accepts proposals from nonprofit organizations seeking funding to develop public humanities programs for audiences in Virginia. Since 1974, VFH has awarded more than 2,500 grants, bringing scholars and citizens together to promote a greater understanding of the humanities.

The Open Grant Program is open to proposals on a wide range of subjects, for projects in any format, and for amounts typically up to $10,000. Open Grant deadlines are February 1st, May 1st, and October 15th.

The Discretionary Grant Program allows VFH to make smaller grants of up to $3,000. There is no deadline for this program; applications are accepted at any time.

For more information, visit www.virginiafoundation.org/grants/.