NEA Our Town Grants

 Deadline: August 1, 2024 (part 1) and August 15 (part 2)

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Our Town grants program supports creative placemaking projects that integrate arts, culture, and design into local community efforts. Projects should engage local stakeholders, address unique community needs, promote equity, enhance artistic experiences, and support sustainable systemic change. Grants range from $25,000 to $150,000, with a matching nonfederal cost share.

Applicants must have at least three years of arts programming experience and must partner with a local governmental or quasi-governmental entity. If neither partner is an arts or cultural entity, an additional arts, design, or cultural partner is required. Eligible applicants include:

• Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), U.S. organizations;
• Nonprofit institutions of higher education;
• Units of local government; or
• Federally recognized tribal communities or tribes.

Projects should focus on community-identified or supported goals and may include collaborative strategies such as: 

• Planning activities that incorporate artists and culture bearers as key project leads, such as artist/designer-facilitated community planning, cultural planning, cultural district planning, creative asset mapping, or public art planning
• Designing cultural spaces, such as artist spaces, cultural facilities, or public spaces
• Supporting the creative economy through creative business development or professional artist/designer development
• Creating opportunities for community building and arts engagement through artist residencies, arts festivals, community co-creation of art, performances, and public art

The application process involves multiple steps, including registering with Login.gov, SAM.gov, and Grants.gov. For detailed information and application instructions, visit the NEA's Our Town grant page.