NEA Grants for the Arts – Theater

Slots:                                        1 slot across all sub-categories listed. Exceptions to the one-application rule are made only for:

• Parent (and Related) Organizations
  • A parent organization that comprises separately identifiable and independent components (e.g., a university campus that has a presenting organization and a radio station) may submit an application for each such component. In addition, a parent organization also may submit one application on its own behalf for a project that is different from any project submitted in an application by its independent component(s).
  • The parent organization must meet the eligibility requirements for all applicants. NOTE: A related organization that performs grant administration duties for a parent organization (e.g., a college foundation that administers grants awarded to a college and its components) may submit applications for components and the parent organization in lieu of such applications being submitted by the parent. The related organization must meet the eligibility requirements for all applicants.
  • An independent component must be a unit that is both programmatically and administratively distinct from the parent organization, have its own staff and budget, and generally have an independent board that has substantial responsibility for oversight and management. To qualify as independent, a component should be equivalent to a stand-alone institution with a separate mission.
• The following do not qualify as independent components:
  • Academic departments of colleges and universities.
  • Programs and projects of organizations.
• For example:
  • An art museum on a university campus serves the general public and does not grant degrees. The museum board, not the university trustees, manages the museum’s budget, staff, and programming. In this example, the art museum essentially is a stand-alone organization and qualifies as an independent component.
  • A symphony association sponsors a youth orchestra in addition to its professional orchestra. Some symphony musicians serve as faculty for the youth orchestra; there is some overlap of membership between the symphony trustees and the youth orchestra’s advisory board; and the executive director for the symphony association serves as CEO for both the professional and youth orchestras. In this case, while the youth orchestra may be an important program of the symphony association, it is not equivalent to a separate institution and therefore does not qualify as an independent component.

A parent organization should consult with our staff to verify the eligibility of its component before preparing an application.

Internal Deadline:                     Contact the OOR if interested.

LOI:                                                 N/A

External Deadline:                    July 9, 2020

Award Information:                  Type: Grant

Budgetary Requirements:                                      

Our grants cannot exceed 50% of the total cost of the project. All grants require a nonfederal cost share/match of at least 1 to 1. For example, if an organization receives a $10,000 grant, the total eligible project costs must be at least $20,000 and the organization must provide at least $10,000 toward the project from nonfederal sources.

Grants generally will range from $10,000 to $100,000. No grant will be made below $10,000. Grants of $100,000 or more will be made only in rare instances, and only for projects that we determine demonstrate exceptional national or regional significance and impact.

In developing an application, we urge all applicants to consider the level of recent awards and to request a realistic grant amount. Applicants should review the lists of grants on our website to see recent grant award levels and project types. In the past few years, well over half of the agency’s grants have been for amounts less than $25,000.

Submission Process:                     PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Office of Research Application Portal: https://app.wizehive.com/webform/USCgrants

Materials to submit:

• Single Page Proposal Summary (0.5” margins; single-spaced; font type: Arial, Helvetica, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 1-page limit will be excluded from review.
• CV – (5 pages maximum)

Link to Award:                    https://www.arts.gov/grants-organizations/gap/theater

Who May Serve as PI:               Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), U.S. organizations; units of state or local government; or federally recognized tribal communities or tribes may apply. Applicants may be arts organizations, local arts agencies, arts service organizations, local education agencies (school districts), and other organizations that can help advance the goals of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Purpose:

The National Endowment for the Arts awards grants to the nonprofit theater field for the production or presentation of traditional or classical repertoire, new plays, development laboratories, showcases, artist residencies, work for young audiences, experimental work, community-based work, outdoor historical dramas, and puppetry. Projects funded by the National Endowment for the Arts should help to fully realize an organization’s mission and may provide support for organizations and artists in the creation and refinement of work, the public presentation of plays from all cultures and periods, and opportunities for professional development.

While we welcome applications for a variety of artistically excellent projects, we encourage projects that address any of the following activities below:

1. Celebrate America’s creativity and/or cultural heritage.
2. Invite a dialogue that fosters a mutual respect for the diverse beliefs and values of all persons and groups.
3. Enrich our humanity by broadening our understanding of ourselves as individuals and as a society.

Project Types

• Commissioning, development, and production of new work, translations, and adaptations.
• Production or presentation of existing contemporary or classical work.
• Development, production, or presentation of theater work for young audiences.
• Development programs and labs for new work, which may include the hosting of artist residencies, showcase productions of new work, development workshops, and festivals of new works or works in progress. (The National Endowment for the Arts does not fund festivals for which no curatorial judgment has been applied, or development programs in which participants must pay a fee to participate).
• Local, regional, and national touring of theater productions.
• Documentation, preservation, conservation, and dissemination of America’s theater heritage.
• Community-based projects that involve the creation and/or production of theater with community members.
• Services to the field that assist organizations or artists in administrative, developmental, technical, and related areas.
• Professional training including classes, guest artist residencies, workshops, and mentorship of theater artists.
• Exposure and enrichment projects, including arts/science/technology projects, for youth, adults, and intergenerational groups. (If your project is for youth, see “Choosing the Right Discipline for Youth Projects” to help you in your discipline selection.)

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for updates and other announcements.