New York City has raised the cap on city grants for individual artists and small nonprofits from $5,000 to $10,000. It is the first increase in nearly 20 years. Applications are open in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens, and Staten Island opens in November.
New York City is raising the cap on city grants for individual artists and small nonprofits from $5,000 to $10,000. The Mayor's Office said Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the move on Oct. 2 together with Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su and Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) Commissioner Dyana Biz. It is the first increase in individual artist grant amounts in nearly 20 years.
Eligible recipients are artists, artist groups and small nonprofits across the five boroughs, including filmmakers, dancers, writers and painters. Each year, the Department of Cultural Affairs allocates funds to partner organizations in each borough, and those organizations accept applications and distribute individual grants through a "regrant" model. Applicants submit through the announcements of their borough's partner organization.
Application Schedule
Applications are currently open in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens. The application cycle in Staten Island begins in November. The city also said that, starting this month, grant recipients will receive free art supplies from Materials for the Arts, the city's reuse program for recycled materials.
At the announcement, Mayor Mamdani said, "Artists are workers who bear the same cost of living as other New Yorkers." He added, "Rent, groceries and child care have risen sharply, but the grants artists rely on stayed the same." Application sites and deadlines differ by partner organization, so applicants should check the announcement for their borough.