The Community Investments program supports San Francisco-based artists, arts organizations, and historically underserved communities through the following grants and technical assistance. Please sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about any grant program updates.
Lenora Lee Dance, featuring Hien Huynh and Johnny Nguyen. Photo courtesy of Kate Fim.
Important Dates
| Grantseeker Technical Assistance Workshops and Webinar | September 17-27, 2019 |
| Guidelines Release | September 13, 2019 |
| Applications Release | September 20, 2019 |
| Special Grants (SPX) Application Due | October 30, 2019, 12:00 p.m. PST |
| Cultural Equity Initiatives (CEI) Application Due | November 13, 2019, 12:00 p.m. PST |
| Individual Artist Commission (IAC) Application Due | November 13, 2019, 12:00 p.m. PST |
| Organization Project Grant (OPG) Application Due | November 20, 2019, 12:00 p.m. PST |
| Creative Space (CRSP) Application Due | November 21, 2019, 12:00 p.m. PST |
| Panel Review | February-March 2020 |
| Funding Recommendations | April 2020 |
| Commission Approval | May 2020 |
| Grant Period | July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021 or 2022 |
Helpful Hints
Learn more about our grant programs and eligibility requirements by watching the Grantseeker Webinars. Please note that 2019 Grantseeker Webinars will be posted soon. View past webinars below:
2018 Grantseeker Webinar (30 minutes)
2018 Individual Artist Commission (IAC) Webinar (25 minutes)
For FAQs and more, check out our Grant Application Resources page.
The San Francisco Arts Commission has re-allocated funds for the Arts for Neighborhood Vitality (AVN) grant to the Grants for the Arts Neighborhood Arts Collaborative category. Please contact Grants for the Arts for more information.
Artists & Communities in Partnership - Social Justice (ACIP - SJ) and Creative Youth (ACIP-CY) grants will not be offered this year. For questions, contact Program Officer Robynn Takayama at robynn.takayama@sfgov.org or (415) 252-2239.
Grant Categories
The Artistic Legacy Grant (ALG) is an annual grant for $40,000 to acknowledge the impact of an artistic director that has served the organization consistently for 25 years or more. Through the vision of the artistic director, the awarded organization is considered to be a vital member of the respective community(ies) they serve and has a history of working to educate the broader community on the importance of their culture and/or artistic genre.
For questions about this grant category, please contact Program Officer, Debbie Ng at debbie.h.ng@sfgov.org or (415) 252-2216.
The Cultural Equity Initiatives (CEI) grant program offers grants up to $100,000 to small and mid-sized arts organizations for capacity-building initiatives that ensure the artistic and cultural vitality and the sustainability of San Francisco’s arts organizations that are deeply rooted in historically marginalized communities.
For questions, contact Program Officer Debbie Ng at debbie.h.ng@sfgov.org or (415) 252-2216
The Creative Space (CRSP) grant program supports the enhancement of San Francisco cultural facilities through Planning and Facility Improvement Grants. The category aims to improve existing arts facilities and develop new ones that will support the work of San Francisco’s arts organizations and artists.
PLANNING GRANTS: Grants for up to $50,000 to arts organizations for the planning or pre-planning for the development or acquisition of arts facilities.
FACILITY IMPROVEMENT GRANTS: Grants for up to $100,000 to tax-exempt arts organizations with programming space for capital improvements and/or to address key safety, code-compliance, and/or ADA accessibility issues.
- LEVEL 1: Grants for up to $50,000 for arts organizations that have at least three years remaining on their lease at the start of the grant term, or, has a year-to-year lease and has leased the space for a minimum of ten years prior to the start of the grant term.
- LEVEL 2: Grants for up to $100,000 for arts organizations that hold title to their space, or have a lease with at least five years remaining at the start of the grant term
For questions, contact Senior Program Officer Jaren Bonillo at jaren.bonillo@sfgov.org or (415) 252-2227.
The Ebony McKinney Arts Leadership Award was created in 2018 in partnership with Emerging Arts Professionals San Francisco Bay Area and a committee of community members who were close to Ebony and passionate about continuing her work and uplifting her name. The award recognizes emerging arts and culture administrators who are addressing critical issues facing San Francisco’s arts community, and to continue the work of Ebony McKinney, whose deep commitment to cultivating leaders of color and increasing equitable access to the arts in the Bay Area made a lasting positive impact locally and nationally before her untimely passing in July 2017.
For questions about this grant category, please contact Candace Eros Diaz at Candace.Diaz@sfgov.org and Lorena Moreno at Lorena.Moreno@sfgov.org.
Individual Artist Commission (IAC) grants support individual artists who have been continuous residents of San Francisco since October 2017 for specific personal, artistic projects that, in turn, stimulate the creation and presentation of new works of art throughout the city’s neighborhoods. This grant category considers proposals for projects in alternating disciplines each year up to $20,000. In 2019, Individual Artist Commissions will be available for Dance, Music and Theater.
For questions, contact Program Officer Anne Trickey at anne.trickey@sfgov.org or (415) 252-2213
The Organization Project Grant (OPG) program supports small and mid-sized arts organizations in the production and presentation of artistic works, in all disciplines, accessible to the general public in San Francisco. OPG supports—in whole or in part— specific arts projects that have been determined to be of sufficient quality and benefit or interest to the community at large or to specific segments of the community. OPG grants may be used to fund art exhibitions and installations, film and video screenings, music and dance concerts, theater performances, on-line arts projects, literary readings and publications, workshops in various art forms, local arts festivals, and other activities in a similar vein. Applications will be reviewed in visual art, literary art, media art, music, dance, and theater. This grant does not fund arts education classes.
For questions, contact Program Officer Debbie Ng at debbie.h.ng@sfgov.org or (415) 252-2216.
Occasionally, the Arts Commission receives additional funding from the Board of Supervisors for one-time projects.
For questions about this grant category, please contact Director of Community Investments, Barbara Mumby at barbara.mumby@sfgov.org or (415) 252-2215.