CHALLENGE AMERICA: Application Calendar

IMPORTANT: Grants.gov will be down for maintenance from April 20-23, 2024. The Challenge America Part 1 Grants.gov deadline has been moved to April 30, 2024 at 11:59 pm ET to allow applicants more time to submit. We still encourage you to submit Part 1 of your application early in order to avoid any issues. The Part 2 application window has also been shifted, the NEA Applicant Portal will be open for Challenge America applicants from May 2nd-May 16th.

Deadlines

Part 1 - Submit to Grants.gov

April 30, 2024 at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time

Prepare application material so that it’s ready to upload when the Applicant Portal opens

Part 2 - Submit to Applicant Portal

May 2-May 16, 2024 at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time

Earliest Announcement of Grant Award or Rejection

November 2024

Earliest Beginning Date for Proposed Project

January 1, 2025

An organization may submit only one application to either Grants for Arts Projects or Challenge America per calendar year (see Application Limits for the one exception to this rule). If your organization submitted an application to the February 2024 Grants for Arts Projects deadline, you may not also apply to the Challenge America program in April 2024. See Applicant Eligibility for more information.

Before applying, you must create and maintain up-to-date registrations with Login.gov, the System for Award Management (SAM) at SAM.gov, and Grants.gov. Registering and maintaining accounts with Login.gov, SAM, and Grants.gov is always FREE. See How to Apply for more information.

Registration in Login.gov, SAM.gov, and Grants.gov can take several weeks. Give yourself plenty of time to get registered. (We suggest four weeks to complete these registrations.) Similarly, submit your application to Grants.gov well in advance of the deadline in case you encounter any difficulties.

Late, ineligible, and incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

Exceptions to the deadline will be considered only for registration or renewal issues or technical malfunctions that are the result of failures on the part of Login.gov, SAM, Grants.gov, or NEA systems, as determined by the NEA. To be considered for this exception, you must provide documentation of a Login.gov, SAM, Grants.gov, or NEA systems failure that prevented your submission by the deadline. 

In the event of a major emergency (e.g., a hurricane or Login.gov, SAM, Grants.gov, or NEA systems technological failure), the NEA Chair may adjust application deadlines for affected applicants. If a deadline is extended for any reason, an announcement will be posted on our website.

Do not seek information on the status of your application before the announcement date that is listed above.

Questions?

Email: challengeamerica@arts.gov 
Call: 202-682-5700

Access for individuals with disabilities:

Information symbol Individuals who need assistance accessing this document may contact the Office of Accessibility at Accessibility@arts.gov or call 202-682-5532, or the Office of Civil Rights at CivilRights@arts.gov or 202-682-5454.

CFDA No. 45.024
OMB No. 3135-0112 Expires 10/31/2025
December 2023