Updates on National Endowment for the Arts FY 2026 Grant Opportunities
The updated FY 2026 Grants for Arts Projects guidelines, as well as accompanying Frequently Asked Questions, are now available on arts.gov.
The National Endowment for the Arts is updating its FY 2026 grant guidelines, with deadlines in March and July 2025. These changes impact organizations applying in the Grants for Arts Projects or Challenge America categories; please see below for pertinent details.
Challenge America
The Challenge America opportunity is canceled for FY 2026. Organizations that have applied or were planning to apply to the FY 2026 Challenge America grant opportunity are encouraged to apply to the Grants for Arts Projects category at the March or July deadlines instead.
This change is to focus NEA staff resources on the Grants for Arts Projects category.
Grants for Arts Projects
The National Endowment for the Arts is revising the FY 2026 Grants for Arts Projects guidelines and they will be available on arts.gov/grants no later than Monday, February 10, 2025.
As part of these changes, the February 13, 2025, Grants for Arts Projects deadline has been canceled. The FY 2026 deadlines are now March 11, 2025, for GAP 1 and July 10, 2025, for GAP 2. Organizations that have already submitted an application must submit a new application under one of these deadlines.
Under the updated guidelines, the NEA continues to encourage projects that celebrate the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity by honoring the semiquincentennial of the United States of America (America250). This can include incorporating an America250-related component or focus within a larger project.
Additional changes to the Grants for Arts Projects guidelines include a requirement for applicants to have completed a five-year history of arts programming prior to the application deadline. If arts programming was suspended due to the pandemic, applicants may include examples that occurred in 2018 or 2019 to meet the five-year requirement. Do not include examples prior to 2018. Virtual programming is acceptable. Organizations may no longer submit applications in the same fiscal year for both Grants for Arts Projects and Our Town funding categories (a separate application in the Research Awards category is allowable).
A webinar covering the updated guidelines will take on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. (Free to attend; however, registration is required. A recording will be posted shortly after the presentation in the Applicant Resources section of the Grants for Arts Projects webpage.) In addition, frequently asked questions will be available in the Applicant Resources section.
