NEA Research Grants in the Arts, FY 2026

Overview

The National Endowment for the Arts invites applicants to engage with the agency’s five-year research agenda through two funding opportunities for research projects. (ASU is only eligible for one track, highlighted below):

Research Grants in the Arts funds research studies that investigate the value and/or impact of the arts, either as individual components of the U.S. arts ecosystem or as they interact with each other and/or with other domains of American life.

• The NEA is committed to supporting arts projects for the benefit of all Americans. Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) provides funding for public engagement with the arts and arts education, for the integration of the arts with strategies promoting the health and well-being of people and communities, and for the improvement of overall capacity and capabilities within the arts sector. We welcome applications from first-time and returning applicants; from organizations serving rural, urban, suburban, and tribal communities of all sizes; and from organizations with small, medium, or large operating budgets.
  
  
• We fund arts projects in the following disciplines: Artist Communities, Arts Education, Dance, Design, Film & Media Arts, Folk & Traditional Arts, Literary Arts, Local Arts Agencies, Museums, Music, Musical Theater, Opera, Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works, Theater, and Visual Arts.
  
  
• Projects may be small, medium, or large, and may take place in any part of the nation’s 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. jurisdictions. A project may consist of one or more specific events or activities; it may be a new initiative or part of your organization’s regular season or activities. Organizations that undertake a single short-term program in a year may apply for that event or may choose to identify certain components of that program as their project. Organizations may apply for any or all phases of a project, from planning through implementation. A project should not encompass all of an organization’s activities or costs in a given year. The NEA does not fund general operating support or a full season of programming. We welcome applications from first-time and returning applicants; from organizations serving rural, urban, suburban, and tribal communities of all sizes; and from organizations with small, medium, or large operating budgets.

Project Priorities

• Enable artists, arts workers, and arts organizations to thrive
• Celebrate the nation’s history, civic life, and community connection
• Support the health and well-being of people and communities through the arts
• Originate from or are in collaboration with the following constituencies encouraged by White House Executive Order

An organization may submit only one application to the FY 2026 Grants for Arts Projects program (i.e., one application per calendar year)

Applicants may request an amount between $10,000-$100,000.

Local Arts Agencies only: Designated local arts agencies that are eligible to subgrant may request $30,000 to $150,000 for sub granting programs. See the Local Arts Agencies Application Instructions below for more information on sub granting eligibility.

1:1 Cost-share/match required. Sources may include both cash and in-kind.

Performance Period: NEA support of a project (i.e., “Earliest Start Date”) can begin no sooner than: 
• January 1, 2026 (for applicants to the February cycle, “GAP1”), or 
• June 1, 2026 (for applicants to the July cycle “GAP2”). 

Grants awarded in this program generally may cover a period of performance of up to two years. The two-year period is intended to allow an applicant time to plan, execute, and close out its project, not to repeat a one-year project for a second year