arts capacity grant program guidelines

About the Arts Work Fund

The Arts Work Fund (AWF) is a funding collaborative supporting small and mid-sized arts organizations in Chicago and Cook County. Since 2006, AWF has helped these organizations strengthen their management and operations, enabling them to focus more fully on their artistic missions.

Funding Focus

AWF's responsive grants support individual arts organizations—or collaborations among them—as they adopt or improve new organizational practices. Grants aim to:

• Strengthen organizational resilience
• Advance strategy
• Improve community engagement and communication
• Address other key capacity-building needs

Examples of Eligible Projects

Operational Resilience

• Improving financial systems (e.g., budgeting, cash flow, forecasting)
• Developing new revenue strategies (contributed and earned)
• Enhancing human resources practices and staff well-being
• Creating crisis response or continuity plans
• Strengthening digital security practices
• Organizational risk assessments

Organizational Strategy

• Strategic planning or organizational visioning
• Reimagining or planning for sunsetting organizations or programs
• Scenario or crisis management planning
• Mergers, shared resources models, and strategic partnerships

Community Engagement & Communications

• Strengthening communications strategies
• Developing models for audience engagement
• Building digital storytelling capacity
• Creating community feedback systems

Note: These examples are not exhaustive. We welcome other approaches tailored to your organization's needs.

Eligible Organizations

All applicants must:

• Have an arts-based mission where artistic work is the primary purpose and budget focus
• Be a 501(c)(3) public charity or have a fiscal sponsor with this status. Organizations with fiscal sponsors should have an independent budget and a board of directors or other formal, organized oversight team that serves a governance function and otherwise complements staff leadership.
• Operate with an annual budget under $2 million, based on the most recently completed audit or I.R.S. Form 990
• Be based in and serve Chicago and Cook County

All eligible organizations are welcome to apply. The AWF prioritizes organizations that:

1. Are Community-Rooted

• Deeply reflect and respond to their community's cultural needs
• Are led by and for people of color, LGBTQ+, women, people with disabilities, and those at intersections of these identities
• Define their community or communities either geographically (e.g., Pilsen residents, South Side neighborhoods) or demographically (e.g., Latine families, LGBTQ+ youth), or through shared experiences and interests that may cross traditional boundaries (e.g., immigrant communities, artists with disabilities, formerly incarcerated artists).

2. Are Artist-Centered and Community-Represented

• Honor the leadership and lived experiences of artists
• Ensure leadership reflects and responds to the communities served

3. Have Clearly Defined and Timely Capacity-Building Needs

• Organizations with clearly defined operational capacity-building challenges or opportunities will receive priority consideration.

Funding Restrictions

AWF does not fund:

• General operating support
• Creative program development or production
• Ongoing staffing or program costs
• Projects based at universities and schools or involving religious proselytization
• Reimbursement, debt reduction, or endowment campaigns
• Purchase of software, except when integral to the larger capacity-building project being proposed
• Equipment or furniture
• Regular website/database maintenance
• Annual audits

Grant Amounts

Grant sizes depend on the project's scope but will not exceed $40,000.

Application Process

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Typically, applicants will be notified of grant decisions within two months of receipt of the proposal.

Applications are submitted via our grants portal: https://artsworkfund.submittable.com/submit.

Grant decisions are made every other month by the Arts Work Fund Steering Committee.

Application Review Criteria

1. Organizational Attributes
   • The organization's core mission centers on promoting, producing, or presenting artistic and cultural work that reflects and responds to the needs of its community.
   • Leadership reflects the community the organization serves.
2. Relevance of the Idea or Need
   • A clearly defined question or challenge that the organization is facing.
   • A compelling case for why this project matters now for the organization.
3. Adaptation
   • The request proposes changes to the organization's processes or practices in response to the identified need.
4. Plan and Capacity
   • A clear, realistic plan for addressing the need and implementing the adaptation, or for testing a pilot effort that can be feasibly implemented, if successful.
   • Evidence that the organization has the staff, resources, and partnerships to carry out the work.
   • The organization is well-positioned to take on the project now (i.e., leadership capacity, finances, and history of ongoing programming).
5. Impact
   • The project is likely to have a meaningful effect on the organization.
   • It has the potential to strengthen the organization's sustainability and operational efficiency.

Reporting Requirements

AWF does not require formal grant reports. AWF staff maintain regular contact with grantees to understand their progress and gather learning from the grant that can be shared with the broader field.

Contact

For questions or application support, contact: info@artsworkfund.org

Frequently Asked Questions

Do grants support artistic programming or the development of new programs?

No. Grants focus on building organizational capacity, not funding regular operations or artistic productions.

Who can apply?

Chicago or Cook County arts organizations that are 501(c)(3) or fiscally sponsored and meet eligibility criteria.

Is there a deadline?

No. Applications are accepted year-round, and decisions are made every other month.

How much funding is available?

Grant amounts vary but are capped at $40,000. Organizations proposing projects with budgets larger than this amount should indicate the funding sources that will support the remainder of the budget.

Will a declined proposal carry over to the next cycle?

No. Declined proposals do not carry over from one cycle to the next.

Can I resubmit the same proposal immediately after receiving a decline, or does AWF require a waiting period?

AWF does not require a waiting period to reapply after a decline. However, we strongly discourage resubmitting the same proposal without significant changes. If your proposal was declined, it likely doesn't align well with our current priorities and would be declined again if resubmitted unchanged.

Our organization is small and relatively new. Are we eligible for a grant?

Yes, small and new organizations are eligible for AWF grants. However, it's essential to note that we do not provide startup funding for new organizations. Instead, we offer capacity-building grants to help existing organizations strengthen their operations. These grants support organizations that have already established themselves and are looking to enhance their effectiveness, develop new skills, improve systems, or scale their impact. To be eligible for capacity building funding, your organization should have some operational history and demonstrated experience in your field, even if you're still relatively small or recently established.

What guides grant decisions?

Grant decisions are guided by the same criteria used for application review:

1. Organizational Attributes
   • The organization's core mission centers on promoting, producing, or presenting artistic and cultural work that reflects and responds to the needs of its community.
   • Leadership reflects the community the organization serves.
2. Relevance of the Idea or Need
   • A clearly defined question or challenge that the organization is facing.
   • A compelling case for why this issue matters now.
3. Adaptation
   • The request proposes changes to the organization's processes or practices in response to the identified need.
4. Plan and Capacity
   • A clear, realistic plan for addressing the need and implementing the adaptation.
   • Evidence that the organization has the staff, resources, and partnerships to carry out the work.
   • The organization is well-positioned to undertake the project now, with stable leadership, finances, and programming in place.
5. Impact
   • The project is likely to have a meaningful effect on the organization.
   • It has the potential to enhance the organization's sustainability and operational efficiency over time.

What does it mean to prioritize BIPOC, women, LGBTQ+, and disability-led organizations?

Any arts organization, regardless of the identities of its leadership or community, that meets the eligibility requirements is welcome to apply and will be considered for funding. We seek to support organizations whose mission and leadership reflect and serve these communities, particularly those that have historically been underfunded due to systemic inequities.