Grants to Organizations Program
ArtsWA grants provide resources for organizations to create arts experiences with and for their communities. Our grants focus on cultural equity and expanding the creative economy, and support arts participation by ensuring that all people have culturally relevant access to the arts. State and federal funds support our grants.
- Grants to Organizations fund projects, programs, and services spanning artistic disciplines, cultures, and traditions. Programs reach audiences and arts professionals across the state. For additional information, please visit our website.
- Arts In Education grants invest in community-based partnerships in early learning and K-12 learning communities. These grants strengthen arts education as part of PreK-12 basic education. To apply for an Arts in Education grant, view their current opportunities here.
About ArtsWA
ArtsWA is the Washington State Arts Commission. The Washington State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts fund our programs. ArtsWA's grant programs are contingent on available state and federal funding. ArtsWA complies with all local, state and federal laws and regulations concerning civil and human rights. For more information regarding Washington State Arts Commission’s policies on Accessibility, Diversity, and Nondiscrimination, click here.
Photo credits:
Left: Pacific Northwest Center for Architecture and Design. CallisonRTKL & Bayley Construction - Kaleidospace. Photo by Letao Tao, August 21, 2021.
Center: The world premiere of RIVERWOOD by Andrew Lee Creech at Langston Seattle, directed by Shermona Mitchell. Co-produced by Seattle Public Theater and Langston Seattle. Photo by Truman Buffett, pictured: Brandon Jones Mooney and Jordan-Michael Whidbey, May 2022
Right: Urban ArtWorks mural apprentices and teaching artist work on panels for the FIRS Center in Seattle, 2022.
ArtsWA's Wellness, Arts, and the Military (WAM) program - General Operating Support Grant
The WAM General Operating Support Grant provides up to $35,000 to organizations that offer arts programs to military connected individuals and communities.
For the purposes of this grant, "military connected individuals" is defined as U.S. military active-duty service members, guardsmen, reservists, veterans, and their families and caretakers.
Funding Amount
- Up to $35,000
- No matching funds required
Important Dates
- Application Opens: September 1, 2023
- Application Deadline: October 13, 2023
- Notification of Grant Award: November 1, 2023 - Ongoing
- Grant Funded Activities: July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024
Eligibility Requirements, Policies, and Procedures
Who is eligible to apply?
- Washington State non-profit organization with 501(c)(3) status
- Washington State tribal, state, or municipal government agency
- National non-profit organization with Washington State chapter(s), for example Veterans of Foreign Wars
Who is not eligible to apply?
- Individuals
- For-profit businesses
- Political or advocacy organizations
- Organizations seeking to fund projects or programs that promote religious content or observance
Additional eligibility requirements:
- minimum two years in continuous operation (organizations may have paused programming due to the pandemic but not ceased operations completely)
- minimum two years of arts programming for military connected individuals
- minimum of one professional staff person trained to work with military connected individuals in non-clinical settings
- minimum of one professional staff person with experience managing arts programs
Application Requirements
- SWV Number: Organizations must have an SWV (Statewide Vendor) number to receive grant funds from the state. An SWV number is not required to apply but must be registered and up to date before funds are given. An SWV number can take up to three weeks to be assigned. If your organization has received payment from Washington State in the past, it is likely you already have an SWV number. You can check on the status of your SWV number by using the vendor number lookup.
Non-profit organizations:
- Board approved operating budgets, with actuals for income and program expenses, for the last two completed years of operation. If operations were paused due to the pandemic also include your board approved budget, with actuals for income and program expenses, for 2019
- IRS Letter of Determination
- Most recently filed IRS form 990
Most recently filed IRS Tax Form:
- IRS form 1040 (sole proprietors) and the following: Schedule C, Profit and Loss from Business
- IRS form 1065 Partnership Return (no K-1s required)
- IRS form 1120 Corporation Return (no schedules required)
- IRS form 1120S S Corporation Return (no K-1s required)
General Grant Policies
- Use of Funds: Grant recipients must use the funds for costs incurred from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. Funds must be spent by June 30, 2024. ArtsWA can make no exceptions to this deadline.
- Reimbursement: This is a reimbursement grant. Grant recipients can submit up to three reimbursement requests or submit one request for the full amount of the grant. We ask that all reimbursement requests be submitted by June 15, 2024 to best facilitate payment by the close of the funding period (June 30, 2024). ArtsWA will send full reimbursement instructions at the time of grant award.
- Documentation: Grant recipients must track expenses, keep clear and precise records and receipts, and provide additional appropriate and timely documentation if requested.
- Final Report: Grant recipients must complete a final report by July 31, 2024. Instructions will come from ArtsWA staff.
Grant Funds May NOT Be Used For:
- Regranting to individuals or organizations
- Regranting as scholarships
- Renovation, remodeling, restoration, or new construction of buildings
- Purchase of permanent equipment with a cost of $5,000 and up or real property
- Travel outside of Washington State
- Costs and/or activities outside the grant period (July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024)
- Previous losses/debts incurred by the organization
- Costs and/or activities that have already received state appropriations (for example, an applicant may not use these grants funds for costs that are already being funded by a different state agency)
Applying
Grant applications are completed and submitted online between September 1, 2023 and October 13, 2023 at 5:00 pm PST.
We will make no exceptions regarding the application deadline.
ArtsWA will accept applications online through Submittable. If you do not have a Submittable account, you will be prompted to register prior to accessing the online application. Submittable recommends using Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari as web browsers.
Please take your time when completing the application. Your work will be automatically saved as you move through the questions if you are connected to the internet. The application does not need to be completed in one sitting.
After the closing date of October 13, 2023, applications will be reviewed, and final determinations will be made. Applicants will be notified of their application status, as well as next steps, on or by November 1, 2023.
Make sure that the contact email you provide is appropriate for receiving emails from ArtsWA.
Contact us:
Bryan Bales, WAM Program Manager at 360-468-0888 or bryan.bales@arts.wa.gov
Daniya Baisubanova, WAM Program Specialist at 360-252-9979 or daniya.baisubanova@arts.wa.gov
Additional Information
About ArtsWA
ArtsWA is the Washington State Arts Commission. The Washington State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts fund our programs. Grants are contingent on available state and federal funding. ArtsWA complies with all local, state, and federal laws and regulations concerning civil and human rights. For more information regarding ArtsWA’s policies on Accessibility, Diversity, and Nondiscrimination, click here.
Transparency
Let us know if individuals involved with your organization also have an affiliation with ArtsWA. This includes ArtsWA staff, commissioners, consultants, contractors, current grant panelists, etc., or immediate family members of any of the former, who are affiliated with your organization. This is for transparency only; the panel will review your application without bias. Read our full Conflict of Interest policy.
Appeals
Unsuccessful applicants may appeal in accordance with Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 30.12.036, found here: https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=30-12-036.
Below is the Final Report for:
FY22-23 ReStart Washington Grant,
FY23 ReVive Washington Grant,
FY23 ReNew Washington Grant,
& FY23 Art Service Organization Support Grant
If you have received any of the above grants, you are in the right place! If you received an Arts in Education grant, you can find your final report here when it is ready to complete.
Watch this walk-through webinar of how to complete your final report:
Please note: Completing the Final Report is not a part of the receiving your funds, but rather the last step of fulfilling your ArtsWA contract. If you haven't received your funds yet, please email ashley.marshall@arts.wa.gov.
About the Final Report: Every ArtsWA grant recipient must submit a Final Report by the end of the contract period. Depending on your grant, the Final Report gathers information required by the National Endowment for the Arts or the Washington State Office of Financial Management. Additional qualitative and quantitative data collected by ArtsWA through this report is used to support sustained programming and future funding.
Submittable Instructions & Tips:
- ArtsWA is NEW to Submittable, so you won't see information about your grant on this platform. If need resources such as your invoice documentation, your contract, or your application, please contact Ashley Marshall at ashley.marshall@arts.wa.gov.
- Logging in/Setting up an account: If your organization already has a Submittable account, use your organization's log in credentials. If you aren't sure if you have an account, you can contact Submittable at support@submittable.com. If you are setting up an account, make sure you choose an email associated with your organization (not your personal email, if applicable.)
- Saving: Save your Final Report as you work on it by clicking the "Save Draft" button located at the end of the below form. You can log out and log back in, take a break, or work on your Final Report over several days without losing your data.
- Collaboration: If multiple people from your organization will be contributing to your Final Report, invite them to collaborate by clicking on the "Invite Collaborators" button located at the top right of this form. A Dialog box will appear, asking you to enter the email addresses of your collaborators. Enter those addresses, then click "Invite".
- Submitting: Once you have completed your Final Report, click the "Submit" button at the end of this form. You will receive an automated email confirming that your Final Report has been successfully submitted.
- Print or download a copy of your Final Report by navigating to your "Personal Submissions" account list. Click on your Final Report submission. This will open up the submission's details page, where you can click the Download button in the upper right of the viewing box. We do not need your printed or downloaded report, this is for your records only.
- If you have any other questions about Submittable, please read ArtsWA's Submittable FAQ resource.