FY26 NEA Grants to Orchestras

January 8, 2026, Washington, D.C.

Orchestras in communities throughout the U.S. will receive first round FY26 Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) support from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to present a variety of projects—many honoring the 250th anniversary of the United States. These include free outdoor concerts, commissions and premieres of new works, and music education training for youth. Additional grants for FY2026 will be added to the NEA’s Grant Search database as they awarded, as the NEA considers a broader portfolio of applications submitted in March 2025. Further grants approvals will also be made following consideration of FY2026 applications submitted in July 2025.

As of January 8, 2026, 14 orchestras are direct grant recipients of Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) awards totaling $1,445,000 million, plus several orchestral- and instrument training program-related projects are receiving NEA grants.

In December 2025, the NEA announced it awarded 50 Grants for Celebrating America250: Arts Projects Honoring the National Garden of American Heroes. Each recipient of the “Chair’s extraordinary action award” will receive $25,000 to support project activity celebrating the national heroes listed in Executive Order 13978. Among the recipients are the American Symphony Orchestra celebrating Louis Armstrong, Montgomery Symphony Orchestra celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and New West Symphony honoring President Ronald Reagan and other selected heroes.

The League has compiled a list of GAP direct grants to orchestras and grants related to the orchestra field, below. Brief project descriptions and additional information about all supported projects can be obtained via Grant Search.