NEA Grant Application Process

In This Section

Updated February 13, 2025
**If you previously registered for the free NEA grants guidelines webinar on Zoom, please note: the webinar has moved to the MS Teams platform and no longer requires registration. You may send questions in advance to apply@arts.gov and use “Webinar Question” in the subject line. Closed captions and ASL will be available during the webinar. The date and time remain unchanged: February 18, 2025 2:00-3:00 pm Eastern.

In response to recent executive orders, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has announced:

The National Endowment for the Arts continues to review the recent executive orders and related documents to ensure compliance and provide the required reporting.

Status of Grantmaking Cycles

FY2025
While deadlines for FY2025 major grant categories have closed, the NEA is midstream in the FY2025 grantmaking process. The first round of Grants for Arts Projects were announced on January 14, 2025, with a second major announcement planned for later this spring. The NEA has not made any further specific public announcement about plans for action on the FY2025 grants that were announced but are not yet fully contracted, nor about how the executive actions will impact consideration of all remaining FY2025 grantmaking.

FY2026
The NEA launched the FY2026 grant process in December 2024, and has now revoked the prior grant guidelines. Applicants that initiated an application under the prior guidelines must re-submit their request under the new guidelines.

On February 7, 2025, the NEA issued revised FY26 grant guidelines, following a  notification  that the agency would be releasing new deadlines, revised grant guidelines, and eligibility rules. The agency says the new grant guidelines have been issued in response to recent directives and to “streamline and simplify the application process and align with the agency’s  mission.”

There are two new application deadlines, which are now March 11 and July 10, 2025.

Both the scope of what will be funded by the NEA and the compliance requirements for all awardees are significantly changed.

The Challenge America grant opportunity is canceled for FY2026 and prospective applicants are instead encouraged to apply to Grants for Arts Projects.

Please read ALL of the following material when considering next steps in applying for NEA support:

• Revised FY26 NEA Grant Guidelines  
• Assurance of Compliance   
  Note that the Assurance of Compliance includes the following related to executive orders. Court action is underway in response to a number of executive orders, and is tracked by the National Council of Nonprofits.  
  
  The applicant agrees that, if the applicant is selected and becomes a NEA grant recipient:
  • The applicant will comply with all applicable Executive Orders while the award is being administered.  Executive orders are posted at whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions. 
  • The applicant’s compliance in all respects with all applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws is material to the U.S. Government’s payment decisions for purposes of section 3729(b)(4) of title 31, United States Code, pursuant to Executive Order No. 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, dated January 21, 2025. 
  • The applicant will not operate any programs promoting “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws, in accordance with Executive Order No. 14173. 
  • The applicant understands that federal funds shall not be used to promote gender ideology, pursuant to Executive Order No. 14168, Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.
• Music Application Instructions 
• Arts Education Application Instructions 
• Complete NEA Announcement   
• NEA Frequently Asked Questions (Note that a more comprehensive FAQ is available on page 34 of the Grant Guidelines.)

The NEA will hold a free webinar about the updated guidelines on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at 2:00pm Eastern.  The webinar has moved to a new platform and registration is no longer required.  Webinar recordings will be posted shortly after the presentations in the Applicant Resources section of the NEA’s Grants for Arts Projects webpage along with answers to frequently asked questions. 

To be fully prepared for the NEA grant application process, read the guidelines very carefully, and be in touch with a specialist to talk through your plans for preparing an application. Be aware that SAM validation is returning to Grants.gov. For the past five years during the pandemic, Grants.gov had not validated applicants’ SAM registration in the Part 1 portion but this is no longer the case and SAM must be active.

Please check this page for any further developments regarding the NEA grant process.