Available Grant Opportunities
The Arts of Starved Rock Country
The Arts of Starved Rock Country Fund is opening the grant period for 2023-2024 art projects. The grant is available for any non-profit organizations, schools, libraries, and community groups who support the arts and arts programs.. The applications can be found online through the Starved Rock Country Community Foundation and is available from October 15 through December 1, with grant announcements made in early January. This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
Our mission is to provide grant opportunities, education, networking and online support to the Arts community throughout Starved Rock Country. Please contact us with any questions you may have. We are here to support you, and we'd love to work with you to make your charitable art project happen!
To learn more about The Arts of Starved Rock Country Fund or the application process, please contact Amanda Weygand Zehr via email at amanda@srccf.org.
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is proud to support the nation’s arts sector with grant opportunities so that together we can help everyone live more artful lives. The arts contribute to our individual well-being, the well-being of our communities, and to our local economies. As we emerge from the pandemic and plan for the future, the arts are also crucial to helping us make sense of our circumstances from different perspectives.
The NEA is the only arts funder in the United States—public or private—that provides access to the arts in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. jurisdictions. Each year, we award thousands of grants nationwide, including grants to first-time applicants.
Whether you are a first-time or returning applicant, we welcome the opportunity to connect with you. Our staff strives to ensure that all applicants receive the support they need to understand every step of the process.
Illinois Arts Council Agency Grants
The Illinois Arts Council Agency was created as a state agency by the Illinois General Assembly in 1965 through legislation sponsored by Senators Paul Simon, Thomas McGloon, and Alan Dixon. The agency is governed by up to twenty-one private citizens chosen for their demonstrated commitment to the arts and appointed by the Governor. Council members serve in a voluntary, non-paid capacity and are charged with developing the state’s public arts policy, fostering quality culturally diverse programs, and approving grants expenditures. A small professional staff with in-depth knowledge of the arts develops and administers the agency’s programs, provides technical assistance, and ensures the responsible and impactful distribution of all funds. Resources to support the Illinois Arts Council Agency are provided by the Governor and General Assembly of Illinois and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Artist Fellowship Program
The Illinois Arts Council Agency (IACA) is pleased to announce the opening of the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) Artist Fellowship Program. The application is open in the Illinois Arts Council’s online Salesforce system and has a deadline of 11:59 PM central time on November 3, 2023. Awards will be announced in the spring of 2024.
The Artist Fellowship Program's intent is to enrich and strengthen the state by supporting accomplished Illinois artists who are the foundation of Illinois' creative environment. The program recognizes exceptional artists who are at a career stage beyond emerging and have created a substantial body of work throughout their careers. The program does not support an artist’s specific project but rather provides monetary awards to support an artist’s continued artistic growth and exploration.
The IACA will provide a limited number of $15,000 awards across the following discipline categories:
Crafts
Digital Arts
Ethnic & Folk Arts
New Art Forms (non-performative)
Photography
Sculpture
Visual Arts (includes the 2D sub-categories of painting, mixed-media, printmaking, and other non-digital-based visual arts)
A limited number of $1,500 Finalist Awards will also be given. The IACA encourages artists working in these disciplines and who are residents of Illinois to apply. Fellowship applications will be submitted to IACA’s online platform.
The GIG Fund
Arts Midwest’s Grow, Invest, Gather (GIG) Fund provides financial support to arts organizations for rebuilding and re-imagining creative engagement in their communities amidst the challenging uncertainty affecting all corners of the creative sector. Whether your organization is recovering, starting anew, or doing your best to hold steady, this flexible support opportunity will help you grow by investing in your capacity to gather your community to experience the power of creative expression together. Funds are intended for organizations to build their capacity by having multiple points of access to support presenting performing and visual artists of high artistic merit, virtually or in-person.

