GIG Fund FAQ

We ask that all applicants complete an intent to apply via our SmartSimple grants portal so we can determine your organization’s eligibility and the eligibility of your proposed activities.

The intent to apply form asks for some basic details about your organization (location information, financials, etc) and about the project itself (description, start and end dates, and your grant request).

No. The artist(s) featured in a funded performance must be outside the applicant’s own organization. We cannot fund the wages of an applicant’s own company members or resident artists. In other words, theatre/dance companies rarely qualify unless they are serving as a venue/host organization for a visiting artist or production company. Self-produced productions do not qualify.

Yes. However, we still recommend being as specific as possible regarding the events and the audience you intend to reach. It may be useful to focus your application on a single artist/ensemble.

We do not recommend applying with an entire series or season due to the size of this grant opportunity. Instead, focus your application on a specific artist or ensemble.

Grant awards are available between $2,000 and $4,000, regardless of an artist’s fee or your project’s total budget. You may not request more than $4,000 and you may not request less than $2,000.

You can view a PDF of the application questions here. The character counts referenced in this document include spaces.

Yes. However, funding is determined on a state-by-state basis, and if we receive a high volume of applications from your state, funding priority may be given to applicants who have not previously been awarded. Priority will also be given to organizations that are led by or engage an artist(s) who is historically underrepresented or marginalized.

We anticipate funding approximately 80 grants per cycle.

Funding from this program is made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. As such, GIG Fund applicants and grantees must abide by federal eligibility requirements.

Learn more  from the NEA about fiscal sponsorships.

We encourage applications to check with your state arts agency for other funding opportunities.

Email grants@artsmidwest.org, or contact us by phone.

Joshua Feist, grants officer, 612.238.8054