Introducing the Arts Funding Finder

The search for grants eats up hours that could go toward applying, creating art, or running arts programs. It shouldn’t be this hard.

Our answer is Arts Funding Finder: a free tool that gathers grants, awards, and arts funders for the creative Midwest in one trusted place.

It’s the latest resource we’ve added to our website thanks to the support of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Digital Accelerator Program (DAP).

Read on to learn what you’ll find and how we got here.

How We Got Here

The Arts Funding Finder is part two of the updates to our online resources that we shared in April, made possible by the Bloomberg Digital Accelerator Program. It’s a centralized, curated, and easy to navigate directory of funders and grants supporting the arts across the Midwest.

In focus groups, surveys, and conversations, we heard how hard it is to find new arts funding. Artists and administrators told us they get overwhelmed by search engines, grant databases, and aggregators. They described scanning paragraphs of fine print only to discover a program is invitation-only, or finding a perfect-sounding grant with no contact information.

As a result, people most often apply for grants recommended by mentors, board members, and funders they already know. But relying on word of mouth means that newer programs or national funders may not cross your radar. And that means the Midwest misses out on essential support.

Here’s what the Arts Funding Finder offers:

• Details Up Front: Every listing is curated by our team to answer the questions that matter before you dig in: what the grant is, who can apply, who cannot, deadlines, funding amounts, and where grantees need to be located.
• Filters that Fit Your Work: Sort and search by state, artistic discipline, type of support, and who the grant is for, whether that’s individual artists, nonprofits, fiscally sponsored organizations, ensembles, or government agencies.
• Clear Funder Information: Browse funders by state and type, from community foundations to corporate givers to regional arts councils. Even when a funder has no open opportunity, knowing who they are and what they support helps you plan ahead.

The Arts Funding Finder gets better as the community adds to it. If you’re a funder, foundation, or organization with an arts funding opportunity, list it through our submission form. Our team reviews every submission before it goes live, so the tool stays accurate, useful, and relevant.

What’s Next?

This tool will keep evolving alongside the needs of the creative Midwest. We’re excited to explore features like user accounts for saving grants, newsletters tailored to your state and interests, more robust search, and deeper information about funders and their past giving.

Have thoughts, feedback, or an opportunity we should know about? We’d love to hear from you at communications@artsmidwest.org.

Photo Credit: Jess Cavender

For years, we’ve heard from artists and arts organizations about the challenges of finding funding: too many places to look, too little time.

For years, we’ve heard from artists and arts organizations about the challenges of finding funding: too many places to look, too little time.

This project was developed with the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Digital Accelerator for Arts and Culture. The program supports leadership development and infrastructure investment that builds audiences, increases fundraising, drives revenue, delivers dynamic programming, and helps us work more efficiently and effectively in support of our strategic objectives. The program supports development of best practices to share across a network of nonprofit cultural organizations.