Grants Portal
A still from a dance project sponsored by Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. Photo: Crystal Birns
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Support Grants

General operating support for Santa Cruz County nonprofit or fiscally-sponsored arts organizations of all budget sizes. Applications accepted once per year for grants up to $7,000.

Applications for 2024 Support grants have closed. Applications for 2025 will open in August 2024. You can also check out our Create & Develop grants available during Cycle 2 in February/March 2024. 

Sign up for our Grants newsletter at the bottom of this page to get notified about all of our grant offerings.

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Guidelines

Please read the guidelines before beginning your application. Guidelines include important information about eligibility and review criteria.

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Orientation Video

Watch a recording from our August 29 Support grants orientation.

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Orientation Slides

Download the presentation slides from our August 29 Support Grants orientation.

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Application Questions

The Support Grant application is an online application. Download this Microsoft Word document to view the list of application questions.

Support Grant FAQs

  • The review criteria have changed significantly since last year: We are using a new scoring rubric. The Grants Program Objective criteria has been eliminated. Artistic Excellence has been expanded to Artistic Excellence & Relevance with additional items being scored. The Equity & Accessibility criteria rubric has been expanded significantly. Please see the Review Criteria section of the guidelines for more information.

  • In addition to the three review criteria, further consideration will be given to: organizations whose programming primarily takes place in neighborhoods most disproportionately impacted by inequities as indicated by the California Healthy Places Index (HPI). HPI is determined by mapping 23 key drivers of health outcomes — like education, job opportunities, and clean air and water. Click here for more information on HPI.

  • Universities and colleges are ineligible for Arts Council grants, with the exception of providing fiscal sponsorship for one arts program only for a Create or Support grant application.

  • Support and Elevate grantees are no longer eligible to apply for Develop grants, in order to reserve enough of that funding for individual artists and other arts organizations. Support and Elevate grantees also remain ineligible for Create grants.

  • Applicants may only submit one application for one grant per cycle.

Read More FAQs About Our Grants

General FAQs are available at the bottom of our Apply for a Grant webpage.

Contact Us With Questions

Email: grantsprogram@artscouncilsc.org