Overview of Funding Programs
Note: All Major and Mini Grant applications must be submitted online using the eGRANT system. (But plan ahead – some portions must be sent or delivered, as well!)
Download the
eGRANT tutorial for instructions on how to use the new system (4
MG 
).
The Iowa Arts Council aims to enrich the quality of life and learning in Iowa communities by encouraging excellence in the arts. Funding for the Iowa Arts Council and its programs is provided by the State of Iowa and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
Click on the program name for detailed information, deadlines and application forms about IAC funding programs.
Major and Mini Grants
- For significant artist-initiated and -managed projects that will be presented to or shared with the public
- Eligible to apply: artists
Artists in Schools &
Communities Residency Major and Mini Grants
- To bring professional artists and performing groups into Iowa’s schools and communities in residencies of five days or longer.
- Eligible to apply: schools, organizations
Arts in Education Major and Mini
Grants
- For exemplary and innovative educational projects for all ages.
- Eligible to apply: artists and organizations (including schools)
Conferences, Workshops and Forum
Major and Mini Grants
Supports planning and implementation of significant arts-related conferences, workshops and forums
- To improve the business and managerial practices Iowa artists, arts organizations, performing groups, arts venues and business
- Eligible to apply: artists and organizations (including schools)
Folk & Traditional
Arts Major and Mini Grants
- Support activities and projects that document, preserve, and promote the traditional culture of Iowa's diverse residents.
- Only projects that pertain to traditional artists—not artists whose work reflects cultural traditions other than their own.
- Eligible to apply: artists, researchers/scholars, and organizations (including schools)
Organization Major and
Mini Grants
- Supports exemplary arts projects that benefit Iowa's and the needs of Iowa communities.
- Collaborations and the exploration of new experiences for audiences are encouraged.
- Eligible to apply: organizations (including schools)
Public Art Major and Mini
Grants
- To plan and implement public art projects and programs that are accessible to Iowans.
- Projects may be divided into several phases – applicant may apply to complete one or more phases (funding for future phases is not guaranteed).
- Eligible to apply: artists and organizations (including schools)
EZ (First-Come, First-Funded) Grants
- Helps underwrite the cost of field trips to attend an art exhibit, arts event, or live performance at an arts institution, arts facility, or arts or folklife festival in Iowa.
- Eligible to apply: schools
- Up to $500 to bring Iowa artists to schools, theatres, festivals and auditoriums across Iowa
- 3 categories: Arts Education, Performing Arts Grants, and Character Counts! Through the Arts Grants
- Eligible to apply: organizations (including schools)
Other IAC Funding Programs
Arts Building Communities in Schools
(ABCs) Program
- Supports partnerships between schools and their communities over a three year period to improve student arts learning
- Eligible to apply: Schools (with arts partner team members)
- Up to 3 grants of $5,000 each will be awarded each school year, depending on funding availability
- Provides an opportunity for Iowa communities to experience traditional music, foods, dance, rituals and crafts from a variety of groups living in Iowa
- Cultural Express consists of nine live, two-hour performance and exhibit programs that are booked and hosted by a community's library or museum
- Eligible to apply: Iowa libraries and museums that are part of local government or have nonprofit, tax-exempt status
- Supports the development of outstanding young artists, enrolled in Iowa educational programs leading to careers in the arts.
- Eligible to apply: Iowa high school seniors
- Provides three-year funding support for the operational expenses of major arts organizations who demonstrate an exemplary track record of artistic and managerial excellence and community service on a continuing basis to the citizens of Iowa.
- Eligible to apply: major arts organizations
- Supports significant arts-related projects that will enhance the lives of Iowans throughout the state and encourage and support visionary thinking of Iowans.
Other Grant Programs Offered by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and State Historical Society of Iowa
The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, which the Iowa Arts Council is a division of, also provides funding. Please check the Department's web site for information on those grant programs. The Arts Council's sister division, the State Historical Society of Iowa, also provides grants to projects and programs. Please refer to SHSI's web site for details.
