Grants for Arts Education

Learn about grants for arts education by exploring our curated list of top arts education funders below. Members can also research funding opportunities using the search tool for Grantfinder. Become a member.

Funding trends for arts education grants

Ninety-two percent of Americans believe every student should have access to a quality arts education, but only 52% think students have that access, according to a 2023 survey by Americans for the Arts. A substantial body of research shows that arts education has significant, enduring impacts on individual students, communities, and society. Arts education imparts skills and aptitudes such as critical thinking and creativity, increases empathy, enriches understanding of varied human experiences, supports social and emotional learning, and has a wide range of benefits across the lifespan, the Academy of American Sciences reports in Art for Life’s Sake: The Case for Arts Education. Yet very few schools in the U.S. offer robust arts education programs, as a result of chronic underfunding as well as curriculum standards that prioritize other aspects of education.

While there has been some progress in recent years, public funding for arts education in K-12 schools in the U.S. has been inadequate for decades. Nonprofits and philanthropy aspire to fill gaps in both in-school arts education and community arts education for all ages.

Individual donors are important in this area, with donor-advised fund managers showing up as top grantmakers for arts education. Some individual giving for arts education comes from parents’ donations to school programs. Community foundations also make grants for arts education, in the form of both DAF and programmatic grants. Arts education is a favorite giving area for corporate giving programs such as the foundations of major banks. Private foundations that give for the arts often make grants for arts education as well. Public-private collaborations are also common in this philanthropic space, with grantmakers supporting nonprofits that provide in-school or after-school arts education programs within public schools.

Grantmaking for arts education overlaps with grantmaking for arts and culture, as well as grantmaking for specific mediums, such as music, visual arts, dance, and theater. Because of the many positive impacts of arts education on other aspects of life, arts education philanthropy also overlaps with philanthropy for issues such as aging, health, and community development.

Where are arts education grants going?

Philanthropic giving for arts education goes to K-12 schools, college and university programs, and nonprofits that provide and/or advocate for arts education. There are nonprofits that provide arts education programs in schools and outside of schools (for example, in senior centers, museums and other cultural institutions, or the nonprofit’s own facility). Some grants support nonprofits’ work to increase access to arts education for diverse students. Grantmaking for arts education also supports community arts centers or nonprofits such as theater and dance companies or orchestras that have education programs in addition to performing ensembles.

Gaps in arts education funding

Arts education is underfunded around the world. Disparities in access to arts education result in even less arts education for students of color and students in low-income areas. Most arts education grants go to programs for school-age children and youth, with a smaller proportion of funding going to community arts programs that engage adult learners. Some older data from Grantmakers in the Arts suggests that more U.S. foundation funding has gone to programs focused on education in the performing arts than the visual arts.