Visual Arts Grants
Learn about visual arts grants by browsing our curated list of top visual arts funders below. Members can also research funding opportunities by using the search tool for GrantFinder. Become a member.
Key Funders
- Annenberg Foundation
- Eli and Edy Broad Foundation
- JPMorgan Chase
- Steven A. and Alexandra M. Cohen Foundation
- Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation
- Getty Foundation
- John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
- John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
- Jerome Foundation
- Macarthur Foundation
- Mellon Foundation
- National Endowment for the Arts
- PayPal Giving Fund
- Silicon Valley Community Foundation
- Terra Foundation for American Art
- Windgate Charitable Foundation, Inc.
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Funding trends for visual arts grants
In a 2022 survey conducted by Americans for the Arts, eighty-six percent of Americans said “arts and culture are important to their community’s quality of life and livability.” In the same year, according to the NEA, more than three-quarters of American adults visited an art museum or gallery, while over one-third created some form of visual art.
In the United States, where most museums are nonprofits and public funding for the arts is scant, philanthropy plays a significant role in supporting the visual arts. Contributed income accounted for more than half of operating revenue for arts organizations across the U.S. every year from 2020 to 2023, reports SMU Data Arts. Indeed, earned income has been in decline in recent years for all types of arts organizations, making contributed income increasingly important to keeping arts organizations afloat.
Visual arts philanthropy is dominated by extraordinarily wealthy individual donors, especially when it comes to high-profile capital gifts and board membership at large museums in big cities. That said, visual arts grantmaking occurs at every level.
Large and small private foundations, community foundations, and regional arts organizations, which are funded by a mix of public and private dollars, make grants for individual artists and nonprofit art organizations. Local arts agencies are important supporters of visual arts. Intermediaries such as Creative Capital, First Peoples Fund, and many others also play a role in visual arts philanthropy.
Where are visual arts grants going?
Researchers Louis Shekhtman and Albert-László Barabási looked at foundation grants for art from 2010 to 2019 and found that arts philanthropy often concentrates on the local level. The same researchers, IP’s Mike Scutari reports, documented a high level of donor retention in arts philanthropy, with funders forming relationships with arts organizations that they engage with year after year.
Visual arts philanthropy broadly overlaps with grantmaking for arts education and grantmaking for arts and culture. The funder affinity group Grantmakers in the Arts offers resources related to grantmaking at the intersections of the arts and issues including health, social justice, the environment, and community development.
The lion’s share of visual arts funding invests in museums. Visual arts grants also support nonprofit galleries, community galleries, community arts centers, art conservation and art history programs, as well as individual artists via fellowships, awards, and artist residencies. There are also grants to increase access to the arts, capacity-building grants such as grants for arts organizations to update their technology, grants dedicated to supporting underrepresented artists, and many other types of grants for the visual arts.
Gaps in visual arts funding
Since the largest donations for visual art support prominent museums in major metropolitan areas, a funding gap exists at every level beyond this scope. This includes all other types of arts organizations, including museums outside of big cities, small and midsize museums, community arts organizations, BIPOC-led arts nonprofits, and arts organizations in rural areas.
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Additional Resources
Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA) is the national network of private, public and corporate arts funders focused on providing “leadership and service that advances the use of philanthropic and governmental resources to support the growth of the arts and culture.”
Americans for the Arts, which primarily works to advance the arts in the United States, is an important organization for the dance community. Its website includes white papers and research on fundraising trends and best practices.
SMU DataArts’ mission is “to empower arts and cultural leaders with high-quality data and evidence-based resources and insights that help them to overcome challenges and increase impact.” SMU DataArts provides resources for arts organizations, fundraisers and arts grantmakers.
American Alliance of Museums is a nonprofit association focused on developing standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and advocating on issues of concern to the museum community.
