NYC Opera Grants: Support for Small-Budget Organizations offer two-year project grants supporting strategic investments in opera organizations based in New York City with budgets below $250,000.
Donor Name: OPERA America
State: New York
City: Selected Cities
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 09/25/2025
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
Projects may include investments in administrative areas (e.g., marketing, fundraising, production, etc.) or in programming (e.g., productions or other public-facing programs) that will increase the capacity of the organization.
Organizations will be asked to identify up to two strategic areas for focused investment. Focus areas include but are not limited to:
- Marketing (e.g., audience development, advertising, website designs/upgrades)
- Development/Fundraising (e.g., grant writing, special event management, donor prospecting/stewarding)
- Artistic (e.g., paying/increasing artists’ fees, commissioning fees)
- Production (e.g., costs related to venue and rentals of costumes, technical, lighting, and equipment, etc.)
- Education/Community Engagement (e.g., teaching artists, program development/evaluation)
- Personnel (e.g., hiring staff or consultants, increasing staff time/salaries)
Funding Information
OPERA America will award 8–12 grants of $5,000 to $15,000 per year over a two-year period ($10,000 – $30,000 total) that represent the diversity of opera organizations in New York City in terms of organizational focus and communities served.
Eligibility Criteria
In order to apply, applicants must be:
- New York City-based organizations, incorporated within the five boroughs.
- 501(c)(3) organizations or fiscally sponsored organizations with operating budgets under $250,000. Both operating expenses and revenue of the most recently completed fiscal year must be under the $250,000 threshold.
- Engaged primarily in opera, as defined above. All types of programming are eligible; the organization is not required to produce full opera productions for the public.
- Able to demonstrate programming within the 12 months prior to application. It is recommended that the organization also be able to outline programming planned for the upcoming 12 months, although funding is not contingent on fixed planning.
For more information, visit OPERA America.
