The City of Santa Ana is pleased to announce the Investing in the Artist Grant: Individual Artists.
Donor Name: City of Santa Ana
State: California
City: Santa Ana
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/23/2026
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
Understanding that artists are microbusinesses integral to the economic vitality of a city, Investing in the Artist Grant distributes funds to emerging and established artists. These grants serve as a catalyst to further artist’s work while living and creating in Santa Ana, resulting in a more vibrant and diverse local art scene.
They invite submissions from artists and arts organizations working across diverse mediums: visual arts, performance, music, creative writing, digital media, and more, to explore and elevate the stories that unite them in Santa Ana. Proposed projects should center the lived experiences, cultural traditions, and shared histories of community, while actively engaging residents, local businesses, and neighborhood groups in meaningful participation. Through collaborative storytelling and creative expression, projects should foster connection, belonging, and pride across Santa Ana’s diverse communities.
Priorities
- Activating geographical areas in Santa Ana underserved by the arts
- Collaborations/partnerships among different entities across artistic and non-artistic fields
Funding Information
The Arts & Culture Office is seeking to award grants in the amounts of up to $10,000 for individual artists who will enrich and invigorate the Santa Ana arts & culture landscape with Stories That Unite US in Santa Ana and will be distributed in three (3) payments.
Project Period
The grant period will be for 12 months.
Eligibility Criteria
Individual artists working in the following mediums are welcome to apply:
- Visual
- Performing
- Musical
- Literary
- Film
- Textile
- Multimedia
- Industrial
- Fashion
- Culinary
- Artists must be currently living and creating work in Santa Ana or create a work that is for the benefit of Santa Ana residents and/or stimulate economic development for the City of Santa Ana.
- Project must be completed in Santa Ana, directly serve the Santa Ana residents, and/or stimulate economic development for the City of Santa Ana.
- Applicants must be over the age of 18.
- Applicant must attend one mandatory Information Session.
- Only one application per project will be accepted. Artists may not apply separately for the same project.
- Cannot use this grant to complete a project that has already been funded through the City (ex: Sponsorship Program).
- Grant recipients who have not completed their projects from prior grant cycles will not be eligible to apply this year. This includes completing their final reports.
- Grant recipients who withdrew from program in the prior year, will be ineligible to reapply for the following two years.
- Applicants engaged in active litigation with the City, have outstanding balances with the City, and/or have active code enforcement violations, or a history of multiple code enforcement violations are not eligible for the program.
Artists will be required to obtain/demonstrate the following prior to an award:
- Current City of Santa Ana business license.
- Current General Liability insurance in the amount of $1,000,000 naming the City of Santa Ana as Additional Insured on a primary and non-contributory basis.
For more information, visit City of Santa Ana.
