The Auburn Public Theater is excited to announce the 2026 Community Arts Grant Program.
Donor Name: Auburn Public Theater
State: New York
County: Cayuga County (NY), Ontario County (NY), Seneca County (NY), Wayne County (NY), Yates County (NY)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/08/2026
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Founded in 1977, the Decentralization Program (DEC) was developed by the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) to ensure that its cultural funding reaches every part of the state. As of FY2022, this program is called the Statewide Community Regrants Program (SCR). SCR has become one of the council’s most effective means of making arts support available to geographically, economically and ethnically diverse segments of the state’s population. The program serves each of the state’s 62 counties and funds volunteer community organizations as well as established non-profit corporations with paid professional staff.
The SCR program in Cayuga, Seneca, Yates, Wayne and Ontario Counties is administered by Auburn Public Theater in downtown Auburn, New York.
Goals
The Statewide Community Regrants program makes arts support available to geographically, economically, and ethnically diverse segments of the 5-county service area. They provide funding to nonprofit community arts organizations, individual artists, and arts educators within Cayuga, Seneca, Wayne, Ontario and Yates Counties that are not currently funded directly by NYSCA. SCR through Auburn Public Theater is committed to supporting diverse cultural expression. The focus of the program includes:
- Support for regional artists by providing them with the resources to create new works,while increasing their visibility
- Helping regional nonprofit organizations grow sustainably as they serve the cultural, artistic and educational needs of their respective communities
- Provide support for a wide variety of artistic disciplines including diverse multi-cultural projects
- To be an advocate for arts support in the region they serve by educating community and government leaders about the NYSCA grant process and all it entails
- To help foster partnerships between arts and non-arts organizations with the goal of bringing the arts to areas with limited access to arts programming
- To encourage new artists and organizations to apply for SCR funding. These include the rural, minority and underserved populations of the region.
Funding Information
Maximum request for a project is $5,000.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicant organization, fiscal sponsor, or partner organization must be a governmental or quasi-governmental entity, a 501(c)(3) federal tax-exempt organization, or a tribal organization or a New York State non-profit incorporated organization.
- Applicant organization, fiscal sponsor, or partner organization must produce or present arts and cultural programming serving residents of Cayuga, Seneca, Wayne, Yates, or Ontariocounties.
- Applicant organization, fiscal sponsor, or partner organization must have a board of directors or a governing body that meets to determine and review policy.
- Applicant organization, fiscal sponsor, or partner organization must conduct all activities in a way that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religious belief, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability. Individual artists may apply directly under this program by (1) enlisting an eligible nonprofit organization as a “fiscal sponsor” or (2) partnering with an eligible organization that shares its goals for the community. (See the “Fiscal Sponsorship and Partner Organizations” section below for more information.) Lead applicants must be at least 18 years of age at the time of the submission and may not be enrolled in full time degree program.
- Applicant organization or artist or fiscal sponsor must be legally located (i.e., not a seasonal resident or local branch of an organization registered elsewhere) in the county where the activity will take place. If working with a partner organization, both application organization/artist and partner organization must be based in the county where the proposed activity is taking place.
- Previous grantees must have submitted ALL required final reports from the previous cycle.
- A first-time applicant must attend an Informational Meeting or meet one-on-one with SCR staff from Auburn Public Theater.
For more information, visit Auburn Public Theater.
