The Folk and Traditional Arts Grant Program supports the culture bearers practicing these arts across California.
Donor Name: California Arts Council
State: California
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/16/2025
Size of the Grant: $500,000 to $1 million
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
The California Arts Council mission is to strengthen arts, culture, and creative expression as the tools to cultivate a better California for all. The CAC is committed to the just and equitable disbursement of resources across geographies to reach cultural communities of all sizes and needs. The CAC recognizes all art forms and artistic traditions that enable full and meaningful creative expression.
Folk and traditional art forms are rooted in and reflective of the cultural life of a community, whose members may share common ethnic heritage, cultural mores, language, religion, occupation, or geographic regions. These art forms are preserved and revitalized through efforts to pass down skills and knowledge across generations. By providing opportunities for hands-on learning, collaboration, and practice within families and communities, these traditions remain vibrant and continue to evolve, ensuring the lasting strength of cultural legacies.
Program Goals
- FTA will redirect resources at the local level by funding one or more Administering Organizations (AO) with demonstrated capacity for statewide and regional reach that will regrant funds, provide technical assistance, and/or build capacity with artists and arts organizations in support of folk and traditional arts expressions.
- The AO will work directly with artists or cultural organizations who practice traditional art forms. The forms of traditional expression can include but are not limited to: crafts, music, dance, ritual, and technical skills.
- This program centralizes local artists and their artistic processes as vehicles for community vitality. This funding opportunity recognizes that artists are integral to healthy communities, and that the arts are a societal cornerstone that brings people together, builds community, and fosters social progress.
Funding Information
The Administering Organization grant will fund up to $1,000,000 per year for two years.
Eligible Projects
The CAC will award funds to an AO that will develop and administer FTA grants statewide. The awarded AO will be responsible for the planning and implementation of FTA programs, including but not limited to:
- development of program components and timeline
- providing technical assistance
- capacity building at the local level
- implementing statewide and community-specific engagement strategies with trusted culture bearers
- collaboration with the CAC on outreach to ensure diverse statewide representation of applicants
- management of regranting processes for artists and arts organizations through releasing a request for applications, adjudication by individuals with knowledge and expertise in specific cultural traditions, managing awards, and regular reporting to the CAC.
Eligibility Criteria
Organizations eligible to apply include:
- Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), California organizations
- Units of municipal, county or Tribal governments.
- Have a principal place of business in California and a California address.
- Demonstrate proof of nonprofit status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or section 23701d of the California Revenue and Taxation Code.
- Have “active status” with the California Secretary of State (SOS) showing evidence of “good standing” at the time of application.
For more information, visit CAC.