Applications are now open for the 2025-26 cycle of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Big Read, a national program that offers matching grants to support community-wide reading programs.
Donor Name: Arts Midwest
State: All States
County: All Counties
Territory: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and America Samoa
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 01/23/2025
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Less than 1 Year
Details:
The goals of the NEA Big Read are to:
- Inspire meaningful conversations and cross-cultural understanding and empathy;
- Celebrate local creativity and creative practices;
- Elevate a wide variety of voices and perspectives;
- Encourage cross-sector collaboration between the arts and other disciplines and industries to strengthen a community’s civic infrastructure; and
- Build social cohesion and civic engagement through stronger connections in each community as a means toward improving health and well-being and reducing isolation and loneliness.
Programming for the 2025-2026 grant cycle will center around the theme OUR NATURE: How Our Physical Environment Can Lead Us to Seek Hope, Courage, and Connection.
Funding Information
The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read is a program that awards grants ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 to organizations.
Grant Period
This round of NEA Big Read grants is for activities taking place between September 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026.
Eligible Expenses
Examples of eligible expenses:
- Speaker and artist fees
- Book purchases
- Supply costs
- Promotional fees
- Project staff salaries
- Venue rentals
- Other expenses directly related and necessary to conducting your program.
Eligibility Criteria
- 501c3 non-profit organizations and other federally tax-exempt entities including, but not limited to: universities/colleges, school districts, public libraries, tribal organizations, museums, and community service organizations.
- Organizations located within the United States, US Territories, and the Native Nations that share this geography.
- Arts and cultural organizations in any arts discipline (literature, performing arts, visual arts, traditional arts, multidisciplinary arts, etc.) or nonprofit organizations that provide arts programming (social service agencies, etc.)
- Organizations that do not have overdue reports or funding moratoria with Arts Midwest.
For more information, visit Arts Midwest.
