Grant Program Descriptions

Grant Programs for Organizations

image of clay primordial soupie gang ​ 
Primordial Soupie Gang

Creation and Presentat​ion Grants

Creation and Presentation Program grants provide artistic program and operational support to established nonprofit arts organizations whose primary mission is to create or present ongoing arts programming that makes a significant local, regional, or statewide impact on the cultural life of Wisconsin, and that furthers the Arts Board's community development and arts education goals.

Next Deadline: October 9, 2025

Creative Communities Grants

The Creative Communities Program encourages arts education, cultural understanding, and​ community arts development in Wisconsin. It provides support for projects that further the Arts Board's goals in the following three areas: Arts Education; Folk and Traditional Arts; and Local Arts. The application is in two phases.

Next Deadline for Phase 1 Applications: February 27, 2025

Next Deadline for Phase 2 Applications: April ​​10, 2025

Woodland Indian Arts

The Woodland Indian Arts Program ​is designed to promote and develop a foundation of cultural and economic support for traditional and contemporary Native American arts in Wisconsin. As part of this work, the Arts Board annually distributes funds from Gaming Compact monies to support artistic activities among Wisconsin's tribes, bands and urban Indian communities. Please contact WI Arts Board staff​ before submitting an application to this program.

Next Deadline: February 13, 2025

Arts Challenge Initiative

The ACI Capacity Building for Minority Organizations Grant Program works with Wisconsin's racially diverse nonprofit arts organizations to build their organizational capacity and long-term sustainability. Only eligible nonprofit organizations with substantial policy, management and artistic control by members of the African-American, Hispanic-American, Native American, or Asian-American communities can apply to this program. This means that the majority of the artists, board, and administrative staff of the applicant are of the community of color on which the organization focuses its primary mission/service. Please contact WI Arts Board staff​ before submitting an application to this program.

Next Deadline: January 30, 2025

Wisconsin Regranting Program

The Wisconsin Arts Board's Regranting Program provides funds to participating local arts agencies and their partner community foundations around the state. These groups then regrant the funds for arts-related projects in their own communities.  The Program is closed to new applicants at this time. View​ a list​​ of the Arts Board's current Regranting Program partner organizations.​

Grant Programs for Individuals

Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program

Sidonka Wadina, National Heritage Award RecepientFolk Arts Apprenticeship awards are a maximum $3,500 that support re​spected traditional artists in ​​​teaching their skills to committed and talented apprentices. If you would like to study with a Wisconsin traditional artisan, musician, singer, dancer or storyteller, or if you are a locally respected traditional or folk artist who would like to teach your knowledge to others, the Wisconsin Arts Board may be able to support this activity.

Next Deadline: March 20, ​2025



    Sidonka Wadina, Straw Plaiter from Lyons (2015 National Heritage Fellow)


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