FY26 Application Calendar
Intent to Apply Deadline
| Phase 1 Application Deadline
| Announcement of Phase 2 Invitation or Rejection
| Phase 2 Application Deadline
| Earliest Announcement of Grant Award or Rejection
| Earliest Beginning Date for Grant-Related Activities*
|
* Please note that grant award checks may not arrive until well after your project begins, depending on when the Legislature passes the state budget.
The Creative Communities (CC) grants 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. Through direct financial support of specific arts projects, the Arts Board sustains the vitality of Wisconsin culturally, educationally and economically.
An eligible Creative Communities project is a collaborative endeavor that is carefully planned and designed to achieve a particular aim within an identified community. It is either:
- less than three years old at the time of application (this means that the project itself must have been in existence for less than three years, not that the project has received WAB funding for less than three years), or
- a newly expanded dimension of an existing project (this means that the grant application must request support for costs related only to the new elements).
NOTE: Organizations that receive a FY26 Creative Communities grant are not eligible to apply to the FY25 Creation and Presentation Program in October, 2025.
Grant Amounts
Grants will range from a minimum of $1,500 to a maximum of $6,000. A 1:1 match, half of which must be cash, is required from the applicant for these funds. (The amount of the grant request cannot be more than half the overall budget of the project.)
To Apply
Complete a simple Phase 1 application after reading the FY24 Phase 1 guidelines by clicking 'Apply Here' at the top of the righthand column on this webpage.
Be invited to submit a Phase 2 application
Why use a two-phase application process?
The rest of the story:
Application Calendar for FY26:
As of April 2022, all applicants are required to obtain a “Unique Entity Identifier” (UEI) through the System of Award Management (SAM) at https://sam.gov.
February 20, 2025: Virtual Q&A for Phase 1, 12:15 pm (not required)* A recording of the session is available on YouTube. Q&A Registation link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0sd-6tqTMtH9PULkzVcsSs2yk_E4zsBeI9.
February 20 2025: Intent to apply deadline. Applicants that have not previously applied to WAB’s Creative Communities program must notify the Arts Board of their intent to apply by this date. (Notification should be in the form of an email to artsboard@wisconsin.gov).
- February 27, 2025: DEADLINE - Creative Communities Phase 1 application deadline, 3 pm
- March 14, 2025: Eligible applicants receive invitation to continue into Phase 2
- April 3, 2025: Virtual Q&A for Phase 2 (Phase 2 eligible groups only)*
- April 10, 2025: DEADLINE - Only applicants that received the panel's invitation to apply to Phase 2, submit application materials by 3 pm
- April 2025: Separate panels meet to review applications to the Arts Education, Folk Arts and Local Arts components - see specific dates in the righthand column of this webpage
- May 2025: Wisconsin Arts Board meets to consider recommendations from panels
- July 1, 2025: Awarded projects may begin
*Virtual Q&A - Use this time to ask questions of WAB staff and hear other applicants' questions. A meeting link will be sent directly to Phase 2 applicants. If you need alternative access, please email artsboard@wisconsin.gov. While this is not
required, it is encouraged.
Resources for Grant Applicants
Arts Education Resources
Questions? Contact Arts Board staff via e-mail or phone 608-267-2026 (Karen Goeschko) or 608-264-8191 (Dale Johnson).