Artworkers dedicated to developing free and low-cost community engagement activities exemplify the benevolent-power of our Los Angeles’ cultural landscape. Local nonprofit arts agencies harness spirit, passion, and talent to fortify Southern California, fostering human health and collective well-being.
Under the leadership of General Manager Daniel Tarica and Grants Director Joe Smoke, the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) is pleased to announce the FY2025-26 cycle of our Cultural Grant Program. This open call invites project-specific proposals from local independent nonprofit organizations for proposed public-benefit activities taking place within the City of Los Angeles between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026.
DCA’s Grant Division Objectives:
DCA’s grant opportunities aim to stimulate job creation for LA-based artists, arts administrators, and arts managers through the production of high-quality, community-relevant creative projects. Emphasis is placed on engaging specific neighborhood or community demographics, particularly in arts-underserved areas.
Guidelines, Instructions, and Educational Webinars:
Applicants are invited to strategically outline proposals for free or low-cost socio-educational opportunities that engage the public through arts participation and presentation. Proposals should articulate how DCA funding would augment ongoing projects, fostering job growth and volunteer opportunities within the arts sector.
Key Considerations:
Projects should be designed to fit within a one-year timeline (with the project lasting no longer that 6 months) and must align with DCA’s reimbursement-based funding model.
Applicants must demonstrate at least one year of experience in producing and presenting similar projects, supported by recent audience metrics and feedback.
A focus on project scalability and sustainability is encouraged, with an eye towards potential renewal for a second year.
Scoring Criteria: Proposals will be evaluated based on location, interactivity, and adherence to DCA’s published sub-criteria, which outline specific discipline-categories and peer review processes. Projects that enhance cultural diversity or explore themes in culture, history, literature, media, visual arts, or traditional/folk arts are sepcifically encouraged to apply in even-numbered years (such as 2024, 2026, etc.).
Technical Details: Applicants are required to create a profile on SMU DataArts and submit IRS 990 statements or equivalent financial documentation. Use our Allowable Grant Request Calculator to determine maximum funding requests. The narrative should clearly define project scope, goals, and anticipated community impact.
Additional Guidance:
Projects involving more than 4 districts should be relevant touring or mobile projects. Attempting to tour into more than 5 districts is discouraged, unless your project is online/broadcast with strategic ways to capture audience demographics through feedback surveys.
Cost-effectiveness and audience engagement metrics should be clearly articulated to justify financial requests.
Applicants are advised to focus on deep, transformative learning experiences that benefit diverse populations.
We encourage prospective applicants to review the full guidelines and submit applications early to ensure eligibility and completeness. For technical assistance with platforms or further inquiries, please contact our grants staff, who are ready to assist throughout the application process.
Seven Bits of Strategic Advice:
- DCA is an artistic project funder (NOT a general operating funder). So, if your proposed project lasts 9-12 months, your proposal should be reframed on a maximum of 3-6 months of the specifically sited activities.
- Be thoughtful about which Council District boxes you select in your proposal. Please note that if your project is sited within 5 or more districts, your selection will indicate which districts are served with DCA funding, while others can be served with matching funds. If your project tours to or takes place in multiple city council districts, then you should consider asking DCA to fund 50% *of your locations and strategize (by talking with the DCA staff) on which districts have been historically least served by former DCA applicants. Please be reminded that if you are awarded a contract based on this proposal, your services cannot include new districts or changed districts.
- Project-plans should estimate 60% of the local paid artists (national and international artists are acceptable as long as they do not comprise more than 40%) as well as the paid arts managers who will produce and present the specific number of thematic services (biographies of last year’s artists for the same ongoing project, are acceptable; but not the most competitive way to apply).
- Including 20% of overhead business expenses is very acceptable for every artistic project proposal. Naming the theme(s), site(s), and relative dates of your activities will help you determine what expenses are truly needed to stabilize/sustain the community-relevant, free or low-cost, and publicly accessible activities which are the entire focus of your application narrative.
- The following types of activities are not eligible: private invitation-only events, expensive activities, fundraising events, open-mic events, open-call programs, and art contests. DCA needs to sponsor events that are accessible platforms for pre-specified groups of talented artists and artworks.
- Our application allows for answers with limited word-counts, so we do not recommend asking for support of more than 2 projects in your singular proposal. If you do decide to ask for support of Project A and Project B, please be aware that DCA panelists will select whichever they prefer and rarely tell DCA to fund elements of both.
- The cost-per-head ratio between your financial request and the number of people served will determine how deep your narrative must speak to “level of change” in your participants+audience. DCA wants to support a variety of artistic projects — some of which will be wide and low cost (like a $20 movie ticket) and some of which will be deep and moderate cost (such as $50 per person activity) for a project with an average of $200 per person investment in deep sequential and transformative learning for a target population that needs a city sponsored program to develop equitable outcomes (except for the outdoor festivals category). The depth of change you describe in the life of an example-participant from a prior year, is the best way to justify a high cost-per-head-ratio.
End Notes:
We encourage you to start early and work progressively on the required documents. We use two online platforms (SMU DataArts and SurveyMonkey Apply) both of which are user-friendly but neither of which is housed within our office. Some questions will be referred to technical workers managing these independent platforms.
DCA’s “even-year” grant cycle has an emphasis on generating two-year scores for projects in: Dance, Music, Theatre, or Multi-Disciplinary. New applicants in art forms culture/history presentations, literature or publishing projects, media activities or presentations, design/visual art exhibitions or museum projects, or traditional/folk arts will receive one-year scores. Existing grantees in culture/history presentations, literature or publishing projects, media activities or presentations, design/visual art exhibitions or museum projects, or traditional/folk arts should render only a one-page Renewal Form (provided to you by the grants staff).
Thank you for your dedication to enriching Los Angeles’ cultural fabric. We look forward to supporting your innovative projects that contribute to our city’s vibrant arts community.
Mouna Benbouazza, Grants Associate
Ben Espinosa, Grants Manager
Brenda Slaughter Reynolds, Grants Manager
Haley Roeser, Grants Associate
Joe Smoke, Grants Director
City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs