ACFM General Support Program Grant

The ACFM General Support Program provides funding ranging from $2,000 to $20,000 for organizations committed to contemporary American concert music and jazz. It supports performing ensembles, presenters, and music service organizations that enhance public appreciation of these genres. Eligible applicants must have a minimum of two years of programming history and a professional operational level. Activities must occur within the specified support year of September 1, 2026, to August 31, 2027.

The General Support Program provides funding for organizations with a history of substantial commitment to contemporary American concert music, jazz, or both with plans to continue that commitment. Unrestricted grants through this program are available for performing ensembles, presenters, music service organizations, and record companies whose artistic excellence and impact encourages and improves public knowledge and appreciation of contemporary concert music and contemporary jazz by American composers.
Funding Provisions
In general, grants will range between $2,000 and $20,000, although larger grants may be awarded to larger organizations with an extraordinary commitment to contemporary American concert music, jazz, or both. The Fund does not award grants larger than the amount requested by the applicant.
Applicants should be aware that support in one year does not imply continuation of that support in subsequent years.
For each cycle, activity must occur between September of the current year and August of the following year to be considered eligible for support. The Support Year for the current cycle is September 1, 2026 to August 31, 2027.

Eligibility

A minimum of 2 years of programming history (or, for record companies, release history)501(c)(3) non-profit status (or foreign equivalent), or fiscal sponsorship from an organization with 501(c)(3) non-profit statusFor record companies only: 501(c)(3) status (or foreign equivalent) is required for the General Support Program; for funding opportunities for commercial record companies.Operations conducted at a professional levelSubstantial multi-year commitment to contemporary American concert music, jazz, or bothEligible types of organizations include:Ballet/danceChamber EnsembleChamber OrchestraChoral or VocalFestivalJazz EnsembleLibrary/archiveMusic service organizationOperaOrchestraPresenterProfessional DevelopmentRadio/TVRecord companyEligible activity must include or support music that meets all of the following criteria:Contemporary: For the Fund’s purposes, music composed within the last 40 years is considered contemporary. For jazz submissions, only original works or substantially original, non-derivative arrangements composed within the last 40 years are considered contemporary.American: Music by composers with U.S. citizenship, wherever they may live, as well as non-citizen composers who have lived and worked in the U.S. and its territories for a significant period.Concert Music or Jazz: For the Fund’s purposes, concert music includes opera, orchestral and chamber music for instrumental and/or vocal ensembles, as well as experimental genres and similar formats. For jazz submissions, the music must include improvisation; applications featuring through-composed works without improvisation will be evaluated with concert music applications if otherwise eligible.Eligible types of projects include:Live music performancesRecordings and/or live streamsDance or theater performances with live musicSound installationsProfessional development programsArtist-in-residence programsRadio/podcast programsArtist support programsJournalism/criticismLibrary/archive programs

Ineligibility

The following types of activity are not considered eligible for support through this program:Programming outside of contemporary American concert music or contemporary American jazz, including commercial, pops, folk, Broadway-style musical theater, sacred, holiday, and traditional concert band music.Dance or theater performances without live musicMusic publishing projectsStudent ensemblesVolunteer, community, and amateur ensemblesK-12 or collegiate educational activityComposer commissioning fees or honorariaCompetitionsArtist residencies/retreatsEndowment fundsCapital projectsCapacity building