Arts Impact Grants for Organizations (AIGO)

Arts Impact Grants for Organizations (AIGO) support Sonoma County's cultural nonprofits, demonstrating the arts' role in enhancing community cohesion. Funded by the County of Sonoma and the National Endowment for the Arts for 2025, these grants prioritize equitable access and participation in programs impacting diverse audiences. Eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) nonprofits with a minimum three-year history of consistent arts programming. Applications emphasizing environmental sustainability are also encouraged, reflecting the urgent climate challenges faced by the region.

Arts Impact Grants for Organizations (AIGO) are designed to help sustain Sonoma County’s creative and cultural nonprofits and to demonstrate the power of the arts to contribute to the social cohesion of our communities. For 2025, these general operating support grants are funded by the County of Sonoma and the National Endowment for the Arts.
All applications will be reviewed with a lens of an organization’s commitment to providing equitable access and participation in their program(s) through their service to one of three impact areas:

• County Impact: Audience and participation is drawn generally from througout the entire county.
• Neighborhood Impact: Audience and participation is drawn primarily from one local area such as a neighborhood or specific town (1 or 2 Supervisor districts).
• Youth Impact: Audience and participation is drawn from primarily youth and young adults under the age of 25.

[OPTIONAL] Environmental Sustainability Impact: Given the urgency of Sonoma County’s climate change challenges — from drought to fires to floods — applications from organiations that utilize the arts to advance the community’s awareness and understanding of environmental sustainability or local ecology are encouraged.

Eligibility

Applicants may include Sonoma County nonprofit arts and culture organizations, including museums, as well as culturally-specific nonprofit organizations that produce arts and culture programs and services, with the following requirements:Organization operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and is headquartered and/or maintains a physical location in Sonoma County.Minimum three-year history of consistent arts and culture programming and/or services prior to the application deadline. Collectives or companies that operated before they became a nonprofit entity may count programming that pre-dates nonprofit status. For 2025: Due to funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, applicants must attest that all activities and services that would be funded by AIGO are accessible according to federal law, including but not limited to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and any implementing regulations.

Ineligibility

Not eligible:Entities applying via a fiscal sponsorCounty of Sonoma departments, divisions, or their related foundationsSchools, school districts, parent-teacher organizations, or their related foundationsMunicipalities or their related foundations