Jerome Foundation: Arts Organization Grants

The Jerome Foundation provides Arts Organization Grants to support nonprofit arts organizations and artists in Minnesota and New York City. Focusing on early-career artists, the foundation funds diverse programs that foster artistic innovation and community engagement. It emphasizes inclusivity, encouraging applications from organizations that serve a wide range of artists, including those from marginalized backgrounds. Grants cover direct program costs, ensuring that at least 75% of funding supports artist development and production activities.

NOTE: The Foundation will not have an open application for arts organizations in 2025.
The Jerome Foundation promotes a dynamic culture through support for artists, collectives and/or ensembles across all disciplines in the early stages of their vocational artistic lives to create new work and for nonprofit arts organizations that offer programs, services and activities for such artists, collectives and/or ensembles. We support artists and nonprofit arts organizations based in the state of Minnesota and the five boroughs of New York City.
Jerome Foundation Values
The Foundation’s core values, which we strive to model in our practice as grantmakers and to support in our grantees, are:
We support a diverse range of artists and organizations, including but not limited to those of diverse cultures, races, sexual identities, genders, generations, aesthetics, points of view, physical abilities, and missions.
Innovation/Risk: We support artists who and organizations that push the boundaries of their respective disciplines, and we applaud unconventional approaches to solving problems.
In alternating years, the Jerome Foundation offers two-year grants for ongoing programs
in six discipline(s) for artists that meet Jerome’s eligibility requirements as defined below. Applications are reviewed by panels in Dance; Literature; Media, including film, video, and digital production and new media; Music; Theater; and Visual Arts. Organizations may apply with programs in multiple disciplines.
A diverse range of programs will be supported in each artistic discipline. This includes
both development (artistic or career development and/or technical assistance) and production programs (culminating in a full production/exhibition/publication/etc.).
No organization (whether previously funded or not) may request more than 25% of a
three-year average of its actual annual operating income, based on its three most recent completed fiscal years. In-kind contributions may not be used in calculating this average. For fuller explanation, see the FAQ.
Organizations may seek support for programs activities that serve a broad range of
artists, including but not limited to Jerome-eligible artists (i.e., programs that serve both early career and mid-career artists, or include artists from beyond Minnesota or New York City).
However, Jerome grant funds may only be used to cover costs for eligible artists. At least 75% of awarded grant funds must support direct costs for the specific program(s), although an organization might choose to dedicate a higher percentage of the grant to such direct program costs. Up to 25% of the grant funds may be applied to support indirect administrative costs for Jerome-funded programs and/or for ongoing organizational costs connected to services and activities for early career artists.

Eligibility

All applicant organizations must:

• Be 501(c)3 organizations or apply through a fiscal sponsor with a 501(c)3;
• Be located in the state of Minnesota or one of the five boroughs of New York;
• Offer ongoing programs serving more than one early career vocational (as

opposed to avocational, academic, amateur or educational) artist, collective or ensemble per year; Offer additional programs for Jerome-eligible artists, collectives or ensembles
(defined below) beyond the program(s) for which Jerome support is requested.Organizations with less than three years of operating experience will be considered only if they are able to demonstrate that the program for which support is requested expands the nature (not only the number) of existing opportunities for Jerome-eligible artists in their community.Program Eligibility:Eligible programs support the development, creation, and production / exhibition /
publication of new works (as opposed to remounting, interpreting or exploring preexisting work) and/or promote the ongoing professional or career development of Jerome-eligible artists, collectives or ensembles.Supported types of programs for early career artists, ensembles or collectives may include, but are not limited to: Exhibitions, screenings or publications of new works
;Commissions, workshops, development activities
;Production and premieres of new work developed by the applicant
;Regrant programs supporting fellowships, commissions or the creation of new
works;Mentorship programs
;Professional development and technical assistance programs;
Residency programs that offer honoraria or compensation.Please note that all support is for ongoing programs benefitting multiple artists.Supported programs must:

• Compensate staff and artists above and beyond any reimbursement costs for
• participation and at a reasonable wage (see FAQ for fuller explanation); Be publicly transparent about their process for selecting participants, and either

use an open application process for participation in Jerome-funded programs or use curators, nominators or staff with ongoing and broad engagement with Jerome-eligible artists.

Ineligibility

The
Foundation does not support single or one-off projects; support to a single artist, collective or ensemble; or support for the creation of a single new work (e.g., support to produce one play or film; present one composer, choreographer or spoken-word artist; publish one artist’s book or exhibit one artist’s work at a museum or in a public setting, etc.).The Foundation does not support programs:

• Supporting students (K-12, undergraduate or graduate) in degree-granting
• programs; Charging an application fee or requiring memberships for artists
• ;Benefitting only one artist/collective/ensemble per year
• ;Only offering presentation, exhibition, performance, or screening opportunities of
• works that the applicant has not supported in development; Revisiting, remounting, reprinting, adapting or reinterpreting previously created
• work; In which Jerome-eligible artists are seen as incidental, ancillary or occasional
• participants.Additionally, the Foundation does not support:
• Buildings, endowments, capital campaigns or cash reserves requests
• ;Arts education programs;
• Degree-granting and conservatory programs
• ;Festivals of work that the applicant has not developed
• ;Documentation of work as the primary grant purpose
• ;Marketing and audience development as the primary grant purpose.Note: Co-commissioners and co-developers may not both request funding for the same
• artist’s project.