Pew Center for Arts & Heritage: Capacity Building Grants - Research and Travel Grants

The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage offers Capacity Building Grants to support organizations in enhancing their professional capabilities within contemporary art and public history. Grants range from $2,500 to $7,500, focusing on research, travel, and technical assistance for grant proposal preparation. Eligible applicants include organizations with a 501(c)(3) designation in the Philadelphia region. Priority is given to those with operating budgets under $500,000 and first-time applicants.

The Center offers two types of Capacity Building grants to assist its Creative Project and Evolving Futures applicants:
Research and Travel grants ranging from $2,000–$4,000 to help organizations develop and deepen their professional and programmatic capacities in contemporary art and public history. Grants will be made to support exploratory phases of curatorial work that may lead to future Center funding, as well as travel to consult with potential collaborators
Capacity Building funds are available in 2026 for applicants. These funds are intended to help with travel, research, or technical assistance related to preparing your grant proposal.

Eligibility

All applications should be submitted by organizations that meet the Center’s threshold eligibility criteria to apply for a Creative Project or Evolving Futures grant.All applicants, including those serving as a fiscal sponsor, must be organizations that have a 501(c)(3) designation and be located in the five-county Philadelphia region of Pennsylvania (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia county). Organizations applying independently (without a fiscal sponsor) must—Have a minimum annual budget of $150,000 (as of FY24, at least, and continuing into FY25).Primarily serve public audiences. Have adequate, paid, professional, artistic/curatorial and managerial staff to realize the project.Have a demonstrated record of presenting professional public programs in the genre or content area identified in the grant proposal.Provide three years of financial audits/reviews to determine financial eligibility for funding.The person who will use the grant for travel or research must be a member of their organization’s curatorial or program staff, active in the arts and/or cultural heritage sector, and have a minimum of 5 years of work experience in the field.Organizations that are fiscally sponsored must—Have a minimum annual budget of $150,000 (as of FY25, at least, and continuing into FY26), separate from the budget of their fiscal sponsor.Fiscal sponsors must also independently have a minimum operating budget of $150,000. Sponsors must provide the Center with three years of their most recent financial audits/reviews to determine financial eligibility.Offer year-round programming.Primarily serve public audiences.Have adequate paid, professional, artistic/curatorial/managerial staff to realize the project.Have a demonstrated record of presenting professional public programs in the genre or content area identified in the grant proposal.Have a fiscal sponsor that has a demonstrable record of arts and culture sponsorship.Have an established agreement with their fiscal sponsor in place at the time that the Letter of Intent to Apply (LOI) is submitted.Organizations exploring projects with outside collaborators may apply on their behalf.  Fiscally sponsored organizations that meet the Center’s eligibility criteria for a Creative Project grant may apply.Examples of qualifying expenses include but are not limited to—Travel expenses: transportation, accommodation, per diemCosts associated with bringing colleagues together for private or public meetings, including honoraria for participationRecording, transcription, and translation costsAcquisition of relevant publications, subscriptions, and mediaLeaders of organizations may apply without a letter of support. Full-time curatorial or program staff should submit a letter from the applying organization’s director or department head that shows support for the application

Ineligibility

Individual artists are not eligible for Creative Project grants.The Center does not fund K–12 educational programming, curricula at any academic level, projects primarily rooted in education, or projects where the primary audiences are students and educators.Organizations applying independently (without a fiscal sponsor) must—Not have an open grant in the project-funding area from which they seek funding in the 2026 cycle.Not be managed by current employees of The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage or The Pew Charitable Trusts; members of such employees’ households; or people closely related to such employees through blood, marriage, or domestic partnership.   Organizations that are fiscally sponsored must— The Center does not fund organizations that primarily present one-time annual programs, events, or festivals.)Ineligible projects and expenses include—Creative/artist projects (e.g., producing exhibitions, performances)Attending annual conferences (e.g., American Alliance of Museums)Other travel not directly related to program ideation and developmentCosts for salary replacement