Opportunity Information: Apply for 2021NEA01OT
NEA Our Town (FY2022) is a discretionary grant program from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) focused on creative placemaking. The program funds projects that deliberately weave arts, culture, and design into broader community-strengthening work, with the goal of producing tangible local outcomes. In practice, that means the NEA is looking for projects where artistic and cultural activity is not an add-on, but a core strategy for improving a community's economic vitality, physical environment, and/or social conditions. Strong projects are expected to do more than deliver a one-time event or installation; they should help set the stage for longer-term, systemic change so that arts, culture, and design remain integrated in local planning and development efforts after the grant period ends.
A defining requirement of Our Town is partnership. Every application must be built around a collaboration between a local government entity and a nonprofit organization, and at least one of those two partners must be a cultural organization. The program also encourages these two core partners to bring in additional cross-sector collaborators, reflecting the idea that creative placemaking works best when it connects to other community priorities and institutions. Examples of sectors the NEA specifically points to include agriculture and food systems, economic development, education and youth services, environment and energy, health, housing, public safety, transportation, and workforce development. The intent is to support projects that are embedded in real-world community systems, where arts and design methods can help shape policy, planning, service delivery, and neighborhood or downtown change.
Funding is provided as a cost share/matching grant, meaning the recipient must contribute an equal amount of non-federal match to the project budget. Award amounts range from $25,000 up to $150,000 (with $150,000 as the award ceiling), and the required minimum match is at least dollar-for-dollar with the amount requested. The NEA indicates that supported projects may begin on July 1, 2022, or any time after that date, and projects can run for up to two years, giving applicants room to plan, launch, and complete multi-stage community work rather than rushing a short-term activity.
Eligibility covers a wide set of applicant types, reflecting the program's emphasis on civic-nonprofit collaboration. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; and nonprofits with IRS 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education institutions). Even with broad eligibility, the central Our Town structure still hinges on the required partnership between a local government entity and a nonprofit, with one partner serving as the lead applicant while the other is the official partner in the proposal.
The opportunity allows flexibility in how organizations participate. A single organization may submit up to two applications as a lead applicant to Our Town in this cycle. Organizations may also participate as a partnering organization on as many applications as they wish, which can be useful for regional cultural groups, planning entities, or community development nonprofits that support multiple local efforts. Applicants are also allowed to apply to other NEA funding programs, such as Grants for Arts Projects, as long as each request is for a distinctly different project or for a distinctly different phase of the same broader effort. The NEA also makes clear that prior applicants who were not funded are welcome to apply again.
Key administrative details from the listing include the funding opportunity title "NEA Our Town, FY2022," opportunity number 2021NEA01OT, and CFDA number 45.024 (Arts). The original application closing date is listed as August 5, 2021, and the opportunity was created on May 21, 2021.Apply for 2021NEA01OT
- The National Endowment for the Arts in the arts sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NEA Our Town, FY2022" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 45.024.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2021-05-21.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-08-05. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $150,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.
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Applicants also applied for:
Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (2021NEA01OT) also looked into and applied for these:
| Funding Opportunity |
|---|
| NEA American Rescue Plan Grants to Organizations #1, FY2021 Apply for 2021NEA01ARP60AL Funding Number: 2021NEA01ARP60AL Agency: National Endowment for the Arts Category: Arts Funding Amount: $150,000 |
| NEA American Rescue Plan Grants to Organizations #2, FY2021 Apply for 2021NEA01ARP60MZ Funding Number: 2021NEA01ARP60MZ Agency: National Endowment for the Arts Category: Arts Funding Amount: $150,000 |
| NEA American Rescue Plan Local Arts Agencies for Subgranting, FY2021 Apply for 2021NEA01ARP60 Funding Number: 2021NEA01ARP60 Agency: National Endowment for the Arts Category: Arts Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| NEA National Heritage Fellowship Awards Program, FY2022 Apply for NEAPS2102 Funding Number: NEAPS2102 Agency: National Endowment for the Arts Category: Arts Funding Amount: $1,281,150 |
| NEA Literature Fellowships: Translation Projects, FY2023 Apply for 2022NEA03LFTP Funding Number: 2022NEA03LFTP Agency: National Endowment for the Arts Category: Arts Funding Amount: $25,000 |
| NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert and Related Events, FY2023 Apply for NEAPS2104 Funding Number: NEAPS2104 Agency: National Endowment for the Arts Category: Arts Funding Amount: $425,000 |
| NEA Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network (Capacity), FY2023 Apply for NEAPS2103 Funding Number: NEAPS2103 Agency: National Endowment for the Arts Category: Arts Funding Amount: $1,625,000 |
| NEA Challenge America, FY2023 Apply for 2022NEA01CA Funding Number: 2022NEA01CA Agency: National Endowment for the Arts Category: Arts Funding Amount: $10,000 |
| NEA Grants for Arts Projects 1, FY2023 Apply for 2022NEA01GAP1 Funding Number: 2022NEA01GAP1 Agency: National Endowment for the Arts Category: Arts Funding Amount: $150,000 |
| NEA Literature Fellowships: Poetry, FY2023 Apply for 2022NEA03LFCW Funding Number: 2022NEA03LFCW Agency: National Endowment for the Arts Category: Arts Funding Amount: $25,000 |
| NEA Research Grants in the Arts, FY2023 Apply for 2022NEA01ORAGRANTS Funding Number: 2022NEA01ORAGRANTS Agency: National Endowment for the Arts Category: Arts Funding Amount: $100,000 |
| NEA Research Labs, FY 2023 Apply for 2022NEA01ORALABS Funding Number: 2022NEA01ORALABS Agency: National Endowment for the Arts Category: Arts Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| Zimbabwe and U.S. Networks for Creatives (ZUNC) Apply for AF HAR FY22 08 Funding Number: AF HAR FY22 08 Agency: U.S. Mission to Zimbabwe Category: Arts Funding Amount: $25,000 |
| NEA Performing Arts Discovery Program, FY2022 Apply for 2022NEAPAD01 Funding Number: 2022NEAPAD01 Agency: National Endowment for the Arts Category: Arts Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| NEA Grants for Arts Projects 2, FY2023 Apply for 2022NEA01GAP2 Funding Number: 2022NEA01GAP2 Agency: National Endowment for the Arts Category: Arts Funding Amount: $150,000 |
| NEA Our Town, FY2023 Apply for 2022NEA01OT Funding Number: 2022NEA01OT Agency: National Endowment for the Arts Category: Arts Funding Amount: $150,000 |
| NEA Literature Fellowships: Translation Projects, FY2024 Apply for 2023NEA03LFTP Funding Number: 2023NEA03LFTP Agency: National Endowment for the Arts Category: Arts Funding Amount: $25,000 |
| Economic Advancement for Zimbabwe Creative Industries 2023 Apply for AF HAR FY23 06 Funding Number: AF HAR FY23 06 Agency: U.S. Mission to Zimbabwe Category: Arts Funding Amount: $25,000 |
| U.S. AMBASSADORS FUND FOR CULTURAL PRESERVATION (AFCP) Apply for PAS KTM NOFO 23 01 Funding Number: PAS KTM NOFO 23 01 Agency: U.S. Mission to Nepal Category: Arts Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| NEA Poetry Out Loud National Finals, FY2023 Apply for NEAPS2204 Funding Number: NEAPS2204 Agency: National Endowment for the Arts Category: Arts Funding Amount: $247,200 |
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