SACRAMENTO, CA – The California Arts Council (CAC) launched its 2025 grant season today, opening seven different funding opportunities for application submissions from eligible arts organizations now through June 5.
The California Arts Council is a state agency with a mission of strengthening arts, culture, and creative expression as the tools to cultivate a better California for all. The Arts Council is California’s only public arts grants provider with funding that is accessible to all 58 California counties.
The 2025 grant program offerings were developed in accordance with the priorities identified through the California Arts Council’s Strategic Framework, among them, reaching historically and systemically underserved communities, including rural and inland areas. The Arts Council is also seeking to increase support for first-time grantees and small organizations through this year’s funding opportunities.
“At the California Arts Council, we recognize the importance of representing and uplifting all Californians,” said CAC Executive Director Danielle Brazell. “These grant opportunities are a vital step in ensuring that artists and organizations—no matter their background or location—have the resources they need to share their work, tell their stories, and make a lasting impact on their communities.”
“As a Council, we are committed to ensuring that the arts remain a fundamental right for all Californians,” said CAC Chair Roxanne Messina-Captor on behalf of the Council. “Access is at the heart of our mission, and these grant programs reflect our dedication to reaching every community—because the arts are an essential part of life in our state.”
2025 CAC Grant Opportunities
Details for the 2025 state arts grant opportunities are available below. More information, including grant-specific details, dates, guidelines, and staff contacts can be found at https://arts.ca.gov/grants/grant-programs.
All application submissions are due by 11:59 p.m. on June 5, 2024.
Administering Organization: Folk and Traditional Arts – Up to $1,000,000 per year for two years in support to administer funding for artists and arts organizations’ work in folk and traditional arts expressions.
Administering Organization: Individual Artists Fellowship – Support starting at $300,000 to develop and administer a regional regranting program to individual artists.
Arts & Cultural Organizations General Operating Support – Up to $30,000 in direct funding to arts and cultural organizations in support of ongoing operations.
Arts and Youth – Up to $25,000 in support of meaningful arts participation and learning in diverse settings and contexts for infants, children, and youth ages 0-25 by prioritizing programs that directly bridge barriers to access and participation.
Impact Projects – Up to $25,000 in support collaborative projects that center artists and artistic practice in responding to issues experienced by California’s historically and systemically under-resourced communities.
State-Local Partners – Up to $75,000 for support and technical assistance for county-designated local arts agencies.
State-Local Partner Mentorship – Up to $50,000 in support for the establishment by an existing State-Local Partner of a county-designated local arts agency in counties in which no such agency has currently been identified.
Applicant Resources & Technical Assistance
Grants Manual
The Grants Manual is a comprehensive guide through each step of the CAC grant process, offering applicant and awardee resources, grants management system instruction, grant panel review processes, contract information, and more. The Grants Manual made available online at each grant program page and our Grants Resources page.
Office Hours
Organizations seeking general or program-specific technical assistance during the application submission process are invited to join California Arts Council Program staff during designated virtual office hours via Zoom. Schedules will be made available throughout the grant season and published to individual program pages and the CAC Grant Resources webpage.
Additional Grant Application Resources
Regularly updated information for grant applicants, including FAQs, grants workshops, informational videos, archived webinars, resource documents, templates, staff contacts and more can be found at www.arts.ca.gov/grants/resources.
Follow the California Arts Council on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and join the conversation around arts grant season using #ArtsCA.
Media Inquiries Only:
Kimberly Brown
Public Affairs Specialist
kimberly.brown@arts.ca.gov
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The California Arts Council is a state agency with a mission of strengthening arts, culture, and creative expression as the tools to cultivate a better California for all. It supports local arts infrastructure and programming statewide through grants, initiatives, and services. The California Arts Council envisions a California where all people flourish with universal access to and participation in the arts.
Members of the California Arts Council include: Roxanne Messina Captor, Chair; Leah Goodwin, Vice Chair; Gerald Clarke; Caleb Duarte; Vicki Estrada; Roy Hirabayashi; Alex Israel; Dorka Keehn; Phil Mercado; Nicola Miner. Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov.
The California Arts Council is committed to increasing the accessibility of its online content. For language and accessibility assistance, visit https://arts.ca.gov/about/about-us/language-communications-assistance. To read this announcement in Spanish, please use the website’s Google Translate tool by clicking the “Translate” link in the upper righthand corner of this page.
El Consejo de las Artes de California se compromete a aumentar la accesibilidad de sus contenidos en línea. Para obtener ayuda con el idioma y la accesibilidad, visite https://arts.ca.gov/about/about-us/language-communications-assistance. Para leer este anuncio en español, utilice la herramienta Google Translate del sitio web haciendo clic en el enlace “Traducir” situado en la esquina superior derecha de esta página.
