Cultural Economy Funding Program

Applications for the 2024 Grant Funding Cycle Are Now Open

The Mayor’s Office of Cultural Economy is happy to announce that it is now accepting applications for the 2024 Grant Funding Program.

For the FY24 cycle, twenty-five (25) grants of $2,000 will be awarded to individuals and organizations that are engaging in activities that promote the cultural economy through educating our youth, training our cultural producers, providing networking opportunities, creating cultural events, and other projects that align with the Office of Cultural Economy’s mission. 

Please Note: All interested applicants should carefully and thoroughly read the funding terms and conditions before submitting.

Contact Us

To learn more about this opportunity, please contact culturaleconomygrants@nola.gov.

Additional resources:

• Grant Terms and Conditions (download)
• Grant Application (download)

Reach out via email to get all the details, requirements, and application materials for this grant program. We're happy to provide more information and support interested applicants through the process.

Deadline:

• All eligible applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis until the final deadline on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
• Proposed programs and projects must occur in the 2024 calendar year to be considered for funding.

Funding Calendar:

• Applications should be submitted at least three (3) months before the date the requested funds are needed.
• Once you have submitted your application, please allow at least six (6) weeks for review and notification of the result of your request.
• Additionally, all funding payments are submitted through BRASS, the City’s Procurement and Finance System. The estimated time for awards to be processed and disbursed is between 30-60 days.

What We Fund:

• Workshops, training, and conferences that build cultural economy capacity in cultural non-profits, neighborhood organizations, and cultural businesses.  Capacity Building includes networking, teaching skills such as fundraising/grant writing, working with partners to improve programming, leveraging, education about sustainability, learning of new concepts such as place-based planning, etc.
• Workshops, training, and conferences in any of the Cultural Economy segments as defined by the Office of Cultural Economy: Entertainment (dance, theater, music, film, sound recording), Design (fashion, interactive media, communications), Preservation (architecture, construction, landscape architecture, and interior design related to preserving historic buildings and assets), Culinary Arts, Literary Arts and Humanities, and Visual Arts and Crafts. 
• Events with art and cultural components.  Funds can be used for paying musicians or other performers, attracting tourists, or other activities that will directly impact either cultural workers or attract sales for art and cultural vendors.
• *Note: all funded programs, events, and activities must acknowledge support from the Office of Cultural Economy through use of our logo or written/verbal acknowledgment*

Who We Fund:

• State and federal 501(c)3 nonprofits
• For profit businesses licensed with the City and State and are in good standing *Note we do not fund for-profit activities, but community/cultural activities organized by for-profit businesses qualify*
• Individuals, such as artists, who have secured a fiscal agent (such as a nonprofit)

How We Evaluate:

• A committee of five employees from the Office of Cultural Economy reads through all applications
• Each employee then scores each application on the strength of the following criteria:
  • Community Impact: Creates a deep and lasting affect on the community and the means to maintain that impact
  • Economic Impact: Significantly impacts the economy through training, networking, and creating lasting contributions to individuals and businesses’ development in their field
  • Cultural Contribution: Deeply aligns with the culture of the community, enhances it and recognizes its diversity, and works with those qualities to contribute to the culture
  • Alignment with the missions of the Cultural Economy and Economic Development Offices