ArtsFund supports the arts through leadership, advocacy, and grantmaking in order to build a healthy, equitable, and creative Washington.  

ArtsFund awards grants to arts & culture organizations in Washington through annual and special programs.   

Please see the descriptions below for key dates, eligibility criteria, and appropriate contact information for each program. To stay up-to-date with open grant opportunities with ArtsFund please join our statewide newsletter.  

 For questions about ArtsFund’s grantmaking, please email grants@artsfund.org. 

For a list of our 2025 grantees, click here.

Upcoming Grant Opportunities

 Creative Equity Fund

The Creative Equity Fund supports organizations led by and serving communities historically most removed from large-scale philanthropy (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color; LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities) that employ arts and culture to build a more healthy, equitable, and creative King County. Three grantees will receive transformational three-year grants of $210,000—$70,000 per year for three years—paired with grantee-led cohort learning. This funding is unrestricted. 

The Creative Equity Fund is collaboratively supported by the City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, Lorna Jordan Foundation, Satterberg Foundation, Seattle Foundation, ArtsFund, and others. The Fund is guided by a panel of community members primarily composed of previous grantees who will work to ensure decision-making is as close as possible to centered communities.   

The application will be administered in two rounds. The first round is open to all eligible applicants in King County and will be open from May 26 to June 12. Up to thirty finalists will be selected and invited to complete a second-round application on or around August 18. Second round applications will be due September 18, with grantees notified by December 1, 2026.  

Visit the Creative Equity Fund program page and Creative Equity Fund FAQs to learn more. 

Community Accelerator Grants

Building on the successful Community Accelerator Grant program, ArtsFund is pleased to partner with Allen Family Philanthropies to offer a fourth round of unrestricted funding in 2026 to Washington’s arts and cultural nonprofits. See more information on the Community Accelerator Grant web page.  

View the list of  2025 Community Accelerator grantees.

Closed Grant Opportunities

Annual Allocations Grants

ArtsFund’s Annual Allocations Grants support organizational health and strengthen the Puget Sound arts ecosystem. Application is by invitation only. 

Invitations for the 2026 cycle were sent out in January 2026, with applications due in late February 2026. Applicant check-ins with the Allocations Committee will take place in April.  Allocations grants are given on a three-year cycle, meaning that organizations only need to submit an application and complete a check-in in the first year of their three-year cycle. Grantees currently in year 2 or 3 of their grant cycle were also sent a link to complete an interim report in January.  Invitations for the next cycle will go out in early 2027. 

These unrestricted grants enable grant recipients to invest the funds where needed most to advance their missions. Applications are evaluated in alignment with ArtsFund’s strategic framework with the goal of advancing organizational health, youth and family engagement, and equity and inclusion throughout the arts sector. 

ArtsFund’s allocations are awarded by a panel of public, private, and corporate grantmaking experts who engage with ArtsFund in a thorough vetting process, evaluating application materials and interviewing the leadership of arts groups. Get to know the 2026 Panel here. 

For more information about ArtsFund Allocations grants or grantees, contact grants@artsfund.org or visit the 2025 Annual Allocations announcement here. 

Youth Arts Opportunity Fund (YAOF)

Organizations that are currently members of ArtsFund’s Cultural Partners Network and have substantial programs that provide arts opportunities for underserved youth populations (grades K – 12) are invited to apply for funding. 

The Youth Arts Opportunity Fund aims to increase access to and participation in meaningful, robust, and sustained arts experiences for youth with low socioeconomic status or who have historically lacked access to arts programs. The Fund provides flexible operating funds to arts organizations who demonstrate an authentic commitment to this work. 

Grants from the Fund range from $2,500 to $15,000 to be used for general operating support. As funding is limited, organizations that apply to the Youth Arts Opportunity Fund are not guaranteed an award and will be considered on an annual basis. In 2025, 51 organizations applied and 31 received awards. Grantee budgets ranged in size from under $100,000 to over $5,000,000.

View the list of 2025 Youth Arts Opportunity Fund (YAOF) Grantees.

Past Grant Opportunities