Annual Artist Grant Program

Annual Artist Grant Program is a grant from Puffin Foundation Ltd that funds artistic projects by individual artists and nonprofits in the United States. Grant cycles focus on specific themes; the second 2026 cycle (open February 16 through April 13, 2026) accepts proposals for environmental artistic activism projects in any funded genre. Completed proposals were due by April 30, 2026.

Awards are limited to projects with budgets under $250,000, and organizations with annual budgets over $250,000 are ineligible. Eligible applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents with a Social Security Number, or U.S.-based nonprofits. Projects involving AI are excluded.

Prospective Applicants | The Puffin Foundation The second 2026 Annual Artist Grant Cycle open February 16th. We are accepting proposals for projects in the genres of environmental artistic activism. See details about deadlines and eligibility in our FAQs .

From 2/16/26 to 4/13/26 (postmark date), we will be accepting application request forms. Completed proposals are due by 5pm EDT on Thursday, 4/30/26. What is environmental artistic activism?

This category is for projects focusing on pressing environmental issues and the climate crisis in any artistic genre or discipline that Puffin funds. Projects that are solution-focused (not simply raising awareness) are prioritized. Please note that the project methodology and materials should also take into account environmental concerns.

If your project involves, for example, plane travel, or utilizes a lot of raw material, or in other ways seems to be contributing to rather than addressing the existential issues of human-caused climate change, our reviewers will take this into account. Grants from the The Puffin Foundation can only be awarded to US residents with a social security number, or to US based non-profits.

While we do, on rare occasions, fund citizens/permanent residents for projects taking place outside of the United States, we recommend that you include some information regarding the accessibility of the project to people residing in the United States. We are not able to provide status reports about submitted applications, so PLEASE do not call or email seeking such information .

Applicants will be notified via email on a rolling basis from May 2026-July 2026 until all applications have received a determination. The Puffin Foundation does not have the means to fund projects with budgets over $250,000, nor are organizations with an annual budget of more than $250,000 eligible for funding, even if the project budget is less than that.

Puffin does not fund travel, education, or the writing or publishing of books, even if such expenses are intrinsic to the project. For more details see Section 2 on our FAQs. The maximum grant size is $3,500.

We thank you for your interest in applying for a Puffin grant. Gladys Miller-Rosenstein , Executive Director