Career Opportunity Program Grants

Career Opportunity Program Grants is sponsored by Oregon Arts Commission and The Ford Family Foundation. Supports individual Oregon artists by enabling them to take advantage of timely opportunities that enhance their artistic careers, including residencies, exhibitions, or performance opportunities.

Business Oregon : Career Opportunity (COG) Grants : Career Opportunity : State of Oregon Translate this site into other Languages tag, as divs are not allowed in 's --> Career Opportunity (COG) Grants Sabina Haque (director & producer), "(Un)Belonging," 2018-2020 Career Opportunity Grants Para asistencia en español, llame al The Career Opportunity Grant Program supports Oregon arts practitioners across all disciplines and career stages in taking advantage of timely and concrete opportunities that can significantly enhance their artistic careers.

Recognizing that stipends or payments from these opportunities often fall short of covering all expenses, the Oregon Arts Commission provides this grant to ensure arts practitioners can fully participate without financial burden. This program ensures that artists and arts practitioners can benefit from and engage in career-building opportunities as they arise. What is a Career Opportunity?

All proposed opportunities require proof of invitation to apply. Proposed opportunities must be unique and of limited duration. The applicant must be invited to, selected for, and/or reviewed by peers or industry specialists (such as a curator, editor, program director, jury) for the opportunity in question.

Opportunities should represent a natural, meaningful step in the applicant’s career, offering potential for significant impact in one or both of the following categories: Introducing work to new audiences These are opportunities to present the artist’s work in a significant way to new audiences or raise their artistic profile such as exhibitions, performances, or screenings.

The development of new skills These are opportunities to develop a new artistic skill or further enhance one’s practice through participation in activities such as conferences, artist residencies, workshops, fellowships, master classes or apprenticeships.

Career Opportunity funding requests must directly align with the opportunity, and may include: Travel associated with the opportunity; Hired professional services to fulfill/engage in the opportunity (such as lighting/sound or costume); Preparation, freight and/or shipping costs; Equipment purchases or materials needed to fulfill/engage in the opportunity; Rental of equipment, instruments, or facility integral to the opportunity; Professional fees needed to fulfill/engage in the opportunity; Registration fees associated with the opportunity; Costs associated with documentation of the opportunity; and/or Childcare costs that are necessary for you to take advantage of the opportunity.

Artists from underserved communities, including (but not limited to) rural communities and communities of color, are especially encouraged to apply. Guidelines and application details are now available here. The portal to submit applications is now open.

1. Check this page periodically for updates. 3.

Follow the Oregon Arts Commission on Facebook , Instagram and LinkedIn . Deadlines: The application period will close -- Wednesday, September 23, 2026, at 5 p. m.

, for activities taking place between November 1, 2026 and October 31, 2027 Wednesday, February 10, 2027, at 5 p. m. , for activities taking place between May 1, 2027, and April 30, 2028 Need help sharing files with your grant application?

See the Assistance dropdown below. Awards range from $500 to $2,000 depending on the scope and nature of the opportunity. (Applicants may apply for funding for a portion of an opportunity.)

Additional funding of up to $9,000 may be available from The Ford Family Foundation for established visual artists, established curators of visual arts exhibitions or established visual arts writers o nly . The Arts Commission determines awards based on number of applications and available grant funds. There are limited resources and not all applicants receive funding.

At the time of the application deadline, all applicants must: Be 18 years of age or older; Have not received funding from the Career Opportunity Program in the past three (3) cycles (calculated from application deadline month to application deadline month); Have been domiciled in Oregon for at least 12 months prior to application deadline; Not be enrolled (either part- or full-time) in a degree-granting program; and Submit an individual application.

​​ In addition to the above eligibility requirements, applicants requesting additional funds from The Ford Family Foundation must meet the following criteria: Currently producing work in the fields of visual arts writing, curation, visual arts, or contemporary craft; Have been domiciled in Oregon for 36 months prior to the application deadline; Provide evidence in the professional resume or biography of five (5) or more years of active professional participation in the field.

​​​ Arts Commission staff reviews submitted applications for eligibility, completeness and accuracy. Applications that meet program requirements are accepted for further review. Applications are then reviewed by a panel of professionals with experience in the arts and other fields relevant to the grant program.

The Arts Commission and The Ford Family Foundation consider panel recommendations for funding and determine final award amounts. Applicants should use the descriptive qualities included in the scoring rubric to help craft a competitive application. Grant reviewers will use this same rubric when reviewing and assessing scores.

The following review criteria and rubric will be used by grant reviewers to evaluate and score applications: Career Impact (0 to 45 points): Clear definition of opportunity; Timeliness of opportunity (in terms of needing to take advantage now); Proof of invitation, selection, and/or review by peers or industry specialists for the opportunity in question Uniqueness and limited duration of opportunity Appropriateness of opportunity in terms of the artist’s career goal Artistic Merit (0 to 45 points): Artistic quality as demonstrated by work samples provided; and Qualifications, background and experience of the artist as demonstrated through the resume, work samples and other support material.

Appropriateness of the budget for activities associated with the opportunity. Accuracy and clarity of the budget For questions related to eligibility, technical assistance, or technical issues with the grants system, or for decision appeals, contact: arts. grants@biz.

oregon. gov About Sharing Files for Grant Applications Applicants are responsible for ensuring that all third-party links for file sharing included in their grant application are active, accessible and have the correct sharing permissions. Arts Commission staff cannot provide technical support for third-party platforms or troubleshoot sharing settings.

Please confirm your links work before submitting and refer to the instructions provided tools like Google Drive or Dropbox for assistance. Para asistencia en español, llame al 971-345-1641. Assistance with technical requirements and application eligibility is available from Arts Commission staff prior to the application deadline.

Applicants may also seek feedback after funding decisions have been made. See Contact Information below. Upon request, Arts Commission application materials will be made available in an alternate format such as Braille, large type or audiotape.

For applicants who are hearing‐impaired and require TDD assistance, please call 971-304-5044. Applications must be submitted no later than 5:00 pm on the deadline date to be considered for review. Career Opportunity Grant Guidelines ​​​​ for full information about this grant program including all the application questions.

How to recognize an official Oregon website Only share sensitive information on official, secure websites. Your browser is out-of-date! It has known security flaws and may not display all features of this and other websites.

Learn how