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Creative Forces Community Engagement Grants is sponsored by National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Supports community-based arts projects for military-connected individuals, addressing experiences of stigma and indifference.
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Creative Forces: Community Engagement Program | National Endowment for the Arts Creative Forces: Community Engagement Program 2025 Creative Forces Community Engagement grant recipients pictured left to right: Exit12 Dance Company, photo by Alberto Vasari; Caregivers on the Homefront, photo by Chris Rahm; Caregivers on the Homefront, photo by Chris Rahm; Caregivers on the Homefront, photo by Sarah Westlake.
Engaging in the arts can help military-connected people, including their families and caregivers, enhance creative expression, build relationships, become more resilient, and adapt to civilian life. Since 2017, Creative Forces has invested in community-based arts engagement activities that take place in healthcare, community, or virtual settings.
The Community Engagement Program expands the reach of Creative Forces to more military-connected people nationwide. It also provides continued, community-based opportunities for supporting health and well-being for people who have received or are currently participating in creative arts therapies through the Clinical Program .
Learn more about the 2025 Creative Forces Community Engagement grant recipients Read the full press release View the list of recipients and projects Community Engagement Program Impact Learning and evaluation are core components of the Community Engagement Program.
We use qualitative and quantitative methods to understand the effectiveness of community arts programs in promoting creative expression, social connectedness, resilience, independence, and a successful transition to civilian life. In 2020, Creative Forces completed the program evaluation of ten pilot Community Connections projects, which informed the development of the Community Engagement Program.
Evaluation of the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 grants made through the Community Engagement Program is ongoing, as many of the grants support two years of programming. Community Engagement Program reach 200+ arts experiences for 1,055 participants between 2018 and 2020 at 10 Community Connections projects. $2.
2M+ in funding to 101 projects awarded through the Community Engagement grant program since 2022. Benefits of Community Arts Engagement A study of the pilot Community Connections projects found benefits to participants, organizations, and communities.
Military-connected people experienced a range of benefits, including: Improved mental health and/or quality of life Increased sense of community Organizations that implemented the Community Connections projects experienced: Increased capacity and commitment to serve military-connected communities Improved communication with clinical providers Improved collaboration among arts organizations Increased community awareness of the benefits of the arts Expanding Support for Community Arts Programming Creative Forces began its community arts engagement efforts in 2017 by convening military and arts communities in areas near Creative Forces Clinical Program sites.
From 2018 to 2020, the program funded ten pilot Community Connections projects near Clinical Program sites. In 2022, in partnership with Mid-Am e rica Arts Alliance (M-AAA), Creative Forces officially launched a grant program to support community-based arts programs and activities and expand the reach of Creative Forces nationwide.
Since then, more than 100 Creative Forces Community Engagement grants have been awarded to eligible organizations nationwide. Community Engagement Grants support organizations that offer diverse arts engagement opportunities, including writing workshops, visual arts projects, music-making, dance classes, and more.
Community Engagement Grants also support these programs to increase their capacity to serve military-connected people, including improving their military cultural competency. Community engagement grant projects Since 2022, the Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant program has supported 149 projects across 38 states and the District of Columbia. Research and evaluation is a core component of the Community Engagement Program.
Through a rigorous approach to both qualitative and quantitative research, we are dedicated to demonstrating the power of art in addressing trauma. Our monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) activities, tools, and best practices specifically benefit our grantees. We measure local impact with participants and community partners, and national impact across the fields of military arts and health.
About Creative Forces Community Engagement grants Matching grants are awarded in two tiers, “emerging” and “advanced,” which reflect the capacity of the project at the time of the application. Grant recipients can work in healthcare, community, or virtual settings.
Creative Forces works in partnership with the Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA) to provide: Matching grants of up to $10,000 for one-year emerging projects Matching grants of up to $25,000 for one-year advanced projects Applications for 2026 are now closed.
View the 2026 applicant eligibility requirements on the M-AAA website Around the Creative Forces clinical sites, as well as via virtual arts engagement, the National Endowment for the Arts is creating a community-based military and veteran family support network to provide increased arts opportunities. Creative Forces community engagement is offered in a wide range of programs and mediums.
These include music, visual arts, dance, theatre, writing, storytelling, and more. These networks extend support for current and former creative arts therapies patients and their families as they transition from treatment in a clinical setting to arts programming in their community. State and Local Arts Agencies Military Family Support Networks Want to be connected with the community network near one of the clinical locations?
Contact info@neacreativeforces. org . As part of their participation in Creative Forces, in 2017-2018 state arts agencies worked with local partners to host summits to bring together the military and arts communities in the areas near Creative Forces clinical sites.
Summits took place in Alaska , California , Colorado , Florida , National Capital Region , North Carolina , Texas , Virginia, and Washington state . Following the summits, the National Endowment for the Arts supported community-based arts programs around Creative Forces sites. These Community Connections projects responded to the lessons learned, relationships forged, and needs identified at the summit.
Projects included activities such as pop-up musical performances by service members, veterans, and local musicians; creative writing workshops; and training that increases understanding between the arts and military communities, among other activities. Materials generated from the projects will be placed in the National Resource Center for others interested in developing their own arts and military programming.
Based on current listing details, eligibility includes: Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) U. S. organizations; units of state or local government; federally recognized tribal communities or tribes. Applicants should confirm final requirements in the official notice before submission.
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