Literary Arts Fund - Innovation Project Grants is sponsored by Literary Arts Fund (initiated by Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, Hawthornden Foundation, Lannan Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Poetry Foundation, and an anonymous foundation).

These grants provide funding to independent U. S. -based literary arts nonprofits for new, one-time projects that may be collaborative and aim to address critical challenges in the literary arts ecosystem, ultimately strengthening nonprofits' abilities to serve creative writers.

The Literary Arts Fund is an unprecedented effort to dramatically increase support for and the visibility of the nonprofit literary arts field for the next five years, concluding in 2031, toward ensuring a healthy and more robust U.S. literary culture in support of creative writers. The fund, initiated in 2023 by the Mellon Foundation as a collaborative effort with the Ford Foundation, Hawthornden Foundation, Lannan Foundation, John D.

and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Poetry Foundation, and an anonymous foundation in service of the literary arts field’s needs and promise, plans to provide at least $50 million in support of the field and continue fundraising.

Planning for the fund included meetings and listening sessions with creative writers, nonprofit literary leaders, other grantmakers, and publishers; participating in literary conferences in different regions; conducting and analyzing research; and evaluation of different models and strategies.

In addition to grantmaking, the Literary Arts Fund’s strategies include developing and releasing reports on the literary arts field, offering learning sessions for the field, and continuing to foster the development of the Literary Arts Funders Collaborative, a new affinity group.

The literary arts are an artistic discipline encompassing literature and creative writing in the following genres: creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and hybrid works.

The nonprofit literary arts field comprises upwards of one thousand charitable organizations and publishers that together sustain the vitality and independence of American literature and ensure that a wide spectrum of voices and ideas continues to shape our collective imagination.

These nonprofits bring literature to communities nationwide—hosting book festivals and events that connect authors and readers across the country; broadening the reach of writers by publishing works in translation; mentoring and encouraging authors through retreats and residencies; and celebrating artistic achievement through literary awards and fellowships.

Critically, these literary arts nonprofits champion established writers along with first-time and historically underrepresented authors, and provide a home for the intellectually rigorous and artistically adventurous voices whose work deepens and challenges our culture. While this work positively contributes to our lives and the health of our communities, writers and their stories, and reading, are at risk.

$5 billion in 2023 arts grants Literature is the least-supported artistic discipline in the U.S., receiving only 1. 9% of the $5 billion in arts grants awarded in 2023, according to the Literary Arts Fund’s research, which studied data collected from Candid.

This disparity, which has been true for the previous five years, is persistent and has acute, challenging effects on the literary arts nonprofits sustaining creative writers and literary culture. Philanthropy has a profound opportunity to make a positive difference by supporting and championing literature and writers.

The seven founders of the Literary Arts Fund serve as its Advisory Committee: Ford Foundation, Hawthornden Foundation, Lannan Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Poetry Foundation, and an anonymous foundation.

Jennifer Benka, Executive Director Jen Benka, Executive Director, has been a leader in the nonprofit literary arts field for 25 years helming national organizations that serve writers of creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. Most recently, Jen was the Literary Arts Strategist (consultant) for the Mellon Foundation, the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. In this role, Jen helped found the Literary Arts Fund.

Jen’s previous philanthropic work includes developing numerous fellowships and grantmaking programs supporting individual writers and literary nonprofits’ capacity building efforts; serving on the administrative leadership team of the $25 million Artist Relief Fund; and co-launching the $7.

8 million Literary Arts Emergency Fund, which assisted hundreds of nonprofit literary arts organizations and publishers across the U.S., as well as produced a first-ever report on the field. An advocate for writers and literature, in 2024, Jen received the Pegasus Award for Service from the Poetry Foundation. A creative nonfiction writer and poet, Jen has an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School.

Michelle Campagna, Engagement Director Nikay Paredes, Grants Director Nikay Paredes, Grants Director, has worked as a nonprofit literary arts administrator for more than ten years, leading awards, fellowships, and regranting programs, as well as field-building projects, grantee convenings, and public programs.

In 2020, Nikay was part of the small team that developed the Artist Relief application, enabling thousands of artists to receive support during the pandemic. Nikay previously served as a creative writing instructor at the Ateneo de Manila University, where she taught poetry and served as thesis advisor for fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.

She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College and is the co-founding editor of TLDTD , an online literary journal. The Literary Arts Funders Collaborative is a new philanthropic affinity group for grantmakers interested in literature, reading, and creative writers, and who appreciate how stories and poems enrich our lives.

The collaborative will have opportunities to learn about the nonprofit literary arts field and from one another throughout the year. Contributing members of the Literary Arts Funders Collaborative to date include: Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Fund of the Sidney E. Frank Foundation Barbara and Amos Hostetter John D.

and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation “Writers open our minds to understanding, invite us to question, and guide us to imagine anew. We are honored to join this collaborative effort, committing together to grow the cultural infrastructure that keeps our communities vibrant, connected, and thriving.

” —Eleanor Savage, President and CEO, Jerome Foundation