Penrod Arts Fair Grants

Penrod Arts Fair Grants is sponsored by Penrod (an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Indianapolis). Penrod supports arts, cultural, and educational activities and institutions in central Indiana, cultivating public interest in the arts.

Supporting Indiana Arts | Penrod Over 60 Years Supporting Indiana Arts We Invest in the People Who Make Indiana the Nicest Place to Live Since 1967, Penrod has been Central Indiana’s engine for funding artists, classrooms, and community projects through three signature events and a growing Legacy Fund. Every dollar you give goes directly to community impact, because we’re 100% volunteer-run.

Three Ways to Be a Part of It We host three events a year. Each one is different. All of them fund the same mission.

There’s a reason they call it Indiana’s Nicest Day. Between the live music and local food, you’ll find one of the nation’s largest single-day art fairs featuring over 1,000 artists from across the country. Preview this year’s artists, meet our sponsors, and raise a glass to the community that makes all of this possible.

Tour private studios. Meet the artists. Buy original art.

Enjoy an open bar & music. A 100% volunteer-led effort to improve our community through the power of the arts. Penrod started with a simple idea: use the energy of one extraordinary day to improve the community through the arts.

That was 1967. Six decades later, Penrod has grown into something bigger than a fair. We fund community arts grants.

We host three annual events that bring thousands of people together. We put every dollar raised right back into Central Indiana. Bigger Gifts.

Lasting Impact. You know us for our events, but our mission lives in the work we fund all year long. Penrod serves Central Indiana through two distinct paths of giving: Our Annual Grants: Every year, we distribute a portion of our event proceeds to dozens of local schools, hospitals, and non-profits.

These grants provide the immediate, responsive support that keeps our city’s cultural heart beating. Legacy Fund: This is our commitment to the future. The Legacy Fund allows us to fund larger projects, like public art that stands for generations and residencies that transform an artist’s career.

Meet the local organizations we help fund to keep the arts alive in Central Indiana. Celebrating Jazz and Classical Piano. The American Piano Awards are the premier competition for the country’s best pianists.

Ballet INitiative strives to collaborate with local artists in a healthy environment to create and share elevated dance performances with John Boner Neighborhood Centers John Boner Neighborhood Centers inspires neighbors and partners to improve the quality of life on the Near Eastside by providing View More Grant Recipients Zero paid staff. All heart. Penrod runs on volunteers.

From our committees to our grant reviewers, every single one of them gives their time because they believe in what the arts do for this city. Without a single paid staff member, every idea we launch and every grant we award is fueled entirely by people like you. Your Gift Makes Indianapolis a Better Place Every gift, at every level, goes directly to local artists and arts organizations.

Not to overhead. Not to administration. Straight to the community.

Strengthen the future of the arts. Gavin Divergence Statue in Broad Ripple Interested in Annual Sponsorship? Companies and families that believe in art belong here.

Let’s build something together.