Quick Grant

Quick Grant is sponsored by California Arts Council (administered by Community Initiatives, formerly Centre for Cultural Innovation - CCI Arts). The Quick Grant program provides professional development funds to California-based artists, creatives, cultural practitioners, and cultural producers. This can include activities focused on technology skill-building relevant to an artistic practice.

Unfettering Artists' Productivity and Impact If you have questions or would like further information on the Quick Grant program, please either email or call (415) 288-0530. The May 15, 2026 cycle is now closed. Notifications will be sent via Submittable on June 15, 2026 by 5:00 p.

m. PT. Applications for the June 15, 2026 cycle are open!

The Quick Grant program provides up to $600 in professional development funds to staff members of nonprofit arts organizations based in San Francisco or San José, as well as to California-based artists, creatives, cultural practitioners, and cultural producers.

This program supports artists and arts workers with funding to enroll in workshops, attend conferences, and work with consultants, coaches, and mentors in order to build their administrative capacity, hone business skills, and strengthen the financial resilience of an organization, artistic practice, or area of cultural production.

Effective November 16, 2025 , individual applicants (e.g., artists, creatives, cultural practitioners, and cultural producers) will now be required to complete a short identity verification step through Submittable’s secure Identity Verification (IDV) process before submitting their Quick Grant application. This verification step helps ensure that funds reach eligible artists.

Nonprofit arts organization staff applicants are exempt from this step, as their eligibility is verified through organizational documentation. (Please see the Frequently Asked Questions for additional information on IDV.) In honor of Quick Grant's 15th anniversary in 2024, CCI commissioned an outside evaluator to tell the story of how a relatively small investment(a $600 microgrant) can have an outsized impact on an awardee.

If you're interested in learning more about the impact of the Quick Grant program over its 15-year history, you can read the full report here .

Individual Artists, Creatives, Cultural Practitioners, & Cultural Producers Must currently reside full-time within the State of California Nonprofit Arts Organization Staff Members Staff of a nonprofit, tax-exempt arts organization located in the City and County of San Francisco or the City of San José Staff of a fiscally sponsored arts organization with the majority (i.e., 75%) of the organization's public programming occurring within the City and County of San Francisco or the City of San José (see HOW TO APPLY section for additional eligibility requirements) To be eligible for Quick Grant funding, activities must: Build administrative capacity, hone business skills, and/or strengthen the financial resilience of the grantee’s practice, area of cultural production, or arts organization.

Begin after the application notification date. For example, for the June 15, 2026, deadline, the proposed activity must start on or after the notification date of July 16, 2026.

Funding may be used to support part or all of the following eligible expenses: Travel and hotel expenses associated with the participation in an eligible activity, regardless of distance from the applicant’s primary address or the organization’s location (eligible expenses can include meals, gas, parking, tolls, public transportation, etc.) Caregiving associated costs (e.g., childcare, daycare, eldercare, etc.) associated with the participation in an eligible activity.

Registration fees for conferences, festivals, workshops, and/or trainings Memberships or subscriptions that offer opportunities for professional networking, business or administrative skill development, and/or field knowledge Fees to engage a facilitator, executive coach, mentor, career counselor, or consultant to build administrative and business skills* Regarding consultant support, for a proposed activity to be competitive, it must be made clear that the applicant will be actively engaged in enhanced learning or receiving portable skills.

In other words, proposed activities MUST have an educational benefit or result in skill acquisition. Consequently, applications wherein sub-contract activities are proposed (e.g., hiring someone to moderate a webinar series, design a website on the applicant's behalf, or facilitate online sales) are not eligible.

*Due to limited resources, requests by Los Angeles County applicants to work one-on-one with a consultant are extremely competitive. Priority will instead go to Los Angeles County applicants who propose group activities such as public workshops, conferences, and trainings.)

At this time, Quick Grant funding cannot support the following: Activities focused primarily on creative or artistic skill development, art teaching/teaching artist methods and techniques, or artistic presentation/production Activities that support an applicant’s adjacent enterprise Funding to offset applicant’s regular salary or wages or fees for temporary/contract employees Funding to support overhead expenses Funding to purchase art supplies, materials, or advanced inventory Activities proposed by artists, creatives, cultural practitioners, or cultural producers to support the operations of a nonprofit organization or a role in arts administration, and vice versa, activities proposed by organizational staff to support an individual art or cultural practice Activities that begin less than one month after the nearest application deadline (applications are due on the 15th of each month); for example, if you apply by the August 15 deadline—between July 16 and August 15—the activity cannot begin until on or after September 16 Funding to offset fees associated with college tuition or college credit activities Upcoming Application Deadline: June 15, 2026, at 11:59 a.

m. (morning) PT — activities must start on July 16, 2026, or after. Applications are due on the 15th of the month at 11:59 a.

m. (morning) PT with a one-month turnaround. Applications for the following month's cycle will open on the 16th of the month.

CCI hosted an information session on Wednesday, September 17, 2025 from 12:00 - 1:00 p. m. PT , which featured an overview of the application and guidelines, helpful tips, and a live Q&A.

To request access to the recording, please email quickgrant@cciarts. org. Frequently Asked Questions Application Preview Application Preview Applications are due on the 15th of the month at 11:59 a.

m. (morning) PT. For questions related to the grant guidelines or application, email us at quickgrant@cciarts.

org or call 415. 288. 0530.

You may also schedule a time to speak here . For Deaf applicants and those with hearing loss, contact CCI using the California Relay Service —our staff is trained in making and receiving these calls. For technical assistance (e.g., password or upload issues) regarding the online application, request support at: https://www.

submittable. com/help/submitter/ . Submittable’s business hours are 9 a.

m. – 5 p. m.

MT. They aim to respond within 24 business hours. The Quick Grant program is made possible with support from: CCI is now working remotely!

For the quickest response, please email us at info@cciarts. org . If you need our mailing address, please contact us.

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