Sustaining Support for Arts Organizations is sponsored by North Carolina Arts Council. This grant category supports North Carolina arts organizations that demonstrate a consistent commitment to producing programs and services that engage audiences and reflect the communities they serve.

Sustaining Support for Arts Organizations | NC Arts Council Reminder: Please review General Grant Information and Eligibility Requirements before proceeding. Sustaining Support provides flexible funding to arts organizations in North Carolina that consistently produce arts programs and services that engage audiences and reflect their communities.

These organizations provide work opportunities for artists and arts professionals, are well managed and financially accountable, are committed to diverse and inclusive practices, and contribute to the state’s creative economy.

FY2026‑27 eligible disciplines: literature, visual arts, film, and dance Sustaining Support grants are awarded on a three‑year cycle by discipline and include panel review as part of the award determination process. Each year, one‑third of the disciplines open for new applications according to the following schedule: FY2026-27: Literature, visual arts, film, and dance Applications due March 2, 2026.

Awards cover FY2026-27, FY2027-28, and FY2028-29. Update applications are required in off years. FY2027-28: Theater and multi-arts Applications due March 2027.

Awards cover FY2027-28, FY2028-29, and FY2029-30. Update applications are required in off years. FY2028-29: Music, folklife, and arts in education Applications due March 2028.

Awards cover FY2028-29, FY2029-30, and FY2030-31. Update applications are required in off years. Note : Organizations that received a FY2025-26 Sustaining Support grant in music, folklife, arts in education, theater, or multi-arts must submit an update application to remain eligible to receive a Sustaining Support grant award in FY2026-27.

Instructions will be emailed directly, and update applications are due by Monday, March 2, 2026, for staff review.

Range: From $7,500 to $65,000 Arts organizations * that meet the North Carolina Arts Council’s general eligibility criteria and have maintained an average organizational expense budget of at least $75,000 over the past three fiscal years Arts organizations that employ at least one half-time equivalent staff person ** , as demonstrated in the organizational financial statement for the most recent fiscal year Colleges, universities, and arts organizations that are part of another entity (such as a municipality) are not eligible to apply in this category.

Generally, organizations that receive funding through the Statewide Service Organizations grant category or that receive the county Grassroots allotment as a Designated County Partner or Provisional County Partner are not eligible to apply in this category. Applicants are not allowed to use fiscal agents to apply for Sustaining Support for Arts Organizations.

* For the purposes of this operating support category, an arts organization is defined as a 501c3 organization that has the creation and/or promotion of arts in its mission statement and dedicates at least 80 percent of its annual programming expenses to arts activities.

North Carolina Arts Council staff will ask a nonprofit organization whose scope of work is broader than the arts to submit an itemized annual expense statement to document the 80 percent threshold.

** To determine the half-time equivalent staff person threshold, North Carolina Arts Council staff will look for one individual who is paid by the applicant to manage the operations of the arts organization, working an average of 20 hours per week, and compensated at a rate that meets or exceeds minimum wage. The individual can be a salaried staff person or can be a contractor.

Scope and allowable expenses These grants support the ongoing artistic and administrative functions of arts organizations. Recipients may use them to fund salaries, artists’ fees, production, travel, promotion, office expenses, and facility operation. Grant amounts generally range from $7,500 to $65,000 and are based on the organization’s application rating and budget size.

Grant awards may not exceed 10 percent of the organization’s cash operating expenses, averaged over the past three fiscal years. Grant funds must be spent between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027.

How we make funding decisions We evaluate applications using the following criteria: The artistic value of an organization’s programs Involvement of artists and arts professionals who are qualified and paid equitably, and who reflect the demographic diversity of the communities and audiences served Programs with demonstrated benefit to their audiences, participants, and broader community Strength of audience engagement and outreach strategies involving artists and representative community partners, as appropriate to programmatic goals Evidence of staff and board leadership and sound management practices, including financial accountability Sustaining Support grant scoring rubric [DOC] The following questions and documents will be required for the application.

Reach out to your staff contact for questions or application assistance. If you’re applying on behalf of an organization, first check whether your organization already has a profile in our grant system. If not, you’ll need to create one.

Each applicant must also set up a separate user profile. The organization profile requires details such as the authorized signatory, Employer Identification Number (EIN) and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) numbers, mission statement, and documentation of nonprofit status. Application narrative for full applications Provide an overview of your programs and activities for the proposed grant year.

Include information about the location(s), date(s), and price range for audiences and participants to engage with the programs. Give details about the artists/arts leaders who will conduct programs, including their compensation and what their connection/relevancy is to the community/audience served. Describe the audiences you serve with your current programs, including number of people served, geographic reach, and demographic details.

Indicate how you gather information about participation in your program (e.g., point of purchase, audience/membership surveys, concessions inventory). Describe your planned audience engagement activities for the proposed grant year, focusing on outreach, educational and interpretive programs, communications and marketing, and strategic partnerships in the community.

Examples of these types of programs are workshops, in-school performances, field trips, lecture series, post-performance discussions, publications, and other ways you connect artistic content with the audiences you serve. Describe the key board and staff members who serve in leadership roles. Give recent examples of how your board actively promotes, participates in, and provides resources for the organization.

Describe your organization’s financial condition, including information about accumulated debt, deficits, surpluses, principal sources of revenue, cash reserves, and endowments.

Application narrative for mid-cycle update applications Describe your planned audience engagement activities for the proposed grant year, focusing on outreach, educational and interpretive programs, communications and marketing, and strategic partnerships in the community.

Examples of these types of programs are workshops, in-school performances, field trips, lecture series, post-performance discussions, publications, and other ways you connect artistic content with the audiences you serve. Provide any board and staff leadership updates since your last application. Provide any updates to your organization’s general financial condition since your last application.

Full applications must include support materials appropriate to the proposal; mid-cycle update applications are not required to provide support materials. Support materials provide evidence that builds a strong case for an application and addresses the evaluation criteria.

Here are some examples of support materials that you can upload: Recent brochures and/or other marketing materials Letters of support from key community partners Recent published reviews of artistic work Letters of intent signed by artists who will be featured during the grant period Full applications must include work samples appropriate to the proposal; mid-cycle applications are not required to provide work samples.

The purpose of a work sample is to provide evidence of artistic value, which is an important evaluation criterion for the category. A good work sample will represent the artist(s) involved in the programming that the application narrative describes and help the panelists who will evaluate your application to understand the level of artistry that you anticipate.

Upload up to 15 digital images of exhibitions, programs, and/or the work of featured artists representative of activities planned for FY25–26. When you upload an image into the work sample bank, you will provide descriptive information, including the artist’s name, the work’s title and medium, and the title of the exhibit or program. Leave all pricing information fields blank.

Using the Web Link Collection form in the GO Smart portal, submit a five-minute video sample representative of upcoming or current-year programming. The video may include just one piece or a sampling of more than one. In the description, provide the title, a short summary of each production, the name of each production’s director, and the year each was made.

Do not submit highly edited promotional materials. Upload up to five PDFs of recent work by writers involved in upcoming or current-year programming. Each PDF should be no more than six pages long.

Or, using the Web Link Collection form in the GO Smart portal, submit no more than five minutes of video presenting readings or spoken word performances by the writers involved in the upcoming or current-year programming. Provide the title of each work, the name of the author, and the year each work was published or presented.

Using the Web Link Collection form in the GO Smart portal, submit no more than five minutes of video representative of upcoming or current-year programming. The video may include just one piece or a sampling of more than one. In the description, provide the title and a short summary of each work, the names of the choreographer(s), and the year each work was made.

Do not submit highly edited promotional materials. Upload up to 15 images of exhibitions, programs, and/or the work of featured artists representative of activities planned for the current or upcoming year programming. When you upload an image into the work sample bank, you will provide descriptive information, including the artist’s name, the work’s title and medium, and the title of the exhibit or program.

Leave all pricing information fields blank. Submit a five-minute video sample representative of the current or upcoming year programming. The video may include just one piece or a sampling of more than one.

In the description, provide the title, a short summary of each production, the name of each production’s director, and the year each was made. Do not submit highly edited promotional materials. Upload up to five documents of recent work by writers involved in current or upcoming year programming.

Each document should be no more than six pages long. Or, submit no more than five minutes of video presenting readings or spoken word performances by the writers involved in the current or upcoming year programming. Provide the title of each work, the name of the author, and the year each work was published or presented.

Submit no more than five minutes of video representative of the current or upcoming year programming. The video may include just one piece or a sampling of more than one. In the description, provide the title and a short summary of each work, the names of the choreographer(s), and the year each work was made.

Do not submit highly edited promotional materials. Submit no more than five minutes of an audio or video sample representative of the current or upcoming year programming. The audio or video may include just one piece or a sampling of more than one.

In the description, provide the title, names of the composer and featured artists, and the date of the performance. Submit no more than five minutes of video representative of upcoming or current-year programming. The video may include just one piece or a sampling of more than one.

In the description, provide the title and a short summary of each work and the date(s) of the performances. Still photos of theatrical performances provide information about costumes and sets but are not considered strong work samples demonstrating overall artistic value. Do not submit highly edited promotional materials.

Using the Web Link Collection form in the GO Smart portal, submit no more than five minutes of video representative of upcoming or current-year programming. The video may include just one piece or a sampling of more than one. In the description, provide the title and a short summary of each work and the date(s) of the performances.

Still photos of theatrical performances provide information about costumes and sets but are not considered strong work samples demonstrating overall artistic value. Do not submit highly edited promotional materials.

Multi-arts (presenters, arts centers) Upload up to 15 digital images and/or complete a Web Link Collection form in the GO Smart portal with one five-minute sample of audio or video of featured artists or programs representative of the upcoming year’s programming. For more information, refer to the work sample instructions above for the artistic disciplines that you are highlighting.

--> Arts in Education/Folklife Upload up to 15 images and/or one five-minute sample of audio or video of featured artists or programs representative of the programming in the current or upcoming year. For more information, refer to the work sample instructions above for the artistic disciplines that you are highlighting. Note: Work samples for Arts in Education applications should focus on the artistry of the instructors.

Senior Program Director, Artists & Organizations Contact Dara about about visual arts, craft, film, theater, and literature Music and Dance Director, Accessibility Coordinator jamie. katzcourt@dncr. nc.

gov Contact Jamie about music, dance, accessibility, and multi-disciplinary presenting Arts in Education Director Contact Lizz about arts in education Contact Zoe about folk and traditional arts Grant application assistance Accessibility questions or accommodation requests