Background & Purpose

The California Arts Council (CAC) is a statewide agency committed to serving California artists, arts organizations, and communities of all sizes and needs. Guided by racial equity principles, the CAC continuously evaluates its grantmaking practices to ensure fair and inclusive funding opportunities that sustain a vibrant, safe, and resilient creative ecosystem across the state.  

Through regionally based Administering Organizations (AOs), the Individual Artists Fellowship (IAF) program uplifts and celebrates California artists across all disciplines and traditions, highlights their excellence and acknowledges their leadership in shaping traditional and contemporary cultures. 

For this grant, excellence is defined by: 

• A unique artistic vision 
• A sustained commitment to creative practice 
• Engagement with and impact on the cultural ecosystem 

Eligibility

Organizations eligible to apply include: 

• Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), California organizations 
• Units of municipal, county or Tribal governments

Administering Organization Eligibility Requirements 

In order to serve as an Administering Organization, applicant organizations must have existing capacity in the following areas: 

• Administering regranting programs to individuals, including developing grant guidelines, managing a competitive application and adjudication process and providing direct grant payments to artists and cultural practitioners  
• Providing regional outreach and marketing and in-person/virtual technical assistance to grant applicants 
• Employing an online grants management system to administer the grant application, management and payment process 

Eligible Request Amounts

Applicant organizations may apply to serve one of the eight geographic regions and will indicate in their application which region they intend to serve. Applicant organizations can request up to the amounts listed below, with a baseline amount of $300,000 increasing based on regional population tier. Awards may differ from requested amounts based on panel rank and available funding. Total program allocation will be voted on by Council once the state budget is finalized. 

The eight geographic regions are as follows: 

• Region 1: Upstate (Maximum Request Amount $300,000) 
  • To serve Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, and Yuba counties 
• Region 2: Capital (Maximum Request Amount $300,000)
  • To serve Alpine, El Dorado, Sacramento, Solano and Yolo countie
• Region 3: Bay Area (Maximum Request Amount $700,000)
  • To serve Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma counties 
• Region 4: Central Valley & Eastern Sierra (Maximum Request Amount $450,000)
  • To serve Amador, Calaveras, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare and Tuolumne counties 
• Region 5: Central Coast (Maximum Request Amount $300,000)
  • To serve Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and Ventura counties 
• Region 6: South- Los Angeles & Orange (Maximum Request Amount $1,000,000)
  • To serve Los Angeles and Orange counties 
• Region 7: Inland Empire (Maximum Request Amount $450,000)
  • To serve Riverside and San Bernardino counties 
• Region 8: Far South (Maximum Request Amount $450,000)
  • To serve Imperial and San Diego counties 

Matching Funds

Matching funds are not required for this grant.

Funding Restrictions  

Applying for the Administering Organization Grant-Individual Artists Fellowship does not restrict an organization from applying for other CAC grants. 

Program Timeline

Staff Assistance

Before contacting staff, check FAQs to see if application questions can be answered. If staff assistance is still required for guidance or clarification, email is the best way to contact Program Specialists. We recommend that you contact staff well in advance of the deadline to ensure you can be accommodated. People who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deaf-Blind, or have difficulty speaking may dial 711 to reach the California Relay Service (CRS). Large print is available upon request. Translation services may also be available upon request.

Staff Contact

Gabrielle Rosado
(she/her/hers)
Arts Program Specialist
artsfellowsgrant@arts.ca.gov