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Bay Area artists and nonprofit organizations of all kinds are invited to submit a letter of inquiry to support collaborations that create new work.

Once you know who your collaborating partners will be, avoid the rush and complete a brief applicant eligibility quiz and request a grantseeker account at the Creative Work Fund application portal. These steps are easy to complete, but it takes the Fund a day or two to confirm your eligibility and assign your user name and password. Don’t wait until the last minute.

Optional application webinars for potential Creative Work Fund applicants are offered in advance of a call for Letters of Inquiry. Applicants are not required to attend a webinar, but are encouraged to do so—especially if they are unfamiliar with the Fund.

Organizations and artists should jointly prepare and submit a letter of inquiry of no more than three pages (including a brief, preliminary budget). The lead artist should submit a professional resume of no more than two pages.

Letters of inquiry must be received no later than May 8, 2023.

Letters of inquiry will be reviewed separately by up to ten readers.

Read our review criteria here.

From among the letters of inquiry received the Creative Work Fund will invite approximately 50 collaborating artists and organizations to submit more detailed proposals and provide a summary of reader comments. Full proposals restate and expand upon the ideas presented in the letter of inquiry, incorporate responses to the reader comments, and include documentation illustrating the quality of artist work, detailed budgets, and additional background information about the organization.

Full proposals include documentation illustrating the quality of the artists’ work, detailed budgets, and additional background information about the organizations.

Full proposals must be received no later than July 31, 2023.

A panel comprising artists, curators, and other arts professionals will review the finalists’ proposals and recommend projects to be funded. Representatives of the foundations that support the Creative Work Fund will approve the final awards.

Read the review criteria the panel uses here.

The Creative Work Fund will notify applicants via email. Grants will be awarded to collaborating 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, not directly to collaborating artists.

Key participants in each awarded project must prepare and sign a memorandum of understanding. Lead artists and their collaborating organizations also must sign and return their award letters. Grants are paid to the collaborating 501(c)(3) organizations soon after signed paperwork is received.

Final reports are due three months after the project ending date. Grantees must submit two final reports (one prepared by the artist and one by the organization), describing the project and how they used the grant funds. Final reports should document the finished projects through online media, fixed media, publications, or other appropriate medium.