Public Funding Readiness
Getting you ready to apply for local, state, and federal grants!
Whether you have an arts nonprofit or creative business, there are government grants out there for you.
There are a few key steps you or your organization should take to get ready to apply to public funding.
Federal Grants and Contracts
As an Illinois creative, you might not be familiar with federal grants. Below are a few key tips to help you get started.
To be able to apply for federal grants and bid on federal contracts, your entity needs to be registered in the System for Award Management, also known as SAM.gov.
- Here’s a handy entity registration checklist that takes you through each step of the process.
- And here’s a YouTube video that walks you through the steps: How to Register on SAM.gov.
Starting January 18, 2025, fully registered and active SAM.gov accounts will again become a baseline system requirement for submitting applications for funding opportunities on Grants.gov. New applicants are advised to begin registration and renewal processes as soon as possible, because they can take a few weeks to become complete.
Easier Search Engine Coming to Grants.gov
The federal government has been working to modernize Grants.gov, to make it easier to find and apply for federal funding opportunities. You can test out their updated search engine at Simpler.Grants.gov. It has been upgraded so that search results are more relevant to the key words you enter. Try it out! If you have feedback or notice any bugs, email [email protected].
State of Illinois Opportunities
To be able to apply for State of Illinois opportunities (this does NOT include Illinois Arts Council opportunities), your entity needs to be registered in the Illinois Grant Accountability and Transparency Act portal, also known as the GATA portal. This process can take 1-2 months, so it’s good to do it well before you find a funding opportunity
- If you are a business or nonprofit, this is a good time to make sure you have filed your Annual Report and that your business or nonprofit is in Good Standing with the Illinois Secretary of State’s office.
Illinois Arts Council
The Illinois Arts Council (IAC) is the Illinois state agency with the mission to build a strong, creative, and connected Illinois through the arts. Among the work that IAC does is provide public funding opportunities for artists, arts educators, arts organizations, and communities.
To apply for an IAC grant, you need to first have an account in their grant portal. Click “Not a Member” to get started. You can also see what opportunities are available.
IAC has divided Illinois into regions, each with a director who can help answer questions. You can find your regional director here: Grant Staff Locator.
Local Government Funding
In addition to the federal and Illinois state government, local governments – cities, towns, and counties – may also have public funding for the creative sector.
- In Chicago, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) has cultural grants that are available for individual artists, organizations, and arts presenters/organizers.
- The Cook County Bureau of Economic Development has Cook County Arts, which periodically has funding opportunities. Both the BED and Cook County Arts do not require the prerequisite activities that the federal and state opportunities do.
- If you are outside Chicago/Cook County, Arts Alliance recommends that you check with your local government or local arts agency to find out about any public funding that you may be eligible for!
Visit our running funding opportunities page to see if we can connect you with local funding.
Other Resources
Check out our past Help Desk webinars!
Arts Alliance’s Help Desk supports artists and creatives in navigating the complex world of public funding. From demystifying taxes to our running list of funding opportunities, we can help you find resources to support your creative practice! Get in touch with our team here.
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Support this work
If you’re a funder interested in helping the Alliance provide funding navigation services to the creative sector, we’d love to talk! Reach out to our Senior Director of Development, Kaitlin Donnelly, at [email protected].
