Grant Amounts: $2,000 or $4,000
Round 2 Applications closes November 2, 2025
Grant Portal
FY26 Project Support Grant Guidelines
Project Support Application Questions
Recorded Grant Information Session
Project Support grants are awarded to individuals, groups, and nonprofit organizations for specific arts projects and programs which are determined to be of value to the community. Concerts, murals, performances, festivals, workshops, and readings are examples of projects eligible for funding through Project Support grants. Round 1 applications are now closed. Round 2 applications will open on September 15, 2025.
Applicants may submit only one project support grant application per year.
Program Overview
Grant Program Purpose
All projects, except murals, must include a community engagement activity. Community engagement activities are designed to build meaningful connections between the organization or group and the communities they serve, with the goal of creating mutual benefit. Murals that are highly visible to the public are exempt from this requirement and do not need an additional community engagement activity. Please see the section below on murals for more details.
Community Councils are welcome to apply for a project support grant for $2,000. All projects must be arts based and be accessible to the greater Salt Lake City community, neighborhood events should be open to the general public.
Program Structure
We aim to distribute approximately $70,000 in this grant category to an undetermined number of applicants in January 2026. Grants awards will be either $2,000 or $4,000. The award amount is determined by scores from the review committee using the published Evaluation Criteria. We anticipate a high number of competitive submissions to this program. Applicants are encouraged to adhere to the Evaluation Criteria whenever possible to maximize their score.
Projects must occur during the funding period for this grant. Round 1 Grant Cycle dates are September 1 of the current year through August 31 of the following year. Round 2 Grant Cycle dates are February 1 through August 31 of the following year.
Applicants may only submit one application annually for a Project Support Grant. Additionally, you cannot apply for both a Project Support Grant and a General Operating Support Grant. There are no exceptions to this guideline, however, additional grant opportunities may become available and eligibility criteria and limitations will be made clear within those grant guidelines.
Grant Amounts
Project Support: $2,000 or $4,000
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for a Project Support grant, the applicant must:
- Be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization OR individual artist OR group of artists;
- All projects, whether facilitated by an organization, individual artist, or group of artists, must include community engagement activities or outreach efforts that benefit the Salt Lake City community.
The Arts Council does not offer artists’ fellowships or awards.
- All projects, whether facilitated by an organization, individual artist, or group of artists, must include community engagement activities or outreach efforts that benefit the Salt Lake City community.
- All projects and programs must occur within Salt Lake City (review Salt Lake City boundaries here);
- Matching Requirements:
- $2,000 - Matching funds and in-kind support are encouraged, but not required.
- $4,000 - Requires a cash match of at least 50% ($2,000 or more).
Additional matching funds and in-kind support are encouraged, but not required;
- Show community support through one or more of the following:
- Have matching funds through cash, earned income, private or public support, or through a combination of these sources;
- Have in-kind support of goods or services;
- Provide one or more letters of support for the project. Each letter must include the signer’s phone number or email address;
- List of confirmed partners for the project;
- Provide other evidence of community support such as a community survey requesting project, evidence of previous successful event, etc;
- Provide details of community engagement through past projects or initiatives.
- All funded project activities must occur within the grant cycle, between February 1, 2026 and August 31, 2026;
- If awards have been received in previous years, applicants must be in good standing prior to submitting future requests to the Salt Lake City Arts Council.
Funding Limitations
City Arts Grants cannot be awarded to:
- Projects already completed prior to the grant cycle;
- Programs or travel outside of Salt Lake City;
- For-profit business, such as a corporation or LLC;
- Debt reduction;
- Fundraising and benefit events;
- Capital expenditures;
- Private programs--programs and services must be open to the public and not restricted to members only or require a substantial fee for attendance (such as a conference);
- Projects that have already been funded by the Salt Lake City Arts Council;
- Research projects that do not contain an immediate and direct benefit to the community;
- Education or tuition fees;
- Organizations and projects that receive direct financial support of 50% or more of the overall project or organizational budget from Salt Lake City Corporation.
Mural Requirements
Mural projects must abide by the eligibility requirements and funding limitations listed above, with the exception that mural projects are not required to include a community engagement activity.
The approval of funding by the Salt Lake Arts Council does not verify that the mural meets all city ordinance requirements and it is the responsibility of the applicant to verify compliance.
To be eligible for a Project Support grant to support a mural, the applicant must:
- Secure an outdoor location with high public visibility on private property;
- Provide a letter from the property owner agreeing to the mural site and confirming they will adhere to the mural requirements listed in these guidelines;
- Adhere to the all public safety and maintenance standards and comply with the Americans for Disabilities Act (ADA), Salt Lake City requirements, and all other applicable laws, codes, and regulations, including the Salt Lake City Sign Ordinance and Historic Building Ordinance or any other State or Federal regulations for historic buildings/districts;
- Facilitate all required permitting, contracts/agreements, or regulatory requirements which are the responsibility of the property owner and or applicant;
- Maintenance and repair of the mural is the responsibility of the property owner and/or artist per their agreement. Murals are intended to last a minimum of three years. Anti-graffiti coating is strongly recommended;
- Provide an image of the wall where the mural will be installed.
Mural Funding Limitations
Murals cannot:
- Depict obscene, explicit material, or hate speech;
- Paint unpainted brick. Case by case considerations will be made for unpainted cinder block;
- Fund signs (see Salt Lake City Sign Ordinance).
Additional Requirements
Additional eligibility and/or limitations may be added at any time with written notice to funded projects.
Grant Application and Review Process
Project Support Round 2 - OPEN September 15, 2025
For projects that occur February 1, 2026 through August 31, 2026:
- Application Opens: September 15, 2025
- Application Closes: November 2, 2025
- Salt Lake City Arts Council Committee Review Process: November-December 2025
- Salt Lake City Arts Council Board Meeting: January 2026
- Written Grant Notification: January 2026
- Grant Agreement Form Acceptance: January 2026
- First Grant Distribution of 50% of award: March 2026
- Final Grant Distribution: Upon completion and review of the final report
Evaluation Criteria
All applications will be scored in accordance with our scoring rubric, found here.
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Project Support
The breakdown of available points is as follows:
- Programming: 40%
- Community Impact: 40%
- Budget: 20%
Finance & Budget Information
All applicants must submit a detailed budget using the provided budget template, found here.
The budget should include clear detail on the income and expenses associated with this project. This does not include personal or organizational income that does not directly relate to this project.
The final budget form must be uploaded to the application as an Excel document.
- INCLUDE AMOUNT REQUESTED IN THE GRANT AMOUNT REQUESTED CELL.
- The budget must balance: Total income must equal total expenses.
- A balanced budget demonstrates your ability to administer and implement the proposed program.
- Include comments and explanations in the spreadsheet. Think of this portion of the application as a complement to the narrative describing how the expenses are calculated and shows fiscal responsibility in how granted funds will be used.
- Please provide a detailed budget narrative before submission, ensuring that all expenses related to this request are expended within, and in direct benefit of, Salt Lake City proper.
- The Salt Lake City Arts Council values paying artists professional wages. Projects that pay artists for their services will be given priority.
Additional Support
Frequently Asked Questions
All questions or concerns regarding this grant program should be submitted in writing to
All questions and answers will be updated here as necessary.
QUESTION: I am a new applicant and creating a new account. What do I enter in the field asking for a business EIN?
- If you are applying as an individual artist or as a collective, please enter zeroes in this field. The business EIN is used to verify non-profit status for organizations applying.
Office Hours
Office hours are available during the application period for individuals to schedule a one-on-one meeting with the grants manager. The purpose of this meeting is to ask questions which are not answered in the Program Guidelines or Frequently Asked Questions. We are happy to help you with any additional technical or adaptive questions or concerns you may have, as well as answer specific questions you might have regarding your materials or application.
To schedule your 25 minute appointment with the grant administrator, please click here.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions first. If your question is not answered please contact the Salt Lake City Arts Council Grants Program at
