News

OUR TOWN – NEA’s Creative Placemaking Grants Program

From National Endowment for the Arts –

FY2023 Our Town Guidelines Posted!

neaGuidelines and instructions for Our Town are now available online. Through project-based funding, the program supports activities that demonstrate a specific role for arts, culture, and/or design as part of local efforts that strengthen communities. Our Town projects advance local economic, physical, or social outcomes in communities, ultimately laying the groundwork for systems change and centering equity. These projects require a partnership between a nonprofit organization and a local government entity, with one of the partners being a cultural organization.

Competitive projects often pilot new proposed activities and establish new or deepen existing cross-sector partnerships (e.g., agriculture and food, economic development, education and youth, environment, health, housing, public safety, transportation, workforce development).

These are cost share/matching grants ranging from $25,000 to $150,000, with funding starting July 1, 2023 for 1–2 year projects. The application is submitted in two parts; the Part 1 deadline is August 4, 2022. You can learn more from the guidelines on our website. Please note that application materials are also available in Spanish, a first for the NEA in our annual grant programs.

If you’re not sure whether Our Town is a fit for the project you have in mind, be sure to review the project descriptions of recent Our Town projects funded during the past several years. These projects exemplify the kinds of cross-sector partnerships, inclusive community engagement, and potential for systems change we hope to support through the Our Town program.

And finally, did you know you can access the Our Town application questions now? The Part 2 Instructions .pdf, available for download at the bottom of the How to Apply page, allows you to preview and start developing your application narrative, budget, letters of support, and work samples. The How to Apply page also has helpful guidance for navigating SAM.gov, grants.gov, and login.gov registrations. Part 1 (submitted through grants.gov) is due on August 4, with the Applicant Portal open for Part 2 on August 9-16.

You’ll find more resources on the Applicant Resources page of the guidelines.