Our Capacity-Building Grant program is open to artists and creatives of any discipline. We define “artist” very broadly to include visual artists, writers, musicians, dancers, theater practitioners, craftspeople, jewelers, fashion designers, puppeteers, fiber artists, drag performers, social practice and public artists, photographers, filmmakers, woodworkers, traditional artisans, and more!

The Capacity-Building Grant is best suited for creatives who are excited to engage with program offerings, ready to build a more sustainable practice and expand their network of creative peers.

Our program gives special priority to artists with limited access to resources. This might mean artists who are low-to-moderate income or have little savings or access to generational wealth. This might also mean an artist who lives in a rural or other under-resourced community with fewer financial or artistic opportunities, or an artist who holds an identity which has been historically undervalued or marginalized.

While we welcome artists at any stage of their career to apply, most of the artists we’ve served identify as emerging or mid-career. Some of our grantees are self-taught, while others have MFAs; some are relatively new to art while others have been making work for decades. Many of the artists we work with have never before received a grant.

This program uses a buffet-style model that lets each grantee decide what they need. Grantees are strongly encouraged to attend the core cohort workshops and events in order to get the most out of the program. What you do in addition to that is up to you! One artist might focus on workshops and coaching related to improving their marketing. Another might set financial goals and work with a coach on a plan to pay down their debt, create a budget, and build themselves a safety net. Some artists just do as much as possible – one year, a grantee took 80+ hours of workshops/coaching with us!

SPECIAL NOTE FOR 2022-2024: A few of our Capacity-Building are currently being funded by a federal program that DOES come with a goal-setting requirement. In these cohorts, artists will have to designate 3 goals for their creative career and plot out some steps to reach those goals. Don’t worry! It’s an easy process and we have lots of examples and support to help you. This step is currently being required for Fall River and Pittsfield cohorts.

Applications are juried by a cohort of creative peers, usually alumni of the program. The jurying scoring rubric is included in each individual call for applications.

The biggest factor we ask our jurors to consider is whether an applicant demonstrates that they are poised to take advantage of all that the Capacity-Building program has to offer. We believe that funding artists is important, but that those funds are more impactful when artists engage with all aspects of the program.

While jurors do look at the quality of your work, it is not the primary consideration. Jurors understand that art is a learning process and look for a commitment to one’s practice above mastery of craft.

We work with artists of all disciplines and at all stages. Jurors are less concerned with how long you’ve been making work (whether 2 years or 20) as with how ready you are to benefit from the professional development support we offer.

We prioritize artists who have access to fewer financial or career resources or who come from historically marginalized communities. Each of our cohorts has slightly different selection criteria depending on the partnership, so be sure to read the eligibility guidelines for the cohort to which you are applying.

Please do not apply to this opportunity if you are only interested in the grant funds and not the rest of the program. You will likely be rejected. Similarly, if you are an artist who has had access to a variety of professional development opportunities, grants, and other resources, you may be de-prioritized in the selection process unless you are able to articulate how this program will serve you in new ways. An example of this may be an artist who used to have access to academic support as a student or faculty and who is now having to independently support their practice.

Most of the time, we lack the staff capacity to give feedback on individual applications. We appreciate your understanding!

Cohorts usually range between 10 - 15 grantees and occasionally go as large as 20.

Assets for Artists works with partners to provide programming across Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The majority of our grant-making is currently in our home state of Massachusetts. Many of our partners have a specific geographic focus in their mission (e.g. the City of Boston or Greater Worcester). We work this way so that we can provide deep, community-focused support and assist artists in making strong local connections.

We understand that this localized approach can be frustrating to artists who live outside of those communities, so each year we also provide a Massachusetts Statewide cohort, which is open to artists anywhere in the Commonwealth, including both the areas covered and not covered by our other partnerships.

We are only occasionally able to offer cohort work in Connecticut and Rhode Island. If we are not offering a cohort this year, we recommend connecting with other statewide opportunities offered by the Connecticut Office of the Arts and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts.

Each grant cohort has a different application period, usually 4-6 weeks long; these are staggered throughout the year. Check out our list of upcoming grant cohorts above for an approximate schedule of application launches, then sign up for our e-blast to be among the first to know when a new application is open.

Depending on the cohort, some applications are run through our local partner organization, while others are run through Assets for Artists’ Submittable. If the application is being managed by our partner organization, we will try to also include their application link on this webpage.

Since 2008, over 625 artists have gone through our Capacity-Building Grant program. At times we’ve worked with artists in Maine and New York City, but these days we focus our grant programming largely on Massachusetts, Connecticut, and occasionally Rhode Island.

Meet our Capacity-Building Program Alumni.

Each geographic cohort has a different number of applicants and a different number of cohort slots, which makes this a difficult question to answer. Our most competitive cohort is our Massachusetts Statewide program, which typically has 500 applications for 10-15 slots. Other cohorts may have closer to 30-40 applications for 10-15 slots. Our goal is to make the program accessible to as many artists as possible.

As a Capacity-Building participant, you will have access to our amazing network of artist trainers through priority access to our seasonal workshops. Each grantee also gets 1-on-1 coaching with a trainer of their choice. While you’re a part of the program, Assets for Artists staff are also here to support you. So reach out any time!

Starting in Fall 2023, artists who have previously received any type of Assets for Artists grant are no longer eligible to apply for the Capacity-Building program. We have reached a point where demand is too high for our program, and it is important to us to make our offerings available to as many artists as possible.

Absolutely! Often applicants don’t make the cut because of the limited number of slots in a particular cohort. Other times, applicants haven’t articulated the ways in which they will benefit from the broader program, or jurors get the sense that the timing isn’t quite right. We would be very happy to see your new application.

No. We do not require artists to have a specific project they want to spend the funds on. Instead we encourage artists to start our program by setting 3 goals for the next few years and then to consider the funds as seed money to help you achieve those goals. Your goals might be to pay down your credit card debt, buy a piece of equipment for your studio, or invest in a new website. We want you to put the funds to whatever use will most help strengthen your long-term creative trajectory and we believe that YOU are the person best suited to determine what that means.

Apply by clicking on one of the active application links above. We host some of our Capacity-Building grants on our Submittable platform. Other applications are hosted by our local partner organization on their own platform.

To improve accessibility, we accept applications with written narrative answers or audio/video recorded answers. Look for the prompts in our application for how to upload a video/audio recorded answer and the time constraints set for each recorded response.

Many of our applications are also available in Spanish.

Depending on the priorities for different grant cohorts, sometimes our application will ask an applicant for certain financial information about their “household.” Artists thrive in all sorts of living situations, and so might not always understand who to count in their “household.”

We consider members of your financial household to include any family or friends who live together and are financially interdependent, regardless of whether they are legally related or share a bank account. Your household could include children/dependents, a spouse/partner(s), parents or elders, chosen family, etc. If you live with roommates with whom you split rent, but are otherwise financially independent from, they are not part of your financial household. If you co-own your home with your roommates, then you are financially supporting each other and are considered a household.

When computing your total household income or total household assets, you will need to take into account all of the income or assets of each member of your household.