City of Houston-funded Arts Grants

Houston artists and arts organizations apply for city funding through five HAA grant programs, which are adjudicated through community-based peer panels.
Each has its own deadline and requirements. Read on for details about these grants.

2024 Grants Schedule

  • City’s Initiative

  • Let Creativity Happen

CI/LCH Round 3
Application Period: August 30, 2024 – September 29, 2024
Round 3 Grant Term: January 2025 – December 2025

CI/LCH Round 2
Application Period: May 27 – June 25, 2024
Round 2 Grant Term: October 2024 – October 2025

CI/LCH Round 1
Application Period: March 25 – April 23, 2024
Round 1 Grant Term: August 2024 – August 2025

  • Festival Grant

  • Support for Artists &
    Creative Individuals

  • Support for Organizations

Festival, SACI and SO grants were open in one annual cycle.
Application Period: June 17 – August 2, 2024
Annual Grant Term: January 2025 – December 2025

Grant Program Tracker

Grant Cycle Status Tracker
Please select the grant program you would like to track.
CI/LCH Round 1
CI/LCH Round 2
CI/LCH Round 3
Festival/SACI/SO
Application period is currently open to the public
Round 1 grant application period closed on April 23. Applicants submit through the HAA Grants Portal by the announced deadline.
Staff is verifying applicant and project eligibility
Verifying eligibility of submitted applications and required document uploads based on the criteria published in guidelines.
Peer panels are evaluating eligible applications
Independent peer panels comprising diverse perspectives and areas of expertise are adjudicating every eligible application.
Recommendation lists are in assembly for review
Award recommendations and the complete competitive grants process are under review by the Grants Committee of HAA's board.
Mayor's approval received and grantees notified
Recommendations submitted to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA). Notifications sent after the Mayor's final approval.
Application period is currently open to the public
Round 2 grant application period closed on June 25. Applicants submit through the HAA Grants Portal by the announced deadline.
Staff is verifying applicant and project eligibility
Verifying eligibility of submitted applications and required document uploads based on the criteria published in guidelines.
Peer panels are evaluating eligible applications
Independent peer panels comprising diverse perspectives and areas of expertise are adjudicating every eligible application.
Recommendation lists are in assembly for review
Award recommendations and the complete competitive grants process are under review by the Grants Committee of HAA's board.
Mayor's approval received and grantees notified
Recommendations submitted to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA). Notifications sent after the Mayor's final approval.
Application period is currently open to the public
Round 3 grant application period closed on September 29. Applicants submit through the HAA Grants Portal by the announced deadline.
Staff is verifying applicant and project eligibility
Verifying eligibility of submitted applications and required document uploads based on the criteria published in guidelines.
Peer panels are evaluating eligible applications
Independent peer panels comprising diverse perspectives and areas of expertise are adjudicating every eligible application.
Recommendation lists are in assembly for review
Award recommendations and the complete competitive grants process are under review by the Grants Committee of HAA's board.
Award notifications are pending Mayor's approval
Recommendations submitted to the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA). Notifications pending the Mayor's final approval.
Application period is currently open to the public
Annual grant application periods closed on August 2. Applicants submit through the HAA Grants Portal by the announced deadline.
Staff is verifying applicant and project eligibility
Verifying eligibility of submitted applications and required document uploads based on the criteria published in guidelines.
Peer panels are evaluating eligible applications
Independent peer panels comprising diverse perspectives and areas of expertise are adjudicating every eligible application.
Recommendation lists are in assembly for review
Award recommendations and the complete competitive grants process are under review by the Grants Committee of HAA's board.
Award notifications are pending Mayor’s approval
Recommendations submitted to the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA). Notifications pending the Mayor’s final approval.

CITY’S INITIATIVE

This Grant is available to: Organizations, Individual Artists & Creatives, Fiscally Sponsored Projects

CI - Round 1 for the August 2024 – August 2025 grant term closed April 23, 2024.
First round applicants eligible to request over $10,000 applied under the Art + Disaster Resilience Awareness funding area.

CI - Round 2 for the October 2024 – October 2025 grant term closed June 25, 2024.
Second round applicants eligible to request over $10,000 applied under the Art + Neighborhood Cultural Destinations funding area.

CI - Round 3 for the January 2025 – December 2025 grant term closed September 29, 2024.
Third round applicants eligible to request over $10,000 applied under the Art + Conference Tourism funding area.

City’s Initiative grant program (CI) provides funding to individual artists and nonprofits for strategic and creative opportunities to engage visitors and residents while building upon Houston’s cultural identity and tourism. Proposed activities may not be part of the applicant’s regular programming or annual schedule of events. Grant expenses are restricted to project-related costs, which include artist fees and marketing costs. Typical awards are between $5,000 and $10,000. Requests exceeding $10,000 require a preliminary meeting and are only considered for projects that fall under the designated funding area eligible for such requests in that specific round.

LET CREATIVITY HAPPEN

This Grant is available to: Organizations, Individual Artists & Creatives, Fiscally Sponsored Projects

LCH - Round 1 for the August 2024 – August 2025 grant term closed April 23, 2024.

LCH - Round 2 for the October 2024 – October 2025 grant term closed June 25, 2024.

LCH - Round 3 for the January 2025 – December 2025 grant term closed September 29, 2024.

Let Creativity Happen (LCH) grant program provides funds of up to $2,500 for specific programs that amplify artistic creativity and innovation taking place in the City of Houston. LCH is designed to encourage artists, creative individuals, and organizations to take creative risks that may not qualify for more traditional funding opportunities. Awards support innovative ideas that redefine artistic boundaries, reshape the conversation around the arts, and/or establish unique opportunities to experience art.

New funding formula boost in the annual grants competitions

The Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA) has introduced a funding formula boost in the annual grants competitions, Support for Organizations (SO), Support for Artists and Creative Individuals (SACI), and Festival Grants (FG). This formula change provides support to organizations, artists, and creatives who have been awarded through the same peer panel process, but have historically been marginalized from opportunities, such as grants.

The boost is specifically designed for applicants who meet BIPOC qualification criteria for their respective grant programs and have been awarded funding through HAA’s peer community-based panels. Awardees under this initiative will receive a 45% increase in their awards with a cap of $20,000. For the year 2024, MOCA allocated an additional $800,000 to the grants programs to accommodate this formula change. This year, the boost funding will derive from the Hotel Occupancy Tax budget for the 2025 grant cycle. Learn more about how our funding works and the allocated percentages to all our grant programs.

FESTIVAL GRANT

This Grant is available to: Organizations, Fiscally Sponsored Projects

The Festival 2025 application period for the January 2025 – December 2025 grant term closed August 2, 2024.

The Festival grant program (FG) provides support of up to $10,000 to fund arts festivals or arts components of cultural festivals to celebrate Houston's diversity, and promote the city's creative identity as a unique arts and culture destination.

Festivals allow communities to share artistic and cultural traditions, creating vibrant opportunities and experiences for residents and visitors. Festival is defined as an annual or biannual celebration or immersion around a unifying theme or programmatic focus, featuring varied and curated events.

Festival grants are funded by City of Houston via the Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT), funded by cash-in-hand and available in one annual cycle.

SUPPORT FOR ORGANIZATIONS

This Grant is available to: Organizations, Fiscally Sponsored Projects

The Support for Organizations 2025 application period for the January 2025 – December 2025 grant term closed August 2, 2024.

The Support for Organizations (SO) grant program accepts 501(c)(3) nonprofit and fiscally sponsored applications annually to support arts and cultural activities that are open to the public. There are three different categories within the Support for Organizations grant program:

  • Category 1: 501(c)(3) arts organizations operating for at least one year.

  • Category 2: Fiscally sponsored organizations; non-arts 501(c)(3) organizations with arts programs; or 501(c)(3) arts organizations but with under one year of operations.

  • Category 3: 501(c)(3) arts organizations in operation for at least five years, providing public programs year-round, with operating expenses over $10 million.

SO grants are funded by City of Houston via the Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT), funded based on projected HOT revenue and available in one annual cycle.

SUPPORT FOR ARTISTS & CREATIVE INDIVIDUALS

This Grant is available to: Individual Artists & Creatives

The Support for Artists & Creative Individuals 2025 application period for the January 2025 – December 2025 grant term closed August 2, 2024.

The Support for Artists and Creative Individuals (SACI) grant provides funds of up to $15,000 for specific projects that create and present new works of art or complete work already in progress throughout Houston. Applications are accepted from all artistic disciplines.

SACI grants are funded by City of Houston via the Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT), funded by cash-in-hand and available in one annual cycle.

RESOURCES FOR GRANT APPLICANTS

Image courtesy of artist, Tina Hernandez

Grant Workshops

Please note that these workshops serve as samples only. Guidelines are subject to updates during grant cycles, as part of HAA's annual review process.

Eligibility Checklist

The checklist below is available in each grant guidelines.

Guidelines for 2024/25 Competitive Grants

Required Financial Reporting for Organizations

Applicants to either the Support for Organizations or Festival grant must have a current SMU DataArts profile.
Click here to submit the SMU DataArts Funder Report. To generate a funder report, complete your Cultural Data Profile for the 2022 fiscal year.
Generate the City of Houston Funder Report by following these steps, or watch the orientation video for more help.

Resource and Policy Links

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