Applications for the 2025 Cultural Economy Grant Funding Program Open May 1st

The Mayor’s Office of Cultural Economy is happy to announce that applications for the 2025 Cultural Economy Grant Funding Program open on Thursday, May 1, 2025.

For the FY25 Funding Cycle, twenty-five (25) grants of $2,000 will be awarded to individuals and organizations that are engaging in activities that promote the cultural economy through educating our youth, training our cultural producers, providing networking opportunities, creating cultural events, and other projects that align with the Office of Cultural Economy’s mission.

All eligible applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis until the final deadline on Sunday, June 1, 2025. Proposed programs and projects must occur in the 2025 calendar year to be considered for funding. Applicants may only submit one proposal per grant cycle. Multiple submissions from the same applicant will not be considered.

What We Fund: 

• Workshops, training, and conferences that build cultural economy capacity in cultural non-profits, neighborhood organizations, and cultural businesses. 
• Workshops, training, and conferences in any of the Cultural Economy segments as defined by the Office of Cultural Economy: Entertainment, Design, Preservation, Culinary Arts, Literary Arts & Humanities, and Visual Arts & Crafts.
• Events with art and cultural components.  

Who We Fund: 

• State and federal 501(c)3 nonprofits. 
• For-profit businesses licensed with the City and State and are in good standing. Note: We do not fund for-profit activities, but community/cultural activities organized by for-profit businesses qualify.
• Individuals, such as artists, who have secured a fiscal agent (such as a nonprofit). 

Please Note: All grant recipients must be registered in BRASS, the City’s Procurement and Finance System, to receive funding. The estimated time for awards to be processed and disbursed is between 30-60 days. Please plan accordingly and allow sufficient time for review and processing. For more information, please click here. 

Please visit https://nola.gov/cultural-economy/cultural-economy-funding-program/ for the full grant packet and application instructions. All interested applicants should carefully and thoroughly read the funding terms and conditions before submitting.  

Our Grants Team is available at culturaleconomygrants@nola.gov to answer any questions regarding the application, program guidelines, and funding process before the June 1st deadline.