Cultural Grants Program

Overview

DCA’s Cultural Grants Program invests in free and low-cost, public cultural activities and presentations taking place in the City of Los Angeles. Projects may be proposed by the following types of vendors/applicants:

• A nonprofit arts organization may propose an Artistic Project in one primary art form or discipline. For 2026-27, DCA invites new Artistic Project proposals within the disciplines of Culture/History, Design-Visual Arts, Literary Arts, Media Arts, and Traditional-Folk Arts. Note there will be no “off-cycle” artistic category offered; applicants with Artistic Projects in dance, music, theatre, and trans-disciplinary arts should wait until the subsequent grant cycle in summer 2026 to apply for funding consideration. Please consult DCA staff if you are unclear which discipline is best for your proposal, rather than selecting an inaccurate artistic discipline, which can result in a disqualification or review by a panel with the wrong expertise.
  
  In the special case of multi-week youth-education projects utilizing in-school lesson plans within the eligible artistic disciplines listed above, an applicant may propose a SAIL-CAPE project -- Sequential Arts in-school learning Culminating in Afterschool Public Events. This category specifically supports youth-learning projects that begin within enrollment-only classrooms yet culminate in one or more presentations which are after-school and marketed to the general public. 
   
• A partnership between a non-profit community-service organization (an organization whose mission and programs are not arts-exclusive but include cultural offerings) may ONLY propose to plan and present an outdoor festival or parade in partnership with a tribal elder, arts curator, or arts agency. For DCA’s Outdoor Festivals/Parades category, nonprofit organizations may request up to $40,000 for large outdoor festivals/parades (more than 2,000 attendees in the prior year), while producers of a small outdoor festival/parade (500 to 2,000 attendees from the prior year) may request $15,000. Outdoor festivals/parades that gather fewer than 500 in-person attendees may request up to $6,000. Outdoor festival/parade proposals are accepted each year, but it is best that outdoor performing-arts festivals be submitted in even-numbered calendar years, while outdoor craft fairs be submitted in odd-numbered calendar years.

DCA’s Grants Program Office provides panel scores that can be held for two consecutive years (two one-year contracts), so applicants are encouraged to propose a project which can be repeated (in general or with a related theme) for a second year/term.

ELIGIBILITY

Qualified applicants:

• Are nonprofit 501(c)3 organizations with a primary purpose to provide arts/cultural services, or arts-friendly charitable organizations (e.g. 501(c)3, 501(c)6, etc.) that will partner with an arts expert/agency to present an outdoor festival or parade, and
• Are headquartered in Los Angeles County and proposing projects that will specifically serve residents, visitors, and/or tourists within the City of Los Angeles boundaries, and
• Have a minimum of one year of prior experience with the project they propose to make “bigger, stronger, or faster” with City of LA support, and
• Have an arts/culture mission statement as well as specific metrics about the project-audiences they recently served within the City of LA, and
• Fulfill all of the additional qualifications for the category in which they apply.

WEBINARS AND WORKSHOPS

DCA’s webinars are open to participants from any area of the Los Angeles region. First-time applicants and applicants whose proposal will be drafted by staff members new to or unfamiliar with the DCA Grants program are especially encouraged to register for our new applicant webinar. DCA’s guidelines, application forms, and instructions are adjusted each year and therefore, returning applicants are highly encouraged to attend a webinar in order to refresh knowledge and consider new adjustments. Each webinar/workshop will be 60 to 90 minutes long, covering the FY 2026-27 DCA Cultural Grant Program guidelines and application process.

Training webinars are limited to 30 participants per session. Anyone wishing to participate in a workshop is required to RSVP at least two business days beforehand. Those who RSVP will receive a confirmation email with login/access information for the workshop. If spaces are filled we ask you to enroll in a later session. Sessions are recorded and will be posted online for all who wish/need to learn independently.

It is highly recommended that returning and new applicants and new employees at returning organizations (called City vendors), attend our new applicant webinars in order to avoid common mistakes and to improve clarity and strategy within their proposals

The following series of free coaching resources are available to provide assistance to applicants:

Wednesday, August 6, 2025
12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
Register HERE

Wednesday, August 20, 2025
5:00pm to 6:30pm
Register HERE

Friday Office Hours
DCA Grants staff will offer Friday office hours (30-minute appointment sessions) starting August 8, 2025. Applicants must submit their request for an appointment and their questions by the prior Wednesday at noon

For registration assistance or additional support, including requests for reasonable accommodation in advance, please reach out to dca.grants@lacity.org at least five business days before the scheduled event.

2026-2027 TIMELINE

• Online access to the guidelines and instructions is offered in July 2025
• Deadline to apply is Friday August 29, 2025
• Applicants will receive notification of results in May/June 2026
• Applicants receive legal contract and/or panel feedback in July-Sept 2026

GUIDELINES AND APPLICATION

For complete program details, including application instructions, please review the Cultural Grants Program Guidelines available here: dcaredesign.org/grants

For registration assistance or additional support, please reach out to dca.grants@lacity.org To request a reasonable accommodation in advance, please also email dca.grants@lacity.org at least five business days before the event.