Creativity Grants for Projects

Creativity Grants for Projects strengthen the vitality and sustainability of artists and small organizations and provide opportunities to serve the growing needs of relevant arts projects and collaborations within Maryland communities.

The Creativity Grant for Projects is available to independent artists and arts organizations. There are two options to choose from: the Planning & Development grant is intended to support the early stages of research and development for a proposed project; the Implementation grant is intended to support the execution of a specific arts projects/event/program.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis through March 2027 with a monthly review period.

Applicants must:

  • Be an Independent Artist, or 
  • Be a Maryland-incorporated 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in operation for one year or more and within grant income requirements, a unit of Maryland local government, or a Maryland college/university/school.
  • Organizations applying through fiscal sponsorships can be funded if the Fiscal Agency and the Organization operate within a Model A sponsorship. (Note: in a “Model A” sponsorship, the assets, liabilities, and exempt activities collectively referred to as the project are housed within the fiscal sponsor.)
  • Identify a specific event, activity or project to occur within the application time frame.
  • Reference the program’s Guidelines for more specific details on eligibility requirements

Please note that application forms in Smart Simple have been updated for FY 2027. Your application ID # should begin with '2027.' If it does not, you are working off a draft started from a previous year and will not be able to submit it. Please open a new FY 2027 application under the "Opportunities" menu to begin a new application.

The Creativity Grant for Projects is only available to eligible independent artists and arts organizations. Please carefully review the different options available for project-based support. An applicant is only eligible for one Creativity Grant per fiscal year. Applicants may receive either a Professional Development Opportunity Grant or a Creativity Grant in the same fiscal year, but not both.

For detailed eligibility requirements and other important information, please see the FY 2027 Guidelines document.

Please note: Organizations/programs receiving MSAC general operating funding through Grants for Organizations, County Arts Development, Arts & Entertainment District, or Folklife Network are ineligible for a Creativity Grant in the same fiscal year. 

 

In addition to reviewing the guidelines document in the "Quick Resources" box, please review the following resources that are available to assist you during the application process:

For additional support, you can find the FY 2027 scoring rubric and other relevant documents in the "Resources" section below.

Please note: Staff members are no longer available to review a draft of your application prior to submission. If your application was declined for funding, you can request a panelist feedback form (available soon). Please allow for at least 8 weeks for processing.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis from July 2026 through March 2027. Applications are reviewed monthly, and Creativity Grants are awarded throughout the fiscal year. For awarded activities, payment may take up to 90 days.

Creativity Grant applications submitted by the last day of the month will be reviewed by the panel in the following month, with notifications to follow early the following month. See Guidelines for a detailed schedule.

MSAC convenes a group of panelists, composed of members of the public statewide representing a range of discipline expertise, to electronically review and score all applications according to the review criteria above.

Applications must be completed in Smart Simple

After the monthly panel review, applicants will be notified of the grant status as soon as possible, and, if approved, receive a formal grant agreement form to process the grant payment (100% of award amount).

Upon execution of the grant agreement, payment will be processed for receipt in 6-8 weeks

All MSAC grants are paid on the same timeline. To learn more, click here.

If awarded a Creativity Grant, the recipient must file a final report online in Smart Simple. The report will be added to the grantee's Smart Simple profile as soon as the Grant Agreement Form is fully executed.

Applications submitted between July 2026 and December 2026 will have a Final Report deadline of July 15, 2027. Applications submitted between January 2027 and March 2027 will have a Final Report deadline of December 31, 2027. 

All grantees are required to submit a Final Report communicating data required by the National Endowment for the Arts. This required data can be found in the resource section below. For detailed reporting requirements, please see the grant guidelines.

Please note: If there are significant changes to the proposed activities for which a grant has been awarded, the grantee is responsible for contacting Program Directors; any proposed changes must be shared and approved in writing before proceeding. Staff will help ensure that any proposed changes remain in alignment with the program guidelines; however, there is no guarantee that proposed changes will be approved. Any approved changes that result in timeline extensions that affect the final report deadline will be reflected in SmartSimple

Grant recipient information is now available on our Grants Awarded page.

Resources

Similar Funding Opportunities