New & Experimental Works (NEW) Program

• Application Period: September 9-22, 2024, at 11:59 PM (PDT) 
• Award Announcements: December 2024 
• Grant Period: January 1, 2025-December 31, 2026. Performances must have production dates after January 1, 2025. 

We accept applications from applicants that meet the following criteria. 

Tax status: Nonprofit organizations or 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsors (requires a written agreement). 

Geography: Organizations must be based in and/or have a demonstrated history of operating in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo or Santa Clara counties. The Foundation prioritizes support for projects that take place in San Francisco and Oakland. See frequently asked questions for more. 

Artist residency: The majority of artists supported by the project must be based in and/or have a demonstrated history of producing and working in in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo or Santa Clara counties. However, artists supported through the grant are not required to reside in one of the eligible Bay Area counties. 

Annual budget: Organizations must have at least a $10,000 annual budget for their last closed fiscal year. 

• For applicants that don’t meet minimum budget requirement: If your last closed fiscal year budget does not meet this requirement, but you have had an annual budget of at least $10,000 within the last three years, please submit that prior year budget with your application.  

 For current and previous Foundation grantees: 

• If you received a NEW Program grant in 2023, you are not eligible for funding in the 2024 cycle.  
• If you received a NEW Program grant in 2022 and have completed the project and submitted your grant report by the application deadline, you are eligible to apply.  
• Current Open Spaces Program grantees who are interested in applying should  contact Arts Program Staff. 

Public presentation: Projects must have a public presentation of some kind but are not required to have a fully produced performance component. For example, grant funds may be used to support research and development, work-in-progress showings, readings, films of project activities, etc. Public presentations may be in-person (in accordance with public health guidelines) and/or virtual. 

Grant and request amounts: Grants range from $5,000–$30,000. The grant amount requested may not exceed more than 50% of the organization’s last closed fiscal year budget. 

• For applicants wanting to request more than 50% of last closed fiscal year budget: If your annual budget was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and/or fluctuates due to your presentation schedule and you would like to apply for more than 50% of your last closed annual budget, you can submit a budget from the last three years that is more representative of a production year and base your request off of that budget. 

• A note about funding levels (for all applicants): We endeavor to fund the full amount of support requested. However, we commit to funding no less than 70% of the requested grant amount for all selected projects.  

Grant fund allocation: At least one-half of the grant funds must go to the artistic project team and their direct expenses for creating the work. The remaining one-half of the grant funds are unrestricted to the applicant organization. This is a baseline minimum, and projects may allocate more than one-half of the grant to artist fees. Projects that compensate artists at a significant level will be prioritized. See frequently asked questions for more. 

Grant period: Project activities must take place within the 24-month grant period, January 1, 2025-December 31, 2026. Performances must have production dates after January 1, 2025. The developmental phase of projects may begin before the grant period starts. 

Application: All grant application materials must be submitted using GivingData, the Foundation’s online application system, during the application period window.  

The application in our grant application portal has been revised to align with The Common Application for the Arts (The Common App). While 90% of the application questions are the same as The Common App, our application includes a few questions specific to the NEW Program. We will link a preview of our application on this page at least one month prior to the application window opening. If you are planning to copy and paste your information from The Common App into our online system, note the word count limits, as the system will not allow additional text beyond the set restrictions. 

Financial Requirements: Project budgets will be required from all applicants. Applicants can elect to use The Common App project budget template. We recommend including detailed budget notes to provide panelists with insight into your budget calculations. 

We will only request applicant financial statements (such as profit and loss statements and balance sheets) from applicants we are recommending for funding. 

Work Samples: Work samples will be required from all applicants as part of the one-stage application. See frequently asked questions for more. 

Grant Review Panel: We will convene a panel of Bay Area dance and theater artists to review applications and make funding recommendations. The Foundation will provide anonymized panel feedback, upon request, to declined applicants. 

DataArts requirement: The DataArts funder report is not a requirement for the application. However, if awarded a grant, recipients will be required to submit their DataArts funder report as part of their grant reporting requirements. Applicants who currently have a DataArts profile are strongly encouraged to submit their funder report with their application.  

The Foundation will waive this requirement for: 

• Organizations with annual budgets under $50,000. 
• Fiscally sponsored organizations applying to the NEW Program for the first time and that do not currently have a DataArts profile or funder report. 

A panel of Bay Area artists will evaluate the New and Experimental Works (NEW) Program applications and make funding recommendations. The panelists use the process described below to score applications. We made it available to improve transparency and to help applicants assess their project’s alignment with the program. 

Scoring 

Evaluation of NEW Program applications is based on three criteria, which are assigned a score of 1, 4, 7 or 10.  

• 10 = Exemplary, far exceeds criteria.  
• 7 = Strong, exceeds criteria.  
• 4 = Average, meets criteria. 
• 1 = Weak, does not meet criteria 

The scores are then averaged, weighted and combined for a total possible score of 100. This process ensures a consistent and equitable approach in the evaluation of applications. While scores provide a framework for conversation among panel members, they are not the only factor that influences funding decisions.  

Three Criteria 

Panelists score each application on the following criteria.  

• Experimentation: The degree to which the project expands the boundaries of dance and theater and supports artists advancing their practice. 
  • Does it impact or shift the artistic practice and/or discipline of the artist(s) in a meaningful way?  
  • Do the artist(s) and the project challenge the art form or field (e.g., breaking performance norms, fostering equity, working outside the Western canon, etc.)?  
  • Do the work samples reflect an experimental approach? 
• Relevance and Timeliness: The degree to which the project content addresses timely and compelling issues relevant to the artists and communities it intends to serve.  
  • Is the project focus or content timely and relevant to the artist(s) and communities served? 
• Community Connection: The degree to which the project considers, reflects and/or connects with the unique communities it seeks to serve. 
  • Is the artist/organization deeply rooted in and of that community? If they are not currently part of or serving that community, does it appear they seek to authentically connect with and serve the community?  

 We have provided further explanations of the criteria in our frequently asked questions.