Community Arts Grant Program

The Community Arts Grants program is administered by the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the official state government arts agency established in 1967 and attached administratively to the Department of Accounting and General Services. The program distributes public funds derived from appropriations by the State of Hawai‘i Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts. Its purpose is to support nonprofit arts and culture organizations that provide programming which promotes, perpetuates, and preserves arts, culture, and the humanities across the state of Hawai‘i. The program operates under legal authority defined in Sections 9-11 through 9-18 of the Hawai‘i Revised Statutes, and all awards are contingent upon available funding in the state fiscal biennium. The primary objective of the Community Arts Grants program is to strengthen community access to arts and cultural programming. Funding supports projects that enrich the lives of Hawai‘i residents through artistic engagement, education, preservation of cultural heritage, and public presentations. Eligible projects must align with one of several categories including Heritage and Preservation, Community Arts and Community Development including Arts and Healing, Arts Education, and Presentation or Performing Arts. Organizations may apply for funding for one or both fiscal years within the biennium, and projects may differ between years provided they meet program priorities. Grant awards are offered in fixed request amounts of 5000, 10000, or 15000 dollars. The program operates on a reimbursement basis, meaning grantees must incur and document expenses before receiving funds. A one to one matching requirement is mandatory, requiring applicants to secure non state funds equal to the grant request. Certain costs are explicitly unallowable, including capital improvements, equipment purchases, food expenses, utilities, technology costs, fundraising, subgrants, and administrative overhead such as accounting or indirect costs. Projects must be completed within the designated grant implementation period, typically July 1 through June 30 of the applicable fiscal year. Eligibility is limited to nonprofit organizations that are recognized as 501(c)(3) entities by the Internal Revenue Service and incorporated in the State of Hawai‘i. Applicants must demonstrate at least one year of relevant project experience, maintain compliance with Hawaii Compliance Express, and hold an active SAM.gov registration. Organizations must also have a Section 504 accessibility evaluation on file with the National Endowment for the Arts. Fiscal sponsorship is not permitted, and only one application per fiscal year may be submitted. Projects must take place within the State of Hawai‘i, and applicants must not be suspended or barred from receiving federal funds. The application process requires two sequential steps submitted through the Hawaii Go Smart online system. First, applicants must complete an Intent to Apply, which includes submission of legal eligibility documentation compiled into a single file. This step is mandatory and must be approved before access to the full project application is granted. Second, applicants complete and submit the detailed project application, which includes programmatic, financial, and organizational information as specified in the application instructions. Applications are reviewed by panels of professionals in arts and culture, and final funding decisions are made by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts Board of Commissioners based on panel recommendations and available funding. For the fiscal year 2028 cycle, the Intent to Apply window opens August 1, 2026 and closes October 30, 2026, while the project application period runs from September 1, 2026 through October 30, 2026. The program is administered annually, and applicants must submit both the Intent to Apply and the project application for each fiscal year in which funding is requested. Grant awards are not guaranteed, and successful applicants must submit final reports including evidence of completed work. Questions and assistance are available through the program coordinator, Brittany Rakowitz, via email or phone, and all submissions must be completed electronically through the official application portal.

Ensure all eligibility documents are complete before submission and align project clearly with grant category priorities; incomplete Intent to Apply blocks access to application