Research and Innovation Office

Extramural Coordinated Funding


UM Submission Instructions: Grants for Arts Projects 2021

Sponsor: National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
Award Title: Grants for Arts Projects
Amount: $25,000
Applicants may request cost share/matching grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. In the past few years, well over half of the agency's grants have been for amounts less than $25,000.
UM Deadline: 04/23/2021
Sponsor Deadline: 07/08/2021
Description: This competition is for disciplines accepting applications for the July 8th deadline only. There can only be one application from each campus of the University of MN (Crookston, Duluth, Morris, Twin Cities, Rochester), per year for all of the NEA disciplines. For this reason, anyone from the Twin Cities campus interested in applying for any of the NEA Art Works grants should submit a pre-proposal at this time. If you believe your organization qualifies as an "independent component" please contact NEA staff to confirm. Anyone applying as an independent component does not need to submit anything for this internal competition, and can move forward with their application at any time.
Number of Applicants University is Allowed to submit: 1
Additional Requirements: Matching
Sponsor Guidelines: https://www.arts.gov/grants-organizations/gap/grant-program-description
UM Nominations Process: Those interested in applying should submit the following materials as a single pdf document to collabor@umn.edu no later than 4pm on 4/23:

1. Cover page including Principal Investigator's name, department, contact information, the title of the project.
2. A short narrative describing the project including major project activities, goals, key individuals, organizations and works of art involved, target population, and dissemination plans. Be sure to describe how the project will achieve the outcome selected (not more than 3 pages).
3. Brief curriculum vitae of Principal Investigator (any format, not more than five pages).

Any questions should be sent to collabor@umn.edu.
Peer Review Coordination: Research and Innovation Office contact email
Status: The internal deadline has passed but no applicants were selected. Please contact the office coordinating the peer review for more information.
Please note: To be considered for peer review and internal selection, faculty must follow the above submission guidelines and meet the UM deadline as set by the office coordinating the peer review for this opportunity.



General Information

  • Each posting has information about the external sponsor and opportunity as well as the internal application instructions.
  • Opportunities can be sorted by column headings; just click on the heading to re-sort by that column.
  • When a link redirects you to another site, it opens in a new browser window.
  • If you know of an opportunity that is not on the list, please contact Robyn Kennedy.
Column Descriptions

  • Sponsor: redirects you to the sponsor's main website
  • Title/Guidelines: redirects you to sponsor specific information regarding the opportunity which may include description, eligibility, budget instructions, forms and other requirements
  • Amount: Maximum dollar amount awarded.
  • Add’l Req: Identifies special requirements such as cost sharing, partners, etc.
  • Sponsor Deadline: External deadline identified by the sponsor.
  • UM Submission Instructions: Contains specific internal submission requirements including internal proposal instructions, deadline, eligibility, internal nomination process, contact information.
  • # Apps: The maximum number of applications the sponsor will allow the university to submit.
  • UM Deadline: Submission deadline for internal proposal as determined by the coordinating office.
  • Status:
    • Open: UM deadline has not passed and the opportunity is open for application.
    • In Review: Peer review process is in progress for the opportunity.
    • PI Selected: The PI has been selected as the official UM nominee.
    • Closed: Sponsor deadline has passed and the opportunity is closed for application.
U of M Submission Instructions (Required)

This link includes summary sponsor information, specific instructions for internal submission and contact information for the university office coordinating the nomination process.

  • Follow the directions in the submission instructions and submit required materials by the UM deadline to the contact indicated.
  • Instructions vary according to the requirements of the sponsor and the university office coordinating the nomination process.
Registration (optional)

Registration is an optional but highly recommended feature. Perhaps you are looking for a wider audience for your proposal idea, or for potential collaborators to work with to create a stronger application. Registration allows applicants to share proposal ideas and post contact information.

Registration also provides information that helps the university office overseeing the nomination to determine the level of coordination needed and guide the review process.

To register (or view registrants), click on the UM Submission Instructions for a specific opportunity, then click on the Register Interest link.

Selection Process

  • Once the internal deadline has passed, the status will change to “In Review” and proposals will undergo review.
  • If there are multiple applicants, the office managing the nomination will determine the review criteria and coordinate the review process.
  • Once review has been completed all parties will be notified via email.
  • Nominees will be provided with a letter addressed to the sponsor from the RIO indicating that they are the university's nominee. This letter should accompany the nominee's proposal.
  • SPA is notified of the university's nominee(s) and the status is updated to “PI Selected”.


*If you have questions about the University's process related to extramural funding opportunities requiring nomination or if you have any technical issues with the site, contact collabor8@umn.edu.

For questions, please contact RIO's Research Advancement group.