The Free Spirit Scholarship, presented by the Freedom Forum in honor of its founder, USA Today's Al Neuharth, is a $1,000 award; one winner from each of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., is invited to attend the Free Spirit Journalism Conference and receive the scholarship. To qualify, you must be in your junior year of high school; you must be planning to pursue a career in journalism (and have at least three samples of your journalistic work to submit); and you must exhibit what the award committee determines as the qualities of a free spirit. (If you're a collegiate junior at an NCAA member institution, the Freedom Forum also sponsors a Sports Journalism Scholarship with an upcoming mid-December deadline.)
Among the most prestigious scholarships available for journalism students is the National Press Club's Richard G. Zimmerman Award. While there's only one recipient nationwide each year, the prestige of the award—not to mention the $5,000 scholarship—will go a long way for a young journalist. Once again, all that's required are three samples of your work and a simple application, and all high school seniors are eligible to apply.
[Learn more about why it's a great time to be a journalism major.]
If your writing leans more toward the literary, check out the Signet Classics Student Scholarship Essay Contest, sponsored by Penguin Group. Each year, this contest awards five $1,000 scholarships to students for essays on a selected Signet Classics title—this year, it's Jane Austen's Emma. The program is open to high school juniors and seniors in the United States; you can meet last year's winners and check out examples on the contest homepage. Take note that you'll have to have an English teacher verify and submit your essays on your behalf, so it won't work to watch Clueless instead of reading the book before you write it.
The Go On Girl! Book Club also offers two scholarships for those with a literary bent. Their Aspiring Writer Scholarship provides a $500 award to one full-time sophomore or junior majoring in English, literature, journalism, or a related area of study at a Historically Black College or University, and requires a 500-word essay about "The Power of the Written Word."
The Unpublished Writer Award, also for $500, is given to one writer annually on the basis of an unpublished short story or novel excerpt. Applications are due in March, and competition can be fierce. One winner, Jacinda Townsend of Indiana University—Bloomington, will be publishing a novel with W.W. Norton next year.
[See U.S. News's list of schools that prioritize writing.]
Finally, if you combine a love of the written word with a desire to see the world, travel writing might be the career for you. And if that's the case, don't hesitate to check out the Family Travel Forum Teen Travel Writing Scholarship. In conjunction with the Society of American Travel Writers, the Forum awards $1,000, $500, and $250 cash prizes for the best blog entries detailing a memorable travel experience. In addition to your description, you can add photos and video. The program typically opens for submissions in early May, so consider keeping some notes on your holiday travels or spring break, and they could pay off!
FUNDING RESOURCES FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS
The following list, organized by discipline, includes funders that offer one or more programs or awards that provide direct support to individual artists by application. This list is provided to facilitate the grant research process. Always read program guidelines and material provided directly from the funding institution to determine your eligibility to apply.
VARIED DISCIPLINES
Asian Cultural Council www.asianculturalcouncil.org
The Awesome Foundation for the Arts and Sciences www.awesomefoundation.org
Black Rock Arts Foundation www.blackrockarts.org
Brooklyn Arts Council www.brooklynartscouncil.org
Bronx Council on the Arts www.bronxarts.org
CEC Arts Link www.cecartslink.org
Cintas Foundation (Cuban descent only) www.cintasfoundation.org
Creative Capital Foundation www.creative-capital.org
Duke University: Center for Documentary Studies (film and photography) documentarystudies.duke.edu
VARIED DISCIPLINES (CONT’D)
Foundation for Contemporary Arts www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org
Jerome Foundation www.jeromefdn.org
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fund www.gf.org
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council www.lmcc.net
Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation www.midatlanticarts.org
National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC) www.nalac.org
National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts www.youngarts.org
National League of American Pen Women www.nlapw.org
National Museum of the American Indian: Indigenous Contemporary Arts Program www.nmai.si.edu
New York Foundation for the Arts www.nyfa.org
New York State Council on the Arts: Individual Artists Program www.nysca.org
Princess Grace Foundation – USA www.pgfusa.com
Puffin Foundation, Ltd. www.puffinfoundation.org
Queens Council on the Arts queenscouncilarts.org
Six Points Fellowship www.sixpointsfellowship.org
Staten Island Arts www.statenislandarts.org
Sustainable Arts Foundation (visual arts and literature) www.sustainableartsfoundation.org
VARIED DISCIPLINES (CONT’D)
Surdna Foundation: Thriving Cultures Program / Artists Engaging in Social Change www.surdna.org
The Vilcek Foundation www.vilcek.org
LITERARY ARTS
The Academy of American Poets www.poets.org
American Literary Review www.americanliteraryreview.com
Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Scholarship www.amylowell.org
The Astrea Lesbian Foundation for Justice: The Lesbian Writers Fund www.astraeafoundation.org
Barbara Deming Memorial Fund (women artists only) www.demingfund.org
The Christopher Isherwood Fund (fiction) www.isherwoodfoundation.org
Elizabeth George Foundation www.elizabethgeorgeonline.com/foundation.htm
Graywolf Press www.graywolfpress.org
Hurston/Wright Foundation (African descent writers only) http://www.hurstonwright.org
Lambda Literary Foundation www.lambdaliterary.org
National Endowment for the Arts www.nea.gov
Princeton University Hodder Fellowship www.princeton.edu/arts/lewis_center/society_of_fellows
Speculative Literature Foundation http://speculativeliterature.org/grants
MEDIA & FILM
The Arch Bruce Brown Foundation http://aabbfoundation.org/grant-guidelines
Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) www.caamedia.org
Cinereach www.cinereach.org
Creative District www.creativedistrict.com
The Fledgling Fund www.thefledglingfund.org
Wave Farm http://wavefarm.org/mag
From the Heart Productions www.fromtheheartproductions.com
Independent Television Service (ITVS) www.itvs.org
International Documentary Association: Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund www.documentary.org/parelorentz
Latino Public Broadcasting www.lpbp.org
National Endowment for the Humanities (Documentary) www.neh.gov
National Geographic: All Roads Seed Grant Program www.nationalgeographic.com/explorers
New York Women in Film & Television www.nywift.org
San Francisco Film Society (National Programs) www.sffs.org/Filmmaker360/Grants
Sundance Documentary Fund http://www.sundance.org/programs/documentary-film#grants
Tribeca Film Institute www.tribecafilminstitute.org
The Women in Film Foundation www.wif.org/foundation/film-finishing-fund
PERFORMING ARTS
Actors Fund www.actorsfund.org
American Alliance for Theatre and Education www.aate.com/?page=aatefunding
Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP): The Cultural Exchange Fund www.apap365.org
Bossak Heilbron Charitable Foundation (dance) Bhcf.grant@gmail.com
Chamber Music America www.chamber-music.org
Dance Films Association (dance films only) www.dancefilms.org
Dramatists Guild Fund, Inc. www.dramatistsguildfund.org
Franklin Furnace Fund for Performance Art www.franklinfurnace.org
The Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University (composing) http://frommfoundation.fas.harvard.edu
Jerome Fund For New Music https://composersforum.org/program/jfund
Jim Henson Foundation (puppet theater) www.hensonfoundation.org
American Theater Wing: Jonathan Larson Grants (musical theater) www.americantheatrewing.org
The Kleban Foundation, Inc. (musical theater) www.newdramatists.org
The Multi-Arts Production Fund www.mapfund.org
New England Foundation for the Arts www.nefa.org
New Music USA www.newmusicusa.org
Puppeteers of America http://www.puppeteers.org/who-we-are/grants-scholarships
PERFORMING ARTS (cont’d)
Sparkplug Foundation (music) www.sparkplugfoundation.org
Theater Communications Group www.tcg.org
VISUAL ARTS
A Blade of Grass www.abladeofgrass.org
Aaron Siskind Foundation (photography) www.aaronsiskind.org
Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation, Inc. www.gottliebfoundation.org
The Aftermath Project (documentary photography) www.theaftermathproject.org
Alexia Foundation (photo journalism) www.alexiafoundation.org
The Astrea Lesbian Foundation for Social justice: Astrea Lesbian Visual Arts Fund www.astraeafoundation.org
Barbara Deming Memorial Fund (women artists only) www.demingfund.org
Center for Craft, Creativity, and Design http://www.craftcreativitydesign.org
Emily Hall Tremaine Exhibition Award www.tremainefoundation.org
En Foco New Works Photography Fellowship (photography) www.enfoco.org
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts www.grahamfoundation.org
Harpo Foundation www.harpofoundation.org
The Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Foundation Grant (painters 45 or older) www.paam.org/education/the-lillian-orlowsky-and-william-freed-foundation-grant
VISUAL ARTS (cont’d)
The National Sculpture Society www.nationalsculpture.org
The Joan Mitchell Foundation www.joanmitchellfoundation.org
NYC Department of Parks & Recreation: Clare Weiss Emerging Artist Award (public art) www.nycgovparks.org/art-and-antiquities/clare-weiss-award
Pollock Krasner Foundation, Inc. (2D work) www.pkf.org
The Ruth Chenven Foundation www.chenvenfoundation.org
United States Institute of Technology (design) www.usitt.org
Virginia A. Groot Foundation (sculptors) www.virginiaagrootfoundation.org
The W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund (photography) www.smithfund.org
William H. Johnson Prize (early-career African American artists) www.whjohnsongrant.org
INFORMATION RESOURCES FOR GRANTSEEKERS
ONLINE DATABASES OF GRANTS AND RESOURCES
NYFA Source, New York Foundation for the Arts NYFA Source is the most extensive national directory of awards, services, and publications for individual artists. Listings include over 12,000 awards, services and publications for individual artists and art professionals across the country. More programs are added every day to this online database. Tutorials on using the system are offered periodically by NYFA staff. source.nyfa.org
The Foundation Center Established in 1956, Foundation Center is the leading source of information about philanthropy worldwide. Foundation Center maintains the most comprehensive database on U.S. and, increasingly, global grantmakers and their grants — a robust, accessible knowledge bank for the sector, including more than 108,000 foundations, corporate donors, and grantmaking public charities in the U.S. and over 3 million of their recent grants. It also operates research, education, and training programs designed to advance knowledge of philanthropy at every level. Thousands of people visit Foundation Center's website each day and are served in its five library/learning centers and at more than 470 Funding Information Network locations nationwide and around the world. The website features Foundation Directory Online, an extensive search engine for finding grantmakers, available for free and at subscription levels that offer increased information access –including a dedicated search engine for individual artists. The New York grants library is at 79 Fifth Avenue. www.foundationcenter.org
PEN American Center PEN's Grants & Awards database is available for a low annual subscription, and contains more than 1,500 listings of domestic and foreign grants, literary awards, fellowships, and residencies. Grants & Awards is a comprehensive online database available to writers of all income brackets, at work in all genres, and at various levels of achievement. Search by keyword, genre, organization, or deadline. Updated every month, Grants & Awards is assured to offer the most current listings online. www.pen.org
NONPROFIT/PHILANTHROPIC PUBLICATIONS Find out what grantmakers, development officers and nonprofits are thinking and talking about by subscribing to nonprofit and philanthropic publications. Requests for proposals, new programs, trends and research are available that might help your fundraising efforts.
The Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA) Reader Anyone can subscribe to the GIA Reader. Artists, grantmakers, arts managers, cultural critics, and historians contribute to GIA’s periodical, the Grantmakers in the Arts Reader, which features readings on arts and culture, reports from arts grantmakers, and summaries of recently published reports, books, and studies. www.giarts.org
The Chronicle of Philanthropy The Chronicle of Philanthropy is the newspaper of the nonprofit world. It is the No. 1 news source, in print and online, for charity leaders, fundraisers, grant makers, and other people involved in the philanthropic enterprise. Note: this publication covers multiple philanthropic sectors and is not arts-specific. www.philanthropy.com Philanthropy News Digest Philanthropy News Digest (PND), a daily news service of the Foundation Center, is a compendium, in digest form, of philanthropy-related articles and features culled from print and electronic media outlets nationwide. PND offers listings of RFPs, jobs and classifieds for the sector, with a dedicated arts and culture RFP listing. philanthropynewsdigest.org
American Christian Fiction Writers — A writers association for writers of Christian novels and stories.
Historical Novel Society — A great association of writers of historical fiction. Offers community, networking opportunities (agents, editors, publishers, booksellers), and more.
Novelists, Inc. — A professional writers organization for multi-published book authors.
Mystery Writers Of America — An organization for writers of mystery novels, as well as editors, screenwriters, and other professionals associated with the mystery genre.
Romance Writers Of America — The trade organization for writers of romantic fiction.
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America — SFWA offers many resources for writers of speculative genres. A very vibrant and active writers association.
Sisters In Crime — A writers organization dedicated to the professional advancement of women who write in the crime and mystery genres.
Western Writers Of America — A writers association for authors whose work focuses on the American West.
Welcome To The NEA: Or, How To Get Money For Writing Stuff — One of the most consistently magnanimous supporters of the arts in America is the National Endowment for the Arts, which has numerous—and generous—grants available in all areas of the arts, including literature. Learn more about the NEA.
Women’s Fiction Writers Association — An inclusive organization of writers creating layered stories in which the plot is driven by the main character’s emotional journey.
American Society Of Journalists And Authors (ASJA) — For independent nonfiction writers and freelancers.
Asian American Journalists Association — A writers organization for new and veteran journalists who are Asian Pacific Americans.
National Association Of Memoir Writers — For writers of all levels who are writing memoir, personal essays, and nonfiction.
Native American Journalists Association — A writing organization for Native American journalism. Offers many opportunities for professional advancement.
Nonfiction Authors Association — Their primary focus is helping their members with educational resources and community support for marketing nonfiction books.
Poetry Society Of America — An association of writers who love poetry in all forms. Welcomes published and unpublished poets.
Academy Of American Poets — Regularly sponsors national poetry events and poetry publications in order to advocate poetry. Membership dues for this writing association help pay for programs.
Association of Writers And Writing Programs — For writers and teachers affiliated with college and university writing programs.
Authors Guild — A professional organization for writers, great for keeping up with the changing face of the publishing industry and issues related to copyright protection.
The Catholic Writers Guild — For writers of all kinds who share the Catholic faith.
Cat Writers Association — A community for writers who specialize in cats.
Dog Writers Association of America —A community for writers who specialize in dogs.
Erotica Readers And Writers — An association of writers and readers of erotic writing.
Islamic Writers Alliance — Members include “published and aspiring writers, editors, artists, publishers, journalists, playwrights, Web designers, retailers, and marketing consultants.”
The National Writers Union — A freelance writers union for authors in all genres: This group is a trade organization that advocates for the rights of authors.
International Association For Journal Writing — A writers association that focuses on journaling and creative expression.
International Women’s Writing Guild — An association of women writers developed for networking and offering mutual support.
Military Writers Society Of America — An organization for writers, poets, and artists who focus on military service. Encourages memoir writing, writing as therapy, and education about publishing.
National Association Of Independent Writers And Editors — From the website: This writers association includes “novelists, copywriters and copyeditors, writing coaches, proofreaders, magazine writers, writing teachers, business writers and editors, academic writing evaluators, writers of literature for children, fiction editors and other specialists.”
National Writers Association — A writers association for all levels and genres that offers some professional services, such as contract review and critique.
Pacific Northwest Writers Association — A Northwest writers association “to develop the writing talent through education, accessibility to the publishing industry, and participation in an interactive, vital writer community.”
PEN America Center — An organization with global reach that defends the right to expression through the written word.
Small Publishers, Artists, And Writers Network — (SPAWN) An inclusive writers group for independent-minded writers, publishers, printers, and members of the media.
Society of Children’s Book Writers And Illustrators — An association for writers of books for children.
Texas Association Of Authors — The only organization in Texas whose focus is to promote the authors within the great state of Texas itself. Texas Authors leverages the knowledge and expertise of many different authors to help promote others within the world of reading and writing.
Women’s National Book Association — A national organization of women and men who work with and value books.
Writers Guild Of America — Two writers organizations (east and west) that represent writers in motion pictures, broadcasting, and other media.
Want to find a local writing group? A writers association that meets close to home? Finding the right group may be easier than you think! If you want to find more writers associations, here’s where to start:
Your local library. Librarians know a lot about local writers organizations and groups. Your neighbors may be writing and you don’t even know it. Stop by your local library’s circ desk and ask about local writing groups or clubs.
Your local bookstore. Many independent bookstores host groups of creative writers, who gather for critique, feedback, and support. Support your local bookseller and connect with like-minded writers!
Meetup.com. This website (or another like it) can help you connect with writers who share your interests. As always, take precautions when joining any new group!
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