Four dancers, in lilac leotards, lean backwards in a metal contraption that opens like a flower.
Above:

National Dance Project-supported Antoine Hunter and Capacitor | photo by Eric Raeber 

Supporting a thriving, creative future

NEFA invests in artists and communities and fosters equitable access to the arts, enriching the cultural landscape in New England and the nation.

Our Vision and Values

Grantmaking for art making. What will you create?

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Upcoming Grant Application Deadlines

NEFA offers grants to artists and organizations to support the creation and presentation of work. These are the grants with upcoming deadlines.

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Jazz Road

June 4, 2025
Jazz Road is an artist-centric touring and residency grants program promoting deeper engagement between jazz musicians, presenters, and communities. Jazz Road is led by South Arts, one of NEFA's Regional Arts Organization colleagues.

New England States Touring (NEST) Grant

August 1, 2025
Funds nonprofit organizations to present touring artists in venues across New England.
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What's happening

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A hand touches one of two wooden heart shaped frames with red woven through the middle.
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, & Accessibility

Organizations Across New England Receive Cultural Sustainability Awards

(Boston, MA) The New England Foundation for the Arts announces $1,100,000 in funding for the 18 recipients of the Cultural Sustainability grant. Cultural Sustainability provides general operating support to arts organizations of color with annual operating expenses under $500,000. This funding will
In the woods, a line of folks carry a string/stick together.
Advocacy
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, & Accessibility

A Call to Collective Action—We Must Act Now

This essay is part of a new series, From New England to the Nation , in which NEFA’s Executive Director, Harold Steward, discusses the role of the arts in our present political moment. Read the first essay on Medium. The current administration's most recent actions, including stripping equity
Indira is a Black woman with long black hair and she wears a blue blouse. Cheri is a white woman with short brown hair and she wears a navy, v-neck. Kristin is a white woman with long brown hair that has blonde highlights and she wears a stone v-neck with khakis. They all pose in front of the Boston skyline.
Dance

National Dance Project receives the Dance/USA Trustees Award

NEFA is thrilled to announce that the National Dance Project received the Trustees Award from Dance/USA. This award honors outstanding work that has special significance to the dance community. During its almost 30-year history, NDP has supported over 820 dance projects that have toured to all 50
Bright green lights in the night sky, "the Northern Lights," over a house with lights on.
Professional Development

April 2025 Jobs & Opportunities

Here are opportunities for this month; check them out and pass them along to your colleagues. Email us if you know of any professional development opportunities, calls to artists, or cultural events that we should consider. The format for these listings is: " deadline/date of event | location of
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Fostering regional, national, and international connections

CreativeGround

CreativeGround spotlights the creative people and places at work in New England: cultural nonprofits like libraries and theaters, creative businesses like recording studios and design agencies, and artists of all disciplines such as performing arts, visual arts, and crafts.

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Center Stage

Center Stage is among the most successful programs to bring contemporary international performing artists into direct contact with people across a wide range of U.S. communities, and to share these experiences globally.

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