Creative Enabler
Spring 2024 Opportunities For Creatives
April Is National Poetry Month!
Apply to Grants For Poetry
Share your literary creations with a wider audience! Explore grant opportunities tailored for poets seeking to enrich their craft.
Celebrating its 23rd year, the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest is on the lookout for the finest humor poems of today. There is no fee for entry. Submissions can be either published or unpublished works. A total of $3,750 in prizes is up for grabs.
Deadline: April 1, 2024
These project grants support individual artists and culture bearers in nurturing their creative endeavors and fostering meaningful connections with the people of Minnesota. Artists in various fields such as dance, media arts, music, photography, poetry, prose, theater, two-dimensional or three-dimensional visual art, as well as culture bearers mentored by traditional elders or master artists, are encouraged to apply. Their work should reflect the rich cultural tapestry of their communities.
Deadline: April 5, 2024
These $50,000 awards celebrate poets of literary excellence who hold civic roles, supporting them in crafting new work and embarking on significant, innovative projects. These initiatives aim to enrich the lives of their community members, particularly the youth, through engaging and interactive poetic endeavors.
Deadline: April 8, 2024
The Poetry Foundation awards five Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships annually. These prestigious prizes, highly esteemed among young poets in the US, offer a $27,000 grant to support exceptional American poets aged 21 to 31.
Deadline: April 15, 2024
Amazon Literary Partnership is committed to uplifting and amplifying the voices of overlooked writers by supporting the literary community with grants to writing programs and nonprofit literary organizations and groups that champion writers and diversity in storytelling.
Previous grant recipients represent both local and national institutions of all sizes and include nonprofit writing centers, residencies, fellowships, after-school classes, literary magazines, national organizations supporting storytelling and free speech, and internationally acclaimed publishers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
Deadline: April 15, 2024
The 93rd Reader’s Digest Annual Writing Competition is open for submissions. Winners will be announced in their November/December 2024 issue.
Writer’s Digest has been shining a spotlight on up-and-coming writers in all genres and will be awarding over 500 prizes in the following categories:
- Inspirational/Spiritual
- Memoirs/Personal Essay
- Nonfiction Essay or Article
- Genre Short Story (Mystery, Romance, etc.)
- Mainstream/Literary Short Story
- Rhyming Poetry
- Non-rhyming Poetry
- Humor
- Children’s/Young Adult Fiction
The top winner in each category gets $1,000 and their piece published on WritersDigest.com. Runner-up receives $500, third place $250, fourth place $100, and fifth place $50. 6th to 10th place each get a $25 gift certificate for writersdigestshop.com.
Deadline: May 6, 2024
The distinguished James Laughlin Award seeks to recognize and support a second poetry book slated for release in the upcoming year. The recipient of this honor receives $5,000, enjoys a comprehensive weeklong retreat in beautiful Miami Beach, Florida, and has their celebrated book shared with approximately one thousand members of the esteemed Academy of American Poets.
Deadline: May 15, 2024
This $25,000 prize acknowledges the top poetry book published in the U.S. the previous year. The winner receives a ten-day residency at Glen Hollow in Naples, New York, and their book is distributed to numerous Academy of American Poets members.
Deadline: May 15, 2024
The Emerging Writer’s Contest invites entries from new writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry who haven’t published a book yet. Winners in each category get their work published, $2,000, a review from Aevitas Creative Management, and a 1-year subscription.
Deadline: May 15, 2024
Grants For Creators
The Plutus Foundation awards grants up to $2,000 to support bloggers, podcasters, vloggers, journalists, educators, speakers, and authors engaged in creating community-based financial education and/or financial literacy programs.
Deadline Extended: April 8, 2024
The Awesome Foundation is a flourishing global community dedicated to promoting awesomeness worldwide by awarding $1,000 no strings attached grant funding to creators.
Deadline: Rolling
The Black & Brown Podcast Collective supports up-and-coming podcasters and content creators of color with micro-grants to foster the development of their podcasts and content.
Deadline Extended: Rolling
Wave and the Shorty Awards unveiled the Elevate Creatives Fund in 2024, aimed at dismantling financial hurdles for creatives, empowering them to make waves online without breaking the bank. The debut fund garnered 500+ top-notch applications spanning podcasters, poets, mental health advocates, and artists.
The 2024 application will be announced in May 2024.
This Our Greatness Grant offers micro-grants to independent Women of Color podcasters. Matriarch Digital Media team selects recipients monthly.
Deadline: Rolling
Orlando, Florida
The Kerouac Project offers six annual residencies to writers of any background or age, residing anywhere globally. Each residency spans approximately two months in the cottage where Jack Kerouac penned his novel “The Dharma Bums.”
During their stay at the Kerouac House, writers enjoy complimentary accommodation with covered utilities and receive a $600 stipend for food and supplies. Residents must engage in four key events: a welcoming potluck dinner in their honor, two creative workshops, and a final reading of their work upon completion.
While encouraged to join readings and activities in the local Central Florida literary scene, participation is optional.
Deadline: April 4, 2024
Somerville, Massachusetts
Since 1996, Mudflat has been granting one-year residency positions to clay artists. This sought-after program offers a private studio space at zero cost, complete access to Mudflat’s facilities, a monthly materials stipend, a monthly housing stipend, as well as chances to both teach and sell your work. Applications for the 2024-25 residency must be submitted by April 16, 2024.
Residencies are September 1 – August 31, annually.
Deadline: April 16, 2024
Location: Mora County near Watrous, New Mexico
The United States National Parks Arts Foundation is a non-profit offering Artist-in-Residence Programs, Museum In-Loan Programs, and Workshops inspired by our National Parks, National Monuments, and World Heritage Sites.
Residency Type: All artistic media
Artists Stipend: $1000
Single Artist / Couples: Yes
Comfortably isolated on the high plains of New Mexico, 30-40 minutes from nearby towns, with spotty cell phone service and no or limited WIFI available
Deadline: April 30, 2024
Greensboro, North Carolina
This passage provides information to artists and creatives from various fields who are welcome at these residencies. Located in Paducah’s Lower Town Arts District, guests can enjoy a private efficiency apartment and studio just six blocks from the Ohio River. The residency offers two-week stays at $700 or month-long stays at $1,000, with ongoing admissions.
Deadline: Rolling
Saranac Lake, NY
The Adirondack Center for Writing offers a free, two-week residency annually in autumn to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers at a lodge on Twitchell Lake in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains. Six residents will be chosen: three from the Adirondack region (“The North Country”). Residency dates: September 22–October 6, 2024.
Deadline: May 19, 2024
Apply to No-Fee Calls For Art
Creative Capital invites creative and unique project proposals across various genres such as visual arts, performing arts, film/moving image, technology, literature, multidisciplinary, and socially engaged forms.
The Creative Capital Award provides unrestricted project grants which can be drawn down over a multi-year period, bespoke professional development services, and community-building opportunities.
Deadline: April 4, 2024
NEH Fellowships are prestigious grants awarded to scholars engaged in projects that demonstrate outstanding research, meticulous analysis, and eloquent writing. Projects at any developmental phase are eligible for consideration. NEH welcomes research proposals from scholars across diverse disciplines.
Deadline: April 10, 2024
The Dexter Jones Award from the National Sculpture Society presents a $5,000 grant to a sculptor for an exceptional bas-relief sculpture. Works featuring figurative, realist, or nature-inspired sculptures are highly favored. Eligible applicants must have birth years between 1984 and 2005.
Deadline: April 15, 2024
The New York Foundation for the Arts’ Anonymous Was A Woman Environmental Art Grant provides up to $20,000 per project to support women-identifying artists in the U.S. and its Territories, empowering their environmental art initiatives.”
Deadline: April 16, 2024
The National Academy of Design’s Abbey Mural Prize grants support for the creation and restoration of public murals in the US. Grants range from $10,000 to $40,000.
Applications are open to all artists, architects, designers, as well as arts organizations, community-based organizations, and nonprofits.
Deadline: April 22, 2024
Create! Magazine is an independent contemporary arts magazine, curators and platform focused on highlighting the work of talented emerging and mid-career creatives from across the globe.
Create! Magazine is now accepting submissions for Issue #46.
This is a fantastic opportunity for artists to get their work seen by a broad audience, including artists, curators, collectors, art professionals, and art enthusiasts.
This issue will feature the work of selected artists working in a wide array of media, disciplines and creative backgrounds. Each published artist gets a two-page feature or more.
Deadline: May 1, 2024
Want more creative opportunities?
Timely News + Tips For Creators
Apply to Grants For Small Business
WomensNet founded the “Amber Grant” in 1998. The grant was set up with one goal in mind: to honor the memory of a very special young woman, Amber Wigdahl, who died at just 19 years old — before realizing her business dreams.
Today, WomensNet carries on that tradition, proudly giving away at least $30,000 every month in Amber Grant money. In recognition of the diversity of businesses owned by women, we’ve also expanded our grant-giving to include “Marketing Grants,” “Business Category Grants,” as well as two “$25,000 Year End Grants.”
This initiative by American Express and Main Street America aims to support economically vulnerable and under-resourced small business owners in recovering from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Deadline: April 7, 2024
The Angel City Football Club (ACFC) Player 22 Small Business Grant Program, a joint initiative by ACFC and IFundWomen, strives to empower aspiring entrepreneurs in launching or expanding their businesses. Eligible candidates have the opportunity to compete for a $10,000 grant, accompanied by a year of tailored business coaching to propel their entrepreneurial endeavors. This competition is open to all U.S. residents, with the exception of individuals residing in Arizona and the District of Columbia.
Deadline: April 8, 2024
Since 2006, the National Association for the Self-Employed has awarded nearly $1,000,000 through small business grants.
Apply for a business development grant from the NASE worth up to $4,000!
Deadline: Rolling
The American Dream Awards highlight small businesses embodying the essence of the modern American Dream. Celebrated for their innovative solutions, significant community impact, and commitment to sustainable business practices, these prestigious awards are open to all for-profit businesses in the United States.
Deadline: April 30, 2024
Giving Joy is closing the equity gaps by enabling women to have equal opportunities and micro grants to help women start or expand their businesses or non-profits.
Giving Joy Grants range between $250 and $500, given out in installments upon meeting specific goals. The grant amount is decided by Giving Joy depending on proposed activities and funding availability, with a grant term lasting 6 months.
Deadline: April 30, 2024
How to find More opportunities for your creative work
There are an abundance of opportunities for creatives that make art, design, write, code, and for arts and cultural incentives.
Here are the best resources to discover calls for art, calls for submissions, and residency opportunities:
- Creative Capital Artist Opportunities Website
- Grants For Creators Newsletter (Free and Paid)
- The Big Artist Opportunities List by Everest Pipkin (Google Spreadsheet)
- Artist Communities Alliance Residency Programs Search Tool
- Art Connect Search Tool
- Ladies Who Launch Grants Database For Women and Non-Binary Entrepreneurs
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce Grants, Loans and Programs For Small Business
