Fellowships & Grants

In order to be competitive, applicants must not only be eligible, but must also be a good fit for ACC’s support services, current program priorities, and available funds. Please read all the sections below to understand these factors before deciding to submit an application. After reading this overview, you will find more detailed guidelines on each fellowship and grant page.  Applicants who have not studied this information are less likely to submit a competitive proposal.

These guidelines describe the broad scope of all ACC fellowship and grant programs. Within each program, eligibility may be more restricted and may change focus from year to year. Program-specific guidelines for the current application cycle can be found on each program page.

Individual applicants (those applying to the Individual Fellowship, New York Fellowship, and Graduate Scholarship)

• Must be citizens of an eligible country / region
• Must be practicing artists, humanities scholars, or arts professionals in an eligible field

Organization and project applicants

• Must be based in an eligible country / region
• Must be a registered nonprofit or NGO, or have fiscal sponsorship from a nonprofit or NGO
• May request ACC funding only for project participants who meet all the individual applicant eligibility criteria described above

Allowable Use of Funding

Unless otherwise specified in the program-specific guidelines, in all fellowship and grant programs ACC funds may only be used for activities that involve travel between one or more eligible countries / regions; funding cannot be used for any activities that take place in the individual's country of primary residence

ACC funds may be used for costs associated with travel and research only. Research is broadly defined as any activities in pursuit of creative, scholarly, or professional inquiry, and may take many different forms. The following examples of allowable expenses are not a complete list and are given as a general guideline only:

• Allowable travel expenses may include international airfare, local transportation, visas, travel insurance, accommodations, traveler's health insurance, and living expenses.
• Allowable research expenses may include admission fees and tickets to cultural institutions and events, fees for classes or workshops, and modest translator fees.*

*Projects requiring the extensive use of paid translators are unlikely to be funded. 

ACC funding cannot be used for:

• Activities that do not involve travel
• Commercial and industrial design
• Commercial activity or commercial artists of any kind
• Production costs (including exhibitions, tours, film production, and publication)
• Arts in education
• Undergraduate or secondary school study
• Full graduate school tuition costs
• Projects taking place outside the funding period
• Regranting programs