Organization and Project Grants

Organization and project grants are awarded primarily to support cultural exchange opportunities for specific project participants who will benefit from the experience as individual fellowship recipients do – through cultural immersion, research, specialized training, exchange of knowledge among peers, and other process-oriented activities. Project participants must be practicing artists, scholars, and/or arts professionals. Touring, performance, exhibition, and public-facing activities are not eligible, though these activities might make up the larger context in which ACC-eligible exchange activities take place.

Support services are intended to enhance a proposed plan of activity, give increased access to artistic communities and cultural resources in the destination country, and deepen the cultural exchange experience. However, proposals in this program should be feasible with or without additional guidance from ACC.

On request, ACC may provide:

• Personal introductions to relevant contacts within ACC’s network of alumni and partners throughout Asia and the U.S.; this network touches all 26 countries in ACC’s geographic purview and is especially strong where ACC has offices: Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, and the U.S.
• J-1 visa sponsorship for project participants traveling to the U.S.
• Funding for organizational overhead (not more than 20% of the project budget)

If you are eligible to apply for an ACC fellowship, your application will be reviewed by a panel of experts. The criteria below will be used to evaluate the strength of each proposal.

Criteria	Evaluation
1. Artistic / Professional Excellence (30%)	Artistic merit is well articulated in the application Strong or outstanding qualifications
2. Leadership Capacity (20%)	History of leadership in the field Shows potential for building leadership capacity
3. Connecting Communities (20%)	Demonstrates potential for contributing to cultural exchange Organizational history of community partnership
4. Resources and Planning (20%)	Demonstrates capacity to benefit from project  Shows potential of having an impact in the specific field
5. Building Arts Resources and Infrastructure (10%)	Shows potential to make a significant contribution to the development of skills, expertise, or arts infrastructure in the host or home country

To be selected, applicants must:

• Be a registered nonprofit organization/NGO
• Request funding for specific project participants who meet the criteria described in the general eligibility guidelines on the Fellowships & Grants page
• Describe how project participants will benefit from their involvement and the importance of their participation to the larger goals of cultural exchange

Please note the following restrictions:

• ACC funding cannot be used for artist fees or production expenses
• Production, creating new work, and audience-driven outcomes are not a priority 
• Applications that do not name individual project participants and include their biographies and work samples will not be considered

Refer to the Fellowships & Grants page for more detail about project participant eligibility and allowable use of funds. Frequently asked questions are answered in the FAQ.