General Operating Support

Purpose: The General Operating Support grant program provides direct funding to arts and cultural organizations in support of ongoing operations. An arts and cultural organization is defined as an entity with a primary purpose of providing arts, creative, or cultural programming/services. Assessed by CAC staff, this purpose is determined by the organization’s mission, purpose statement, and/or by its summary of core organizational programs and services. Description: This grant supports the well-being of California’s cultural vitality by helping sustain a robust and diverse arts workforce and infrastructure. Funds may be used to support any eligible expenses associated with the general operations of an arts or cultural organization, including but not limited to rent, utilities, and staff salaries. Applying for this grant does not restrict an organization from applying for other CAC project-based grants. General Operating grants are intended to support the applicant organization in carrying out its mission. Funding is not intended to support a specific project. Organizations eligible to apply include: Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), California organizations Units of municipal, county or Tribal governments Fiscally sponsored organizations Arts service/network organizations with total revenue of $5 million or below Arts producing or presenting organizations with total revenue (TR) of $1.5 million or below Applicant organizations and fiscal sponsors must meet the requirements below: Have a principal place of business in California and a California address. Have a minimum two-year history of consistent arts programming and/or services prior to the application deadline. Demonstrate proof of nonprofit status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or section 23701d of the California Revenue and Taxation Code. Eligible applicant organizations without non-profit status, please see Fiscal Sponsor Requirements in the 2026 Grants Manual. Have “active status” with the California Secretary of State (SOS) showing evidence of “good standing” at the time of application. Eligible Request Amounts Applicant organizations can request up to $30,000 for a one-year funding cycle Funding Restrictions: Organizations who have applied for the 2026 cycle of State-Local Partners are not eligible for General Operating Support. The CAC’s definition of Total Revenue is the total cash inflow from your organization’s most recently completed fiscal year. Cash inflow/income includes all earned income (ex: ticket sales) and contributed income (ex: grants, donations/contributions, one-time organizational funding, operational grants). Regranting, pass-through, and restricted capital improvement funding are excluded from the organization’s total revenue calculation. Matching Funds A one-to-one match is required for this grant for organizations with a total revenue above $250k. See the 2026 Grants Manual for clarification on eligible match sources. 2026/27 Funding Priorities: Every eligible application will be adjudicated by peer review panels and receive a final rank (see 2026 Grants Manual). All applications that receive final ranks of 6 through panel adjudication will be funded regardless of whether they meet any of the funding priorities. Applications receiving ranks of 4 and above through the adjudication process will then receive added weighting for meeting the priorities as outlined in the Guidelines. Allocations for final ranks below 6 will be made in order of weighted ranks as funding availability permits. Eligibility Requirements Eligible Applicants: Nonprofit Tribal Government Organizations eligible to apply include: Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), California organizations Units of municipal, county or Tribal governments Fiscally sponsored organizations Arts service/network organizations with total revenue of $5 million or below Arts producing or presenting organizations with total revenue (TR) of $1.5 million or below Eligible Geographies: Organizations serving historically and systemically under-resourced communities located in the lower two quartiles of the Healthy Places Index (HPI), including rural and inland areas as well as regions with a history of low investment from the CAC o Applicants whose business address falls in the lower two quartiles of the HPI will meet the HPI priority criteria. o Additional 0.5 point added to the rank. Matching Funding Requirement: A one-to-one match is required for this grant for organizations with a total revenue above $250k. Important Dates Application deadline The date (and time, where applicable) by which all applications must be submitted to the grantmaker. Time listed as “00:00” equates to midnight. 5/12/26 11:59 Expected award announcement The date on which the grantor expects to announce the recipient(s) of the grant. 9/26/2026 Period of performance The length of time during which the grant money must be utilized. 10/1/2026-9/30/2027 Funding Details Total estimated available funding The total projected dollar amount of the grant. See Notes Below Expected number of awards A single grant opportunity may represent one or many awards. Some grantors may know in advance the exact number of awards to be given. Others may indicate a range. Some may wish to and wait until the application period closes before determining how many awards to offer; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display. Dependent Estimated amount per award Grant opportunities representing multiple awards may offer awards in the same amount or in varied amounts. Some may wish to wait until the application period closes before determining per-award amounts; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display. Dependent Letter of Intent Required? Certain grants require that the recipient(s) provide a letter of intent. No Requires Matched Funding? Certain grants require that the recipient(s) be able to fully or partially match the grant award amount with another funding source. 100% Available Funding Notes: Total funding available will be determined based on passage of the state budget and Council allocation priorities. Funding Source: The funding source allocated to fund the grant. It may be either State or Federal (or a combination of both), and be tied to a specific piece of legislation, a proposition, or a bond number. State Funding Method: The manner in which the grant funding will be delivered to the awardee. Funding methods include reimbursements (where the recipient spends out-of-pocket and is reimbursed by the grantor) and advances (where the recipient spends received grant funds directly). Advance(s) Funding Method Notes: See the guidelines for detailed funding method. How to Apply State agencies/departments recommend you read the full grant guidelines before applying. Grant guidelines Online application Resources Grantor’s site Subscribe to grant updates For questions about this grant, contact: 1-916-322-6555, [email protected] Similar to This Grant Education CA State Library 2025-26 Preservation & Accessibility of California's LGBTQ+ History 2 months ago More Details about 2025-26 Preservation & Accessibility of California's LGBTQ+ History Education CA State Library 2026-2027 New California Library Literacy Services Libraries Application 4 months ago More Details about 2026-2027 New California Library Literacy Services Libraries Application Disadvantaged Communities CA State Library Lunch at the Library Summer 2026 7 months ago More Details about Lunch at the Library Summer 2026 Housing, Community and Economic Development CA Arts Council Cultural Districts 11 months ago More Details about Cultural Districts

Purpose: The General Operating Support grant program provides direct funding to arts and cultural organizations in support of ongoing operations. An arts and cultural organization is defined as an entity with a primary purpose of providing arts, creative, or cultural programming/services. Assessed by CAC staff, this purpose is determined by the organization’s mission, purpose statement, and/or by its summary of core organizational programs and services. Description: This grant supports the well-being of California’s cultural vitality by helping sustain a robust and diverse arts workforce and infrastructure. Funds may be used to support any eligible expenses associated with the general operations of an arts or cultural organization, including but not limited to rent, utilities, and staff salaries. Applying for this grant does not restrict an organization from applying for other CAC project-based grants. General Operating grants are intended to support the applicant organization in carrying out its mission. Funding is not intended to support a specific project. Organizations eligible to apply include: Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), California organizations Units of municipal, county or Tribal governments Fiscally sponsored organizations Arts service/network organizations with total revenue of $5 million or below Arts producing or presenting organizations with total revenue (TR) of $1.5 million or below Applicant organizations and fiscal sponsors must meet the requirements below: Have a principal place of business in California and a California address. Have a minimum two-year history of consistent arts programming and/or services prior to the application deadline. Demonstrate proof of nonprofit status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or section 23701d of the California Revenue and Taxation Code. Eligible applicant organizations without non-profit status, please see Fiscal Sponsor Requirements in the 2026 Grants Manual. Have “active status” with t