Dance Grants for Nonprofits

Dance is one of the oldest artforms, intrinsically linked with the human need to express ourselves through movement. It’s also a uniquely physical artform, and partaking in dance classes has been shown to have a variety of benefits for both physical and mental health. Like much of the arts, community programs for dance are often only possible through the generous donations provided by nonprofits.

These arts nonprofits, in turn, are only able to continue to sponsor dance programs through the generous donations provided by dance grants. These grants can be used to promote dance in a variety of ways. This can include funding dance productions or rehearsal spaces, the purchase of costume and set materials for those products, or the establishment of community and school outreach programs. These grants can also target the audiences, making dance more accessible to a wider range of the community. 

Dance grants can come from a wide range of sources. Traditionally, federal agencies such as the NEA, and state arts councils, would provide grants for dance. There are also many community foundations and private foundations involved in providing dance grants, such as the Shubert Foundation. 

When preparing a dance grant proposal, you want to use strong storytelling to demonstrate the clear impact that greater access to dance can have on your community. You will want to back this story up with data that illustrates the lack of access. This could include statistics on arts participation rates, or the potential economic benefit of local dance performances. You can start to find this data from places like local arts councils, community surveys or the NEA. 

 If you need further guidance on writing award-winning grants, then make sure to check out our comprehensive guide on the topic. You can also start browsing dance grants right here, right away - all of which are open for applications.