:: CCI :: CALI Catalyst ::

In Spring 2026 the CALI program will evolve with a new programmatic focus for its grantmaking, building on the program’s long legacy of supporting the kinds of leaders and leadership the field needs now.

Updated guidelines and application details will be available in June.

Launched in 2011, CALI was first called the NextGen program, which invested in emerging arts and culture nonprofit leaders in navigating and shaping the sector. In its first years, NextGen was a professional development pipeline for emerging leaders in the arts and culture field, focused on building leadership capacity and strengthening infrastructure across the arts and culture ecosystem. Then, when it was renamed CALI (California Arts Leadership Investments), it emphasized externally facing opportunities that prepared emerging arts professionals for managerial-level roles (i.e., workplace-specific skills and knowledge attainment) and their growing influence.

CALI Accelerator, offered from October 2018–January 2021, prioritized activities aimed at helping grantees develop their leadership vision and voice while also developing the knowledge and skills to be influential in their organization, discipline, or the broader arts and culture field. In continuing to respond to the changing dynamics of the field, CALI Catalyst emerged in 2021 to support the changemakers who were explicit about changing the arts and culture sector in ways that were needed by those whose voices had not been adequately heard.

CALI's soon-to-launch programmatic focus continues to build on its long history of evolving to reflect the ways artists are leading across the state.

Learn more about the 2025 CALI Catalyst Grantees here!