The July 15 cycle is now closed. Notifications will be shared via Submittable on Friday, July 15 by 5 p.m. PT.

Applications for the August 15 cycle are now open; learn more below.

The Quick Grant program provides up to $600 in professional development funds to staff members of nonprofit arts organizations based in San Francisco or San José, as well as to California-based artists, creatives, cultural practitioners, and cultural producers. This program supports artists and arts workers with funding to enroll in workshops, attend conferences, and work with consultants, coaches, and mentors in order to build their administrative capacity, hone business skills, and strengthen the financial resilience of an organization, artistic practice, or area of cultural production.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Effective July 16, 2025, the Quick Grant program is expanding its eligibility to include advocacy education and caregiving expenses. CCI understands that artists face growing pressure to self-advocate in the absence of traditional worker protections. We believe that this change supports the essential skill-building in policy engagement and systems change, critical to enhancing the capacity for artists to practice their work. This update reflects our commitment to strengthening the financial resilience and long-term sustainability of individual artists and arts workers.

In honor of Quick Grant's 15th anniversary in 2024, CCI commissioned an outside evaluator to tell the story of how a relatively small investment(a $600 microgrant) can have an outsized impact on an awardee. If you're interested in learning more about the impact of the Quick Grant program over its 15-year history, you can read the full report here.

Who Can Apply

Individual Artists, Creatives, Cultural Practitioners, & Cultural Producers

• Must currently reside full-time within the State of California

Nonprofit Arts Organization Staff Members

• Staff of a nonprofit, tax-exempt arts organization located in the City and County of San Francisco or the City of San José
• Staff of a fiscally sponsored arts organization with the majority (i.e., 75%) of the organization's public programming occurring within the City and County of San Francisco or the City of San José (see HOW TO APPLY section for additional eligibility requirements)

Eligible Activities

To be eligible for Quick Grant funding, activities must:

• Build administrative capacity, hone business skills, and/or strengthen the financial resilience of the grantee’s practice, area of cultural production, or arts organization.
• This includes activities with a focus on advocacy education, technology skill-building, and training in areas like copyright registration or other intellectual property protections.
• Begin after the application notification date. For example, for the August 15, 2025, deadline, the proposed activity must start on or after the notification date of September 16, 2025.

Funding may be used to support part or all of the following eligible expenses:

• Travel and hotel expenses associated with the participation in an eligible activity, regardless of distance from the applicant’s primary address or the organization’s location (eligible expenses can include meals, gas, parking, tolls, public transportation, etc.)
• Caregiving associated costs (e.g., childcare, daycare, eldercare, etc.) associated with the participation in an eligible activity. 
• Registration fees for conferences, festivals, workshops, and/or trainings
• Memberships or subscriptions that offer opportunities for professional networking, business or administrative skill development, and/or field knowledge
• Fees to engage a facilitator, executive coach, mentor, career counselor, or consultant to build administrative and business skills*
  • Regarding consultant support, for a proposed activity to be competitive, it must be made clear that the applicant will be actively engaged in enhanced learning or receiving portable skills. In other words, proposed activities MUST have an educational benefit or result in skill acquisition. Consequently, applications wherein sub-contract activities are proposed (e.g., hiring someone to moderate a webinar series, design a website on the applicant's behalf, or facilitate online sales) are not eligible.

Ineligible Activities

• Activities focused primarily on creative or artistic skill development, art teaching/teaching artist methods and techniques, or artistic presentation/production 
• Activities that support an applicant’s adjacent enterprise
• Funding to offset applicant’s regular salary or wages or fees for temporary/contract employees
• Funding to support overhead expenses
• Funding to purchase art supplies, materials, or advanced inventory 
• Activities proposed by artists, creatives, cultural practitioners, or cultural producers to support the operations of a nonprofit organization or a role in arts administration, and vice versa, activities proposed by organizational staff to support an individual art or cultural practice 
• Activities that begin less than one month after the nearest application deadline (applications are due on the 15th of each month); for example, if you apply by the August 15 deadline—between July 16 and August 15—the activity cannot begin until on or after September 16
• Funding to offset fees associated with college tuition or college credit activities

How to Apply

Upcoming Application Deadline: August 15, 2024, at 11:59 a.m. (morning) PT -- activities must start on September 16, 2025, or after.

Applications are due on the 15th of the month at 11:59 a.m. (morning) PT with a one-month turnaround. Applications for the following month's cycle will open on the 16th of the month.

Updated as of July 16: Please review the updated program guidelines and FAQs for additional information before applying.

Applications are due on the 15th of the month at 11:59 a.m. (morning) PT.

START YOUR APPLICATION

Questions & Support

For questions related to the grant guidelines or application, email us at quickgrant@cciarts.org or call 415.288.0530. You may also schedule a time to speak here. For Deaf applicants and those with hearing loss, contact CCI using the California Relay Service—our staff is trained in making and receiving these calls. 

For technical assistance (e.g., password or upload issues) regarding the online application, request support at: https://www.submittable.com/help/submitter/. Submittable’s business hours are 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. MT. They aim to respond within 24 business hours.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The Quick Grant program is made possible with support from: