Below is general information about the Cultural Trust’s grant programs. For information about current grant opportunities, go to the Current and Recent Grant Opportunities page.
The Cultural Trust’s grant programs further the Trust’s mission of ensuring a stable and healthy nonprofit cultural industry in New Jersey by supporting projects that build organizations’ financial and institutional stability and capacity, and by funding important capital projects.
The Cultural Trust offers three different grant programs:
- Institutional and Financial Stabilization Grants for Arts Organizations(IFS Arts)
- Institutional and Financial Stabilization Grants for History/Humanities Organizations(IFS History/Humanities)
- Capital Historic Preservation Grants for Arts, History, and Humanities Organizations(Capital Historic Preservation)
Typically, one grant program is offered each fiscal year in the following rotation:
- Year 1: IFS Arts
- Year 2: IFS History/Humanities
- Year 3: IFS Arts
- Year 4: Capital Historic Preservation
All Cultural Trust grants are one-year-long project-based grants. No match is required for any of the Cultural Trust’s grant programs.
In order to be eligible for any Cultural Trust grant program, an organization must first be designated qualified by the Cultural Trust. For more information about qualification, go to the Qualification page.
In each program, the guidelines and application are developed by one of the Cultural Trust’s recommending agencies. The recommending agency accepts applications and oversees the independent panel review process, then determines which applications should be recommended to receive Cultural Trust funding. These recommendations are submitted to the Cultural Trust Board for final approval.
IFS Arts
Institutional and Financial Stabilization Grants for Arts Organizations address the financial and institutional challenges that threaten nonprofit arts organizations’ stability and help them build greater operational capacity to manage and advance their work. Grants are available within the following categories:
- Establishing or growing a working capital fund/cash reserve
- Debt/deficit reduction
- Strategic planning/assessment
- Technology upgrade
- Capital equipment purchase
- Staff/board development
- New staff position
The New Jersey State Council on the Arts serves as the recommending agency for the IFS Arts program.
IFS History/Humanities
Institutional and Financial Stabilization Grants for History/Humanities Organizations support very similar projects to the IFS Arts program, but for New Jersey’s nonprofit history and humanities organizations. Grants are available in the same categories listed above for IFS Arts grants.
The New Jersey Historical Commission serves as the recommending agency for the IFS History/Humanities program.
Capital Historic Preservation
Capital Historic Preservation grants support capital projects at historic sites, and are open to New Jersey nonprofit arts, history, and humanities organizations. Eligible sites must be listed on the New Jersey and/or National Register of Historic Places, or contribute to the significance of a historic district listed on the New Jersey and/or National Register of Historic Places.
The New Jersey Historic Trust serves as the recommending agency for the Capital Historic Preservation program.
Self-Assessment for IFS Programs
The Cultural Trust’s Institutional and Financial Stabilization (IFS) grant programs provide capitalization and capacity-building support through targeted, one-time investments. IFS applicants must clearly identify a major stabilization or capacity challenge and propose an appropriate and specific strategy to address it. Identifying the organization’s major stability or capacity challenge is key to an eligible and successful application.
The Cultural Trust has developed a recorded webinar that provides a framework for organizations to conduct a basic self-assessment to identify stability and capacity challenges that might be addressed through the IFS grant programs. The webinar is based on a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) model. It offers questions to consider as part of a self-assessment process and provides examples of past and potential Cultural Trust projects that can address some common organizational challenges. The Cultural Trust has developed a handout to accompany this webinar, which includes the reflection questions from the webinar and a simple SWOT worksheet.
These materials are intended to be a starting point for reflection and discussion, not as a comprehensive diagnosis or recommendation. Any self-assessment process should reflect an organization’s specific values, priorities, and circumstances, and it will look different for every organization. There is no one “right” way to operate a cultural organization. The categories for reflection outlined in these materials are broad and may not align perfectly with an individual organization’s structure, practices, and purpose.
If you are interested in a more in-depth organizational assessment process, there are a range of tools and programs available. Please consult the New Jersey Historical Commission, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, or a service organization for your discipline to learn about available resources.
Page Last Updated: 04/01/25
Official Site of The State of New Jersey
