Applying


The Fiscal Year 2024 Cultural Development Fund application is now closed. 

The Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) deadline to submit an application for New York City not-for-profit arts and cultural organizations was Tuesday, May 9, 2023, at 5:00 PM (ET).  Thank you to all who submitted. 

Notification of the outcome of the FY24 CDF application process has been sent to all applicants. Please log in to the CDF web portal and click “View/Download” section of your FY24 CDF Grant Tile, accessible via the Dashboard in the DCLA portal, to access your FY24 CDF notification documents.

The Fiscal 2024 funding requirements for all CDF grantees is available; please download this PDF for instructions on returning your grant agreement, and other compliance requirements. Please log in to your account via the CDF web portal and upload all documents via the “Payment Checklist” section of your FY24 CDF Grant Tile.  All required FY24 CDF Grant Materials must be submitted as soon as possible, and no later than March 1, 2024.


Fiscal Year 2025

Applications for Fiscal Year 2025 will launch in early 2024.  Please refer to this page for updates. 


Current Eligibility Requirements

DCLA will consider proposals in every cultural discipline and from every area of New York City for services that take place within the five boroughs and within the City’s Fiscal Year 2024 (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024). 

All proposals must represent a cultural activity of recognized quality that is accessible to the public. Funded services can be as different as the organizations providing them, but they will all have a common commitment to cultural public service and public participation in the arts.

Eligible organizations will:

  • Be either a nonprofit arts or cultural organization, or a nonprofit organization that has an arts or culture component in its broader mission.
  • Demonstrate successful delivery of arts and cultural services in New York City for the last two consecutive years.
  • Be based in New York City and able to demonstrate administrative and programmatic operations within any of the five boroughs of New York City. Your administrative address is determined by your IRS 990, 501(c)(3) letter, and other publicly available information.
  • Possess a unique Federal Employee Identification Number (EIN).
  • Be certified as tax exempt under Internal Revenue Service Code Section 501(c)(3); or be an incorporated nonprofit that uses a DCLA pre-approved, New York State incorporated tax-exempt fiscal sponsor. Only nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply, regardless of whether they use a fiscal sponsor.  Limited Liability Companies, Benefit corporations, Limited Partnerships, and individual artists are not eligible to apply.  
  • Be incorporated in New York State as a nonprofit organization no later than the organization’s fiscal year 2021.

The following entities are not eligible to receive CDF funds:

  • Unincorporated individual artists or artist collectives
  • Limited Liability Companies, Benefit Corporations, Limited Partnerships
  • Parent Teacher associations or organizations
  • Nonprofit organizations without IRS 501(c)3 tax exempt status that do not utilize an eligible fiscal sponsor  
  • Nonprofit organizations with chapters, offices, branches, or general activity in New York City but that are administratively based outside of New York City
  • Members of DCLA’s Cultural Institutions Group
  • Programs of City, State or Federal agencies
  • Libraries or degree-granting institutions, including schools, colleges, and universities; organizations that are affiliated with such institutions should contact DCLA prior to applying to determine eligibility
  • Organizations without a history of providing services in arts and culture as well as related income and expenses in the last two years
  • Organizations that are not in compliance with DCLA’s previous grant reporting requirements

To receive funds, grantees must be compliant with annual State and Federal filing requirements for nonprofit organizations, including New York State Charities Bureau filings. 


Application References

Review the FY24 CDF materials below before submitting your application:

 

Application Templates

Download and complete the templates below if our Guidelines indicate that you’re required to upload them to your online application.


Application Worksheets

You may use the FY24 Worksheets below for preparing your CDF Application while offline. These worksheets are optional tools. You are not required to use them, and they are not a replacement for the online application. You must submit your CDF application and supplementary materials through our online portal.


Support and Questions

For questions about the CDF guidelines, instructions or application content, contact your organization’s program officer directly via email.  New applicants, who do not have a program officer, may contact the Department of Cultural Affairs’ Program Services Help Desk at cdfhelpdesk@culture.nyc.gov. New applicants will be assigned a program officer after the application period closes.

If you are experiencing technical issues with the CDF application form, submit the IT support form.  

 

Application Webinars

After reviewing the resources provided above, we strongly encourage all applicants to attend a CDF application webinar. These tutorials give applicants the opportunity to ask questions of DCLA staff and prepare a competitive CDF application. Each webinar will feature the same presentation, and is expected to last approximately 90 minutes including Q&A. 

The first FY24 CDF Application Webinar has been recorded, captioned, and made available for viewing.


Accessibility

For questions regarding accessibility or requests for an accommodation, please contact Sara Cobb, DCLA’s Disability Service Facilitator, at disabilityfacilitator@culture.nyc.gov.

 

CDF Panelists

DCLA regularly seeks panelists to bring a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds to the table, and who represent the diversity of New York City. To learn more about the panelist application process as well as how to serve, please click here.

 

Launch the CDF Application