FY11 NEA Grants to Orchestras

May 20, 2011, Washington, D.C. - The National Endowment for the Arts awarded 88 grants to orchestras through the Grants for Arts Projects categories in FY2011, totaling $2,955,500.  Awards to all arts disciplines through the NEA’s three largest grant categories – Challenge America: Reaching Every Community Fast-Track Review Grants, Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth, and Access to Artistic Excellence – numbered 2,031 and totaled $57.75 million.

Congress allotted $155 million in total funding for the NEA in FY2011.  In addition to the grants awarded through the Grants for Arts Projects categories, FY2011 funding supports the following:

  • Congress requires that 40% of NEA grant funds be made available directly to the states; $51,678,400 million has been awarded through Partnership Grants to state and regional arts agencies.  Orchestras, in turn, benefit from grants at the state and local level.
  • Support for Arts on Radio & Television included grants to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and the San Francisco Symphony totaling $80,000.
  • The NEA provided $1.05 million for Literature Fellowships in Creative Writing in FY2011 and $300,000 in FY2011 support for Literature Fellowships in Translation.
  • Additional FY2011 grants include awards for National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards and the NEA also allocates funds to national initiatives, such as the Big Read, Poetry Out Loud, and other programs. Complete information about NEA national initiatives is available on the NEA website.

Below is a list of major grants to orchestras and parent organizations of orchestras. Grants for programs related to the orchestra field are also included. Complete lists of grant amounts and project descriptions for awards in all disciplines and categories may be found on the NEA website, arts.gov.