Arts Impact Grants for Organizations

OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVES

Arts Impact Grants for Organizations (AIGO) are designed to help sustain Sonoma County’s creative and cultural nonprofits and to demonstrate the power of the arts to contribute to the social cohesion of our communities. For 2027, these general operating support grants are funded by the County of Sonoma and the California Arts Council.

All applications will be reviewed with a lens of an organization’s commitment to providing equitable access and participation in their program(s), and to providing experiences that enrich Sonoma County through high-quality artistic experiences that deepen and celebrate our region’s unique identity and breadth of cultural experiences.

IMPORTANT DATES

Application Opens: August 14th, 2026
General Info & Application Workshop: Watch back a recording HERE.
A closed-caption recording will be made available after the workshop.
Application DEADLINE: October 1, 2026 at 11:59pm.
Funding Notification: November 2026
Funding Period: January 1 – December 31, 2027 (12 months)
Final Survey Due: January 31, 2028

GRANT AMOUNT

Up to 45 grants of $4,000 each will be awarded.

ELIGIBILITY

Applicants may include Sonoma County nonprofit arts and culture organizations, including museums, as well as culturally-specific nonprofit organizations that produce arts and culture programs and services. For the purposes of this grant, culturally-specific refers to an organization led by, and focused on preserving, creating, and advancing the arts, traditions and cultural heritage of, a distinct racial, ethnic, or Indigenous community. All applicants must meet the following requirements:

Organization is a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit, either headquartered or with a physical location in Sonoma County.
New applicants must submit proof of current registration in the California Registry of Charitable Trusts.
Minimum three-year history of consistent arts and culture programming and/or services prior to the application deadline. Collectives or companies that operated before they became a nonprofit entity may count programming that pre-dates nonprofit
status.

Not eligible:

Entities applying via a fiscal sponsor
County of Sonoma departments, divisions, or their related foundations
Schools, school districts, parent-teacher organizations, or their related foundations
Municipalities or their related foundations

See the Application Packet document (attached under “How to Apply”) for more information about eligibility and program restrictions.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Thorough demonstration of the following through careful
completion of the application questions:

Artistic excellence and merit
Audience and participant engagement and involvement
Equitable access and participation

See the Application Packet document (attached under “How to Apply”) for more information about the criteria and review process.

APPLICATION PACKET AND HOW TO APPLY

Read the Application Packet, which contains the program guidelines and all of the application questions. No handwritten or paper-based applications will be accepted. Applicants will need to have or create an account in Submittable, our online application portal. Once the application opens on August 14, 2026, it will appear on Submittable.

Click the button to create a Submittable account or to begin an application.