Apply for Grants

Our approach to grant making, eligibility requirements,
and how to get the process started.

High-quality arts education
for every student.

Grant Application Window Opens September 1, 2026

Find Your Light Foundation seeks to expand access to proven arts education opportunities across the U.S., especially in communities with limited resources. Founded by Josh Groban, who benefited from public-school arts programs, we support community-based organizations that provide strong teachers, meaningful curriculum, creative space, and socio-emotional growth for young people.

What We Fund

Arts Education Areas of Focus

Our definition of arts education includes the following disciplines.

Dance

Dance

Ballet, contemporary, cultural dance, choreography, and movement-based performance.

Theatre

Theatre

Performance, improv, stage arts.

Film

Film

Screenwriting, directing, production, editing, and visual storytelling.

Photography

Photography

Digital photography, composition, lighting, portraiture, and image editing.

Visual Art

Visual Art

Drawing, painting, sculpture, design, and hands-on studio practice.

Music

Music

Instrumental, vocal, composition, recording, and ensemble learning.

Spoken Word

Spoken Word

Poetry, performance, storytelling, and public voice.

Creative Writing

Creative Writing

Fiction, poetry, memoir, playwriting, and narrative craft.

Eligibility

Nonprofit Status

Applicants must have a 501(c)(3) status or a fiscal agent that has one.

Geography

Applicants must be a United States-based organization whose art education programs take place in the U.S.

Age/Grade

Programs should serve students in grades K-12

Funding Focus

Funding Focus

Demonstrated void of arts education representation in applicant’s community.

Defined need

Defined need for arts education in their communities.

Access barriers removed

Programs remove barriers of access to arts education through tuition-free or heavily subsidized participation fees

Fully participatory

Programs are fully participatory (hands-on) and delivered directly to students by professional teaching artists (when appropriate)

Budget

Most organizations we fund have budgets and/or endowments under $10M.

We do not typically fund

Gala Sponsorships, individuals, school field trips, school booster clubs, capital campaigns, commissions of new art works, or professional-development-only programs.

apply

How to Apply

Applications for the 2027 grant cycle will be accepted beginning September 1, 2026. Please review our eligibility and funding focus criteria and download a sample application to help prepare. If you have any questions after that, please contact us at grants@fylf.org.

Download sample application

Our 2026 Grantees

Our Grantees A-F
  • 4C LAB – Azusa, CA
  • 826 Boston – Boston, MA
  • 826DC – Washington, DC
  • 826NYC – Brooklyn, NY
  • A Broader Way Foundation – New York City, NY
  • A Child’s Song – Thornton, CO
  • A Mindful Moment – Cincinnati, OH
  • A Place To Be – Middleburg, VA
  • A Reason To Survive – National City, CA
  • A Step Beyond – Escondido, CA
  • Academy of Music for the Blind – Azusa, CA
  • Advot – Los Angeles, CA
  • African Culture Connection – Omaha, NE
  • Akropolis Quintet – Northville, MI
  • Albany Park Theater Project – Chicago, IL
  • American Festival for the Arts – Houston, TX
  • Angelica Center for Arts and Music – Los Angeles, CA
  • Arkansas Learning Through The Arts – Hot Springs Village, AR
  • Art Buddies – Minneapolis, MN
  • Art of Elan – San Diego, CA
  • Arthur Miller Foundation – New York, NY
  • Artists For Humanity – Boston, MA
  • Arts Center – Anthony, KS
  • Arts Conservatory For Teens – St. Petersburg, FL
  • Arts Ignite – New York, NY
  • Arts, Etc. – Kiawah Island, SC
  • ArtSmart – Philadelphia, PA
  • ArtsUP! LA – Los Angeles, CA
  • Asbury Park Music Foundation – Asbury Park, NJ
  • Austin Classical Guitar Society – Austin, TX
  • Baltimore Symphony Orchestra OrcHKids – Baltimore, MD
  • Band of Angels – Overland Park, KS
  • Bandwith Music – Chicago, IL
  • Bay Area Creative – Hayward, CA
  • Beat The Odds – Boston, MA
  • Bloomingdale School of Music – New York, NY
  • Boston Music Project – Boston, MA
  • BRAVO Youth Orchestra – Portland, OR
  • Broadway Bound Kids – New York, NY
  • Broadway for Arts Education – New York, NY
  • Brooklyn Ballet – Brooklyn, NY
  • Brooklyn Children’s Theatre – Brooklyn, NY
  • Buffalo Center for Arts & Technology – Buffalo, NY
  • Buffalo String Works – Buffalo, NY
  • California Dance Institute – Porter Ranch, CA
  • Carnegie Picture Lab – Walla Walla, WA
  • Cathedral Arts Project – Jacksonville, FL
  • Center for Rural Affairs – Lyons, NE
  • Center Theatre Group – Los Angeles, CA
  • ChiArts Foundation – Chicago, IL
  • Chicago Jazz Philharmonic – Chicago, IL
  • Children’s Choir of Greater Cincinnati – Cincinnati, OH
  • Childsplay – Tempe, AZ
  • ChiME – Chicago, IL
  • City Hearts Kids – Harbor City, CA
  • CITYarts – New York, NY
  • Civic Ensemble – Ithaca, NY
  • Classics for Kids – San Diego, CA
  • Color Outside the Lines – Portland, OR
  • Community Music School – Raleigh, NC
  • Community Music School of Springfield – Springfield, MA
  • Community Musicworks – Providence, RI
  • Company One – Boston, MA
  • COMPAS – Saint Paul, MN
  • Conga Kids – Los Angeles, CA
  • Conifers StageDoor Theatre – Conifer, CO
  • Conservatory Lab – Dorchester, MA
  • Continuum Arts Collective – North Berwick, ME
  • Count Basie Center for the Arts – Red Bank, NJ
  • Creative Arts Workshops for Kids – New York, NY
  • Creative Kids – El Paso, TX
  • Creative Netwerk – Chicago, IL
  • Culture For One – New York, NY
  • DACAMERA – Houston, TX
  • Dance Project of Washington Heights – New York, NY
  • Dancewave – Brooklyn, NY
  • DC Youth Orchestra – Washington, DC
  • Debbie Allen Dance Academy – Los Angeles, CA
  • Delaware Academy of Vocal Arts – Wilmington, DE
  • Detroit Creativity Project – Farmington Hills, MI
  • Developing Artists Theater Company – New York, NY
  • Dreams of Wilmington – Wilmington, NC
  • Dzanc House – Ypsilanti, MI
  • East-West Players – Los Angeles, CA
  • Education Through Music – LA – Burbank, CA
Our Grantees G-P
  • Education Through Music – Colorado – Denver, CO
  • Elemental Music – Santa Monica, CA
  • Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestras – Elgin, IL
  • Enriching Lives through Music – San Rafael, CA
  • EPACER – East Palo Alto, CA
  • Epic Players – Brooklyn, NY
  • Ethos – Portland, OR
  • Feel the Beat – Englewood, CO
  • Fire Theatre Company – New York, NY
  • Firehouse Community Arts Center – Birmingham, AL
  • First Coast Cultural Center – Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
  • FMDG Music School – New York, NY
  • Friends of the Orchestra – Steamboat Springs, CO
  • Get Lit – Los Angeles, CA
  • Girls Rock Santa Barbara – Santa Barbara, CA
  • Girls Rock St. Pete – St. Petersburg, FL
  • Global Arts Corporation – Los Angeles, CA
  • Guitars Antiqua – Gardena, CA
  • Harlem School of the Arts – New York, NY
  • Harmony Foundation – Nashville, TN
  • Harmony Program – New York, NY
  • Harmony Project – Los Angeles, CA
  • Harmony Project Bay Area – Phoenix, AZ
  • Harmony Project Hudson – Rhinecliff, NY
  • Harmony Project Phoenix – Phoenix, AZ
  • Haven Academy of the Arts – Hawthorne, CA
  • Hear Your Song – New York, NY
  • Homer Opus – Homer, AK
  • Hook Arts Media – Brooklyn, NY
  • Hope Stone – Houston, TX
  • House of SpeakEasy – New York, NY
  • Houston Youth Symphony – Houston, TX
  • Hyde Park School of Dance – Chicago, IL
  • Hyde Square Task Force – Jamaica Plain, MA
  • Indianapolis Children’s Choir – Indianapolis, IN
  • Inner City Art House – Erie, PA
  • Inner-City Arts – Los Angeles, CA
  • INTEMPO – Stamford, CT
  • Internal Creations – New York, NY
  • Jabberwocky Studios – Columbia, MO
  • Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet – New York, NY
  • Jazz House Kids – Montclair, NJ
  • Jazz Power Initiative – New York, NY
  • Josephy Center for Arts and Culture – Joseph, OR
  • Katy Art Reach – Katy, TX
  • Keep Rising to the Top – New York, NY
  • Key to Change – Renton, WA
  • Kids Empowered by Your Support – Bridgeport, CT
  • Kids Excel El Paso – El Paso, TX
  • Kidznotes – Durham, NC
  • Kupferberg Center for the Arts – Flushing, NY
  • LACHSA – Los Angeles, CA
  • Lafayette Symphony – Lafayette, IN
  • LAMusArt – Los Angeles, CA
  • Lead Guitar – Tucson, AZ
  • Levine School of Music – Washington, DC
  • Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra – Lynchburg, VA
  • Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma – Oklahoma City, OK
  • Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild – Pittsburgh, PA
  • Mattie Rhodes Memorial Society – Kansas City, MO
  • McDowell Arts Council Association – Marion, NC
  • Miami Music Project – Miami, FL
  • Michael’s Daughter – Newhall, CA
  • Mighty Writers – Philadelphia, PA
  • Misty Copeland Foundation – New York City, NY
  • Momentum-Excellence – Columbus, OH
  • Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit – Detroit, MI
  • MOVE|NYC| – New York, NY
  • Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation – Los Angeles, CA
  • Music Conservatory of Sandpoint – Sandpoint, ID
  • Music for Minors – San Carlos, CA
  • Musical Empowerment – Durham, NC
  • Musicopia – Philadelphia, PA
  • Naked Angels Theater Co. – New York, NY
  • National Asian Artists Project – New York, NY
  • National Dance Institute – New York, NY
  • National Institute of Flamenco – Albuquerque, NM
  • National Queer Theater – Brooklyn, NY
  • Neighborhood Music School – Los Angeles, CA
  • New Ballet Ensemble – Memphis, TN
  • New Orleans Ballet – New Orleans, LA
  • No Limits Theater Group – Culver City, CA
  • Noel Pointer Foundation – Brooklyn, NY
  • North Omaha Music & Arts – Omaha, NE
  • North Valley Music School – Whitefish, MT
Our Grantees Q-Z
  • Northeast Community Center – Kansas City, MO
  • NYCSalt – New York, NY
  • Oaktown Jazz Workshops – Oakland, CA
  • Open Studio Project – Evanston, IL
  • Outside The Lens – San Diego, CA
  • P.S. ARTS – Los Angeles, CA
  • People’s Music School – Chicago, IL
  • People’s Theatre Project – New York, NY
  • Project STEP – Boston, MA
  • Que Blackout Youth Theatre – Detroit, MI
  • Raleigh Music Collective – Raleigh, NC
  • Raw Art Works – Lynn, MA
  • Rejoice School of Ballet – Nashville, TN
  • Renzi Education & Art Center – Shreveport, LA
  • Rhythm Arts Alliance – Los Angeles, CA
  • Riverside Arts Academy – Riverside, CA
  • Rock to the Future – Philadelphia, PA
  • Rosie’s House – Phoenix, AZ
  • Rosie’s Theater Kids – New York, NY
  • Ryman Arts – Los Angeles, CA
  • S’Cool Sounds – New York, NY
  • San Fernando Valley Youth Chorus – Canoga Park, CA
  • Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival – Santa Fe, NM
  • Savannah Music Festival – Savannah, GA
  • Save the Music – New York, NY
  • SAY: The Stuttering Association for the Young – New York, NY
  • Segundo Barrio Children’s Chorus – Houston, TX
  • Settlement Music School – Philadelphia, PA
  • SFArtsED – San Francisco, CA
  • Sistema Utah – Draper, UT
  • SNS Choirs – Palmdale, CA
  • Sol Theatre Company – Carbondale, CO
  • SOL-LA Music Academy – Santa Monica, CA
  • SOUNDS Academy – Phoenix, AZ
  • Soundscapes – Newport News, VA
  • Southland Sings – San Dimas, CA
  • SPARC – Richmond, VA
  • Sparks for Success! – Austin, TX
  • Stage Door Theatre – Dunwoody, GA
  • StageOne Family Theatre – Louisville, KY
  • Strawtown Art & Garden Studio – Garnerville, NY
  • Street Poets – Los Angeles, CA
  • Tacoma Youth Symphony Association – Tacoma, WA
  • Teachers and Writers Collaborative – New York, NY
  • The Actors Theatre Workshop – New York, NY
  • The Animation Project – Brooklyn, NY
  • The Dance Institute of Washington – Washington, DC
  • The Gloster Arts Project – Natchez, MS
  • The Heartbeat Music Project – Crown Point, IN
  • The MusicianShip – Washington, DC
  • The Roots of Music – New Orleans, LA
  • The Telling Room – Portland, ME
  • The Theater Bug – Nashville, TN
  • The Unscripted Project – Philadelphia, PA
  • The Young Shakespeareans – Pasadena, CA
  • Therapeutic Living Centers for the Blind – Reseda, CA
  • Trinity One Theatre Troupe – San Diego, CA
  • Trombone Shorty Foundation – New Orleans, LA
  • True Skool – Milwaukee, WI
  • Union City Music Project – Weehawken, NJ
  • Unusual Suspects – Pasadena, CA
  • Upbeat NYC – New York, NY
  • Uptown Stories – New York, NY
  • Urban Arts Partnership – New York, NY
  • Urban Word NYC – New York, NY
  • UrbanGlass – New York, NY
  • Versa-Style Dance Company – Sun Valley, CA
  • Vincennes Teen Center – Vincennes, IN
  • Voices – Basalt, CO
  • Wharton Arts – Berkeley Hts, NJ
  • What iF Puppets – Kansas City, MO
  • Wilmington Symphony Orchestra – Wilmington, NC
  • Worcester Chamber Music Society – Worcester, MA
  • Worcester Youth Orchestras – Worcester, MA
  • WriteGirl – Los Angeles, CA
  • YEAH! – Nashville, TN
  • Young Audiences of Houston – Houston, TX
  • Young Audiences of Virginia – Norfolk, VA
  • Young Musicians Choral Orchestra – Berkeley, CA
  • Young Playwrights’ Theatre – Washington, DC
  • Young Singers of the Palm Beaches – West Palm Beach, FL
  • Young Storytellers Foundation – Los Angeles, CA
  • Youth in Arts – San Rafael, CA
  • ZUMIX – East Boston, MA

Frequently Asked

Grant Application FAQs

When does the grant application open?

In 2026, the Grant Application window will open on September 1 and will be open for 45 days. Check back here and on FYLF social media for further updates.

How long does it take to be notified if my application is successful?

It typically takes 3-4 months for us to do a thorough review of the application pool depending on the volume of requests received. Applicants are notified of decisions by email.

What percentage of applicants are funded?

In 2025 we were able to provide funding for a little over 40% of the organizations that applied.

Do you fund school programs directly?

We do not typically fund schools directly, however we fund non-profit organizations that provide arts education programming in schools and on school grounds. If the school is a public arts school or a school with a primary focus on arts education we do sometimes consider funding.

My organization received a grant in the past, but not recently. Can we reapply?

Yes, please email us directly at grants@fylf.org to assess the situation and figure out the next steps.

How much funding do first-time grantees typically receive?

Typical first-time grants range from $2,500-$5,000.

What if I have questions not answered here?

We’d love to hear from you! Please email grants@fylf.org.