Wisconsin Special Project Grants — Ruth Arts
Small and mid-size nonprofit visual and performing arts organizations in Wisconsin with operating budgets under $2 million may apply for project grants of $100,000 or $200,000 over two years through a juried process.
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Get matched →- Deadline
- rolling, apply anytime
- Entry fee
- Free
- Award
- $150,000
- Location
- Wisconsin
About
Overview
Ruth Foundation for the Arts' Special Project Grants program awards project funding to small and mid-size nonprofit visual and performing arts organizations situated on land presently known as Wisconsin. Since launching in 2024, the grantmaking initiative has committed $3.5 million to arts and culture organizations in the state.
Eligibility
Small and mid-size nonprofit visual and performing arts organizations, including Tribal Nations, with operating budgets under $2 million.
Award
Special Project Grants provide support at $100,000 or $200,000 over two years for successful applicants.
Program Focus
The program aims to build a robust and equitable arts ecosystem by investing in projects that have long-term cultural and structural impact for their communities. Of particular interest are initiatives that rethink and reimagine past practices, bring an expansive range of voices into public and artistic discourse, and contribute to a more complex and abundant understanding of the histories, lived experiences, and futures of this region.
2025 Recipients
- Art Intersection MKE: Interactive Oasis reimagines green spaces by merging public art, digital art and community.
- Encore Studio for the Performing Arts: Securing a Legacy preserves theatre amplifying voices of artists with disabilities.
- Hmong American Partnership Fox Valley: Maa Vue and The Dream Carrier shares stories through Hmong cultural traditions.
- Isthmus Dance Collective: DELVE provides choreographers and dancers opportunity to expand artistically.
- Latino Arts: Voices of Heritage highlights Latina visual and performance artists.
- Still Waters Collective: A Line Meant centers formerly incarcerated writers in writing circles and publishing.
- Textile Arts Center of Madison: Artist-in-Residence Program launching fall 2025.
- TRUE Skool: MKE Hip Hop Archive Project preserves Milwaukee's Hip Hop legacy.
- Wild Space: InSite commissions choreographers of color for site-specific works.
- Wormfarm Institute: Hay Rake Ballet collaborates with farmers on dance performance of farm machinery.
2024 Recipients
- Arts & Literature Laboratory: LAB^4 develops cultural programming through interdisciplinary teams.
- Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians: Artist in Residence Program shares traditional and contemporary Ojibwe artistic methods.
- Bembé Drum & Dance: Academia Bembé is a community-based cultural arts academy.
- Cactus+: Accessibility Initiative centers underserved communities with infrastructure and artist support.
- Chevelon Music: Bizhiki: Unbound develops multidisciplinary music and video performance.
- GEEX: Continues Wisconsin's glass art history through video documentation.
- Award
- $100,000 or $200,000 over two years
- Entry fee
- Free to enter
- Theme
- Projects with long-term cultural and structural impact that rethink past practices, bring diverse voices into public and artistic discourse, and contribute to a more complex understanding of Wisconsin's histories, lived experiences, and futures.
- Eligibility
- Wisconsin arts and culture organizations (including Tribal Nations) with operating budgets under $2 million.
- Audience
- Small and mid-size nonprofit visual and performing arts organizations
Every listing links to the organizer's official page. Always confirm deadlines, fees, and entry rules there before you apply.