The Illinois Arts Council (IAC) is pleased to announce the release of the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Creative Projects Grant (CPG) guidelines. The goal of CPG is to provide up to $12,000 to support art projects for Illinois artists, eligible not-for-profit organizations, municipal entities, or colleges and universities. CPG projects must include a public release or presentation of the work accomplished during the grant period.

Applications will be available in IAC’s Salesforce grant portal beginning Tuesday, July 1, 2025.

CPG is an open-deadline grant program. Applications will be accepted until allotted funds have been expended. Each IAC region has its own allocation of funds. Funds will be expended at varying rates, and regions will close to new applications at different times. Please check the IAC website before applying to see if funds are available for your region. Applications must be submitted to the IAC’s Salesforce grant portal a minimum of 8 weeks prior to the start date for the arts project being submitted for IAC funding.

In FY26, CPG replaces the Creative Catalyst Grant and absorbs the Folk Arts Mentorship grant program. Ethnic, folk, or traditional artists interested in mentorship or project funding are encouraged to apply through CPG.

A pre-recorded webinar is available on IAC’s website. The IAC will also host a series of “drop-in” sessions to answer any questions you may have. Drop-in sessions are one-hour sessions that have no agenda. Participants may ask questions of the participating Program Staff and get answers in real time. Drop-ins do not require pre-registration. Simply click the link at the time of the meeting to join the call via WebEx. Visit the Creative Project Grants webpage for details.

For more information, please contact your Regional Program Director.