General Grantmaking Policies and Priorities
Jerome Foundation grants are made to not-for-profit arts organizations and fiscal sponsors applying on behalf of artists.
The Foundation seeks to support organizations and programs that evidence a substantial and ongoing commitment to supporting the creation, development, and production of new works by emerging artists.
The Foundation is open to applications in all arts disciplines and across arts disciplines. Although the Foundation does not strictly allocate dollars to each discipline, it does seek, in general, to commit equitable amounts to all areas. At times, the Foundation may choose to emphasize support for under-funded disciplines and geographic areas. This information appears in the News section of the Jerome website.
The Foundation accepts requests from new organizations.
The Foundation is flexible and will consider various funding mechanisms if they provide significant assistance to emerging artists.
Programs must provide adequate payment to artists for their work and/or offer substantial opportunities to advance their work and their level of recognition.
The Foundation’s practice with major presenting organizations is to focus on providing subsidy to the emerging artists for the creation of works to be presented by that organization. Jerome support is applied to commissions or subsidies for creation and development.
The Foundation does not support capital (building and endowment) campaigns, nor does it offer travel grants other than the specific Travel and Study Grant Program it administers.
Foundation funding is designated for particular programs or projects. Support for one artist or ensemble of artists is generally limited to three to six grants or as long as the artists/ensemble's status remains emerging.
Applicants should allow four to five months for evaluation of proposals. The Foundation does not fund retroactively; therefore, applicants should submit applications well in advance of the inception of a program so that a reply from the Foundation may be obtained before the program begins.
Students in K-12 educational programs are not eligible for Jerome Foundation support. In general, individuals enrolled in undergraduate or graduate degree programs are not eligible, with one exception. If an artist enrolls in an undergraduate or graduate degree program or takes classes while maintaining a current and active professional practice of creating and presenting work to the public, she/he is eligible.
Requests exclusively focused on touring are not supported.
The Foundation prefers to support first presentations of new works with confirmed venues and dates for the presentations.
Specific Policies and Priorities/Organizations
The Jerome Foundation restricts its program to Minnesota and the five boroughs of New York City. The Foundation requires that organizational applicants have their primary office and operations based in one of those two areas. Organizations must have street mailing addresses within the Foundation’s geographic area. Post office box addresses are not accepted.
The Jerome Foundation prioritizes support for programs, projects, and activities that:
- Focus on the creation, development, and production of new works by emerging artists, representing a deep and sustained engagement between the artist and the organization. Priority is given to mentorship, fellowship, residency, and commissioning programs. In visual art exhibition programs, priority is given to solo, two-person, and three-person shows that allow for major works or bodies of work to be shown.
- Provide support for the creation of new work as well as a production, publication, or exhibition fee paid to the artist. Creative support should be paid to the artist well in advance of the public presentation of the work.
- Support more than one artist on a regular basis. The Foundation will consider size of organization and program in the context of overall programming and the organization’s position and profile in its field.
- Provide artists complete creative freedom. Programs that require artists to create work with a particular theme, content, or structure are a much lower priority.
- Do not impose on artists beyond the primary purpose of the creation, development, and production of new work. Programs may offer artists opportunities for workshops or community engagement as long such commitments are minimal.
- Operate open submission processes and open calls with no submission fees required of artists. The Foundation is willing to support other selection processes using curators, artistic staff, and nominators, for example, if the persons doing the selection have active, regular, and broad engagement with emerging artists. Organizations that operate selection procedures through which emerging artists are identified, and the artists change from year to year, may receive support for as long as the programs remain vital.
- Support the creation of original material. The Foundation does not support adaptations or arrangements of existing works, reinterpretations of existing works, and reprints. The Foundation will support new works that use another artist’s work as a source or an inspiration, as long as the work proposed to the Foundation is a new and original vision.
- Support the first presentations of new works.
General Grantmaking Policies and Priorities/Fiscal Sponsors Applying on Behalf of Artists
Jerome support is restricted to fiscal sponsors and emerging artists who are legal residents of Minnesota and/or New York City. Applicants must have street mailing addresses within the Foundation’s geographic area.
The Jerome Foundation ordinarily makes fiscally sponsored grants that support the creation of new works by emerging choreographers, and to a lesser degree, emerging composers, playwrights, performance artists, experimental ensembles, and multidisciplinary creators. The Foundation generally does not makes fiscally sponsored grants to visual artists and literary artists. Please speak with Foundation staff about your particular situation and proposal.
Support for one artist or ensemble of artists is generally limited to three to six grants or as long as the artists/ensemble's status remains emerging.
