Crystal Spirit Publishing’s Spirit of Writing Grant

The purpose of the Spirit of Writing Grant Program is to provide funding for projects that assist individuals with furthering their desire and ability to write, perform, or publish. There will be two grant cycles in 2014, with deadlines January 31 and July 31. Grants range from $500-$2500. Complete details and application are available on the website.
Crystal Spirit Publishing, Inc.
c/o Spirit of Writing Grant
PO Box 12506
Durham, NC 27709
No email, but a contact form is available here.
Website: crystalspiritinc.com/philanthropy.html

A Room of Her Own (AROHO)

The Gift of Freedom Award is a fellowship of $50,000 designed to bridge the gap between a woman’s financial reality and her artistic creation. One fellowship awarded biennially, along with up to three genre awards of $5,000 each. (Note: the 2011 award cycle was postponed because of funding issues; the 2013 awards were funded and awarded.) AROHO also sponsors a biennial writer’s retreat in the New Mexico high desert. Other awards and resources are available; check the website for details.

Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, Inc.

Grants to poets, fiction and nonfiction writers, visual artists, and for a mixed-genre category (illustration and text) to feminist women in the arts; amount ranges from $500 to $1,500. Two application deadlines each year: December 31 (Visual Art, Mixed Genre, and Fiction) and June 30 (Nonfiction and Poetry). Application materials are online in PDF form or by mail (send them a SASE.) Application fee is $25.

National League of American Pen Women, Inc.

The Shirley Holden Helberg Grants for Mature Women, is given for work submitted by women over 35 in each of three categories: Art, Letters, and Music. Grant amount is $1,000. Complete information is available here.
Various other writing competitions are available through the many local branches of the national organization.
Currently the NLAPW is working to build up membership; members have access to the Pen Arts library and other resources.

YoungArts (formerly The National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts)

YoungArts provides emerging artists (ages 15-18 or grades 10-12) with life-changing experiences with renowned mentors, access to significant scholarships, national recognition, and other opportunities throughout their careers to help ensure that the nation’s most outstanding young artists are encouraged to pursue careers in the arts. Support of up to $10,000 is offered in ten artistic disciplines, one of which is writing; categories include Non-Fiction, Novel, Poetry, Play or Script, and Short Story.

The Loft Literary Center
McKnight Artist Fellowships for Writers and other grant programs

The Loft administers the McKnight Artists Fellowships for Writers. Five $25,000 awards are presented annually to accomplished Minnesota writers and spoken word artists. Four awards alternate annually between creative prose (fiction and creative nonfiction) and poetry/spoken word. The fifth award is presented in children’s literature and alternates annually for writing for ages eight and under and writing for children older than eight. The awards provide the writers the opportunity to focus on their craft for the course of the fellowship year.
The Loft also offers a broad range of award opportunities for writers at various stages of their artistic development. Grants and awards allow participants to hone their skills working with nationally acclaimed authors and to embark on projects of their own design to further their artistic careers. Unique, one-time programs are frequently announced for specific communities of writers.
The Loft website has classes, literary programs, events, resources, and other opportunities for writers both locally and online; check the website for details.

The Leeway Foundation

Grants to support women and transgender artists in the Delaware Valley Region who create art for social change. Art and Change Grant provides up to $2,500 for project-based work and the Leeway Transformation Award gives $15,000 in unrestricted funds to artists who demonstrate a long-term commitment to social change work by having done work in this area for the past five years or more,.

Kentucky Foundation for Women, Inc.

Grants to feminist writers and playwrights in Kentucky only.

Sustainable Arts Foundation

Supports artists and writers with children (specifically a child under the age of 18) with unrestricted cash awards of $6,000 and $1,000. Applications are accepted twice a year; visit website for complete guidelines and specific deadlines.

GRANTS FOR SPECIFIC KINDS OF INDIVIDUALS

Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice

Astraea’s revitalized Global Arts Fund will support, showcase, and connect impactful art by LGBTQI people and organizations with limited access to resources, who use art as a tool for social transformation.

Hurston/Wright Foundation

The Foundation grants two awards for writers annually: Legacy Award recognizes and awards prizes to writers of African descent for fiction, debut fiction, non-fiction, and poetry published in the award year. The Award for College Writers was established by novelist Marita Golden to honor excellence in fiction writing by students of African descent. Winners are selected annually in April for the best unpublished short story or novel excerpt.
The Foundation also sponsors several writers’ workshops for adults and teens. Check the website for details.

Cintas Foundation, Inc.

Fellowships are granted to talented individuals of Cuban citizenship or direct lineage (parents or grandparents) for creative writing, selected by a panel of qualified writers. Amount of fellowship is $10,000.