General Operating Support

Purpose: The General Operating Support grant program provides direct funding to arts and cultural organizations in support of ongoing operations. An arts and cultural organization is defined as an entity with a primary purpose of providing arts, creative, or cultural programming/services. Assessed by CAC staff, this purpose is determined by the organization’s mission, purpose statement, and/or by its summary of core organizational programs and services. This grant supports the well-being of California’s cultural vitality by helping sustain a robust and diverse arts workforce and infrastructure. Funds may be used to support any eligible expenses associated with the general operations of an arts or cultural organization, including but not limited to rent, utilities, and staff salaries. Applying for this grant does not restrict an organization from applying for other CAC project-based grants. General Operating grants are intended to support the applicant organization in carrying out its mission. Funding is not intended to support a specific project. Organizations eligible to apply include: Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), California organizations Units of municipal, county or Tribal governments Fiscally sponsored organizations Arts service/network organizations with total revenue of $5 million or below Arts producing or presenting organizations with total revenue (TR) of $1.5 million or below Applicant organizations and fiscal sponsors must meet the requirements below: Have a principal place of business in California and a California address. Have a minimum two-year history of consistent arts programming and/or services prior to the application deadline. Demonstrate proof of nonprofit status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or section 23701d of the California Revenue and Taxation Code. Eligible applicant organizations without non-profit status, please see Fiscal Sponsor Requirements in the 2025 Grants Manual. Have “active status” with the California Secretary of State (SOS) showing evidence of “good standing” at the time of application. Eligible Request Amounts Applicant organizations can request up to $30,000 for a one-year funding cycle Funding Restrictions Organizations who have applied for the 2025 cycle of State-Local Partners are not eligible for General Operating Support. For applicant organizations with total revenue above $250,000, the sum of requests during the same year of funding cannot exceed 50% of the total revenue from the most recently completed fiscal year. The CAC’s definition of Total Revenue is the total cash inflow from your organization’s most recently completed fiscal year. Cash inflow/income includes all earned income (ex: ticket sales) and contributed income (ex: grants, donations/contributions, one-time organizational funding, operational grants). Re-granting and pass-through funding are excluded from the organization's total revenue calculation. Matching Funds A one-to-one match is required for this grant for organizations with a total revenue above $250k. See the 2025 Grants Manual for clarification on eligible match sources. 2025/26 Funding Priorities Organizations serving historically and systemically underserved communities located in the lower two quartiles of the Healthy Places Index, including rural and inland areas, as well as regions with a history of low investment from the CAC; First-time grantees, who have not previously received direct CAC funding (except for organizations whose only previous CAC funding was a Cultural Pathways grant); and Small organizations with Total Revenues of $250,000 or below. Eligible Applicants: Organizations eligible to apply include: Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), California organizations Units of municipal, county or Tribal governments Fiscally sponsored organizations Arts service/network organizations with total revenue of $5 million or below Arts producing or presenting organizations with total revenue (TR) of $1.5 million or below Eligible Geographies: Applicants must have a principal place of business in California. 2025/26 Funding Priorities Organizations serving historically and systemically underserved communities located in the lower two quartiles of the Healthy Places Index, including rural and inland areas, as well as regions with a history of low investment from the CAC; First-time grantees; and Small organizations with Total Revenues of $250,000 or below. Matching Funding: A one-to-one match is required for this grant for organizations with a total revenue above $250k.

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  genopsgrant@arts.ca.gov