Quick Grants
Overview
The May 15, 2026 cycle is now closed. Notifications will be sent via Submittable on July 15, 2026 by 5:00 p.m. PT. Applications for the July 15, 2026 cycle are open! The Quick Grant program provides up to $600 in professional development funds to staff members of nonprofit arts organizations based in San Francisco or San José, as well as to California-based artists, creatives, cultural practitioners, and cultural producers. This program supports artists and arts workers with funding to enroll in workshops, attend conferences, and work with consultants, coaches, and mentors in order to build their administrative capacity, hone business skills, and strengthen the financial resilience of an organization, artistic practice, or area of cultural production. In honor of Quick Grant's 15th anniversary in 2024, CCI commissioned an outside evaluator to tell the story of how a relatively small investment(a $600 microgrant) can have an outsized impact on an awardee. If you're interested in learning more about the impact of the Quick Grant program over its 15-year history, you can read the full report here.
Monthly Deadline
Applications are due on the 15th of the month by 11:59 a.m. (morning) PT. Applicants will be notified of their application status by the 16th of the following month. Applications for each cycle will open on the 16th of every month at 9:00 a.m. PT.
TIMELINE EXAMPLE:January 16 – Applications OpenFebruary 15 – Applications CloseMarch 16 – Award Notifications Important Note:Applications with funding requests to support activities that begin less than one month after the nearest application deadline will be considered ineligible. For example, if you submit your application for the February 15 deadline, the activity you are seeking funding support for must not begin until on or after March 16 (the date of award notification).
Eligible Activities
To be eligible for Quick Grant funding, activities must:
Build administrative capacity, hone business skills, and/or strengthen the financial resilience of the grantee’s practice, area of cultural production, or arts organization. This includes activities with a focus on advocacy education, technology skill-building, and training in areas like copyright registration or other intellectual property protections. Begin after the application notification date. For example, for the June 15, 2026, deadline, the proposed activity must start on or after the notification date of July 16, 2026.
Funding may be used to support part or all of the following eligible expenses:
Travel and hotel expenses associated with the participation in an eligible activity, regardless of distance from the applicant’s primary address or the organization’s location (eligible expenses can include meals, gas, parking, tolls, public transportation, etc.) Caregiving associated costs (e.g., childcare, daycare, eldercare, etc.) associated with the participation in an eligible activity. Registration fees for conferences, festivals, workshops, and/or trainings. Memberships or subscriptions that offer opportunities for professional networking, business or administrative skill development, and/or field knowledge. Fees to engage a facilitator, executive coach, mentor, career counselor, or consultant to build administrative and business skills*
Regarding consultant support, for a proposed activity to be competitive, it must be made clear that the applicant will be actively engaged in enhanced learning or receiving portable skills. In other words, proposed activities MUST have an educational benefit or result in skill acquisition. Consequently, applications wherein sub-contract activities are proposed (e.g., hiring someone to moderate a webinar series, design a website on the applicant's behalf, or facilitate online sales) are not eligible. *Due to limited resources, requests by Los Angeles County applicants to work one-on-one with a consultant are extremely competitive. Priority will instead go to Los Angeles County applicants who propose group activities such as public workshops, conferences, and trainings.)
Refer to the Program Guidelines and FAQ for further details on eligibility.
Image Courtesy of Nicole Rivera, CCI Grantee. Photo by María Victoria Casalduc. 2023
Individual Artists, Creatives, Cultural Practitioners, & Cultural Producers
- Must currently reside full-time within the State of California
Nonprofit Arts Organization Staff Members
- Staff of a nonprofit, tax-exempt arts organization located in the City and County of San Francisco or the City of San José
- Staff of a fiscally sponsored arts organization with the majority (i.e., 75%) of the organization’s public programming occurring within the City and County of San Francisco or the City of San José (see Quick Grant Guidelines under the HOW TO APPLY section for additional eligibility requirements)
Refer to the Program Guidelines and FAQ for further details on eligibility.
CCI hosted an information session on Wednesday, September 17, 2025 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. PT, which featured an overview of the application and guidelines, helpful tips, and a live Q&A.
To request access to the recording, please email quickgrant@cciarts.org.
CCI staff are here to help and listen. For assistance, please email us at grants@cciarts.org (include Quick Grants in the subject line) or call 415.288.0530. You may also schedule a time to speak here.
For Deaf applicants and those with hearing loss, contact CCI using the California Relay Service—our staff is trained in making and receiving these calls.
If you need technical assistance (e.g., password or upload issues), request support at: https://www.submittable.com/help/submitter/. Submittable’s business hours are 9 am – 5 pm MT. They aim to respond within 24 business hours.
Refer to this Submittable Quick Tips for additional support!
Funders
The Quick Grant program is made possible with support from:
