Zoo Labs: FUND
Overview
Learn more about the 2025 Zoo Labs: FUND Grantees! Zoo Labs supports music creators whose work is rooted in bold innovation, lived experience, and community expression – empowering them to fully own and expand their creative paths. It bridges the worlds of music and business by providing artist-tailored entrepreneurial training. It also supports Bay Area creatives through unrestricted funding and a strong professional network, investing in their power to build lasting legacies that drive cultural vibrancy and economic growth. In 2026, Zoo Labs: FUND will make $225,000 in unrestricted grants to Bay Area culturally rooted artist teams with a music business. Zoo Labs: FUND is a grant and investment program designed to support Bay Area entrepreneurs who are building businesses that center music. By providing funding, mentorship, and educational resources, the FUND helps creative business owners in the Bay Area begin or scale their ventures in ways that contribute to cultural enrichment, economic empowerment, and community benefit. The FUND prioritizes culturally rooted artists (i.e., artists whose work is deeply influenced by their cultural heritage, traditions, and community experiences, and who draw upon the stories, symbols, practices, and values of their cultural background to inform their art) who face challenges or structural hurdles to accessing capital, and aims to create more opportunities in the local creative economy. Investing in these businesses fosters innovation, preserves cultural and artistic expression, and generates jobs. It also works against displacement by creating stable economic opportunities that enable individuals to thrive in the Bay Area. Through this support, Zoo Labs: FUND advances a fair and sustainable creative ecosystem for the public good. Zoo Labs: FUND celebrated its sixth year of grantmaking in 2026. The application process and funding distribution was be administered in partnership with the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI), a trusted nonprofit intermediary focused on the financial well-being of artists, arts workers, culture bearers, and creative entrepreneurs.
Deadlines
Applications openJune 9 at 9:00 a.m. PT Applications closeAugust 7 at 11:59 a.m. (morning) PT Panel ReviewWeek of October 5 Award NotificationsOctober 13 by 5:00 p.m. PT Period of supportOctober 2026 - October 2027
Eligibility
To be considered for funding, applicants:
Must be teams of two or more people, with at least one culturally rooted artist member; Must be launching or have an already established business with a focus on music; Must reside full-time in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, or Sonoma County (this criterion applies to ALL team members); Can be any age; however, if any member of the team is 18 years old or younger, CCI staff must be contacted to discuss the team’s eligibility; Can be a previous grantee3; however, first-time award recipients may be prioritized; and Must be 18 years or older at the time of the application deadline.
Refer to the Program Guidelines and FAQ for further details on eligibility.
Image Courtesy of Audiopharmacy, Zoo: Labs FUND Grantee. From left to right: Priscilla Lopez, Azeem Ward, jo love/speak cruz, Chika D, Teao Sense, Gina Madrid, Lulu Medina, Ras K’ Dee, and Amré Leon Dana. Summer Arts & Music Festival at County Line Ranch in Cooks Valley, Photo by David Saenz, 2022
CCI will invite panelists who reflect diverse cultural, gender, and experiential backgrounds to review eligible applications and make award recommendations. Panelists will evaluate applicants’ Pitch Video, Business Matrix, Budget/Budget Notes, and Work Sample against the following criteria:
- Group Strength: The team members, through their individual roles and as a collective, are critical to sustaining the business.
- Artistry & Craft: The business reflects or furthers the team’s artistic, creative, craft, or cultural practice.
- Entrepreneurship: The team has a feasible business plan (emerging enterprises) or business model (already established enterprises) and is creating traction for the business.
- External & Internal Impact: The business has a public benefit and makes a positive contribution to its community and the Bay Area’s arts and culture ecosystem, in addition to the grant funding arriving at a critical juncture.
- External Impact: How this is realized will be relative to the individual business and its mission. For example, the business may create economic opportunities, bring accessible educational experiences to young people, help audiences heal, or center marginalized voices.
- The application will ask businesses to identify the field in which they are having an impact. Field options include: Animal Rights; Arts & Culture; Community/Economic Development; Democracy/Political Activities; Disability Rights; Education; Environment & Climate Justice; Food & Agriculture; Gender Equity; Health & Healthcare; Housing/Homelessness; Human & Civil Rights; Immigration & Refugee Rights; Indigenous Communities, Culture, & Rights; LGBTQ+ Rights; Public Safety/Criminal Justice/Restorative Justice; Racial Justice & Healing; Religion; Science & Research; Youth Development & Engagement. See the Application Preview for more information.
- Critical Juncture & Internal Impact: The team is at an inflection point where an infusion of capital has the potential for short- or long-term internal impact, such as seeding a business’ launch, propelling a business’ growth, supporting the business’ sustainability, or investing in the untapped potential of an established business. Panelists will aim to ensure that recommended grantees align with the evaluation criteria and represent the Bay Area’s diverse arts and culture ecosystem. To that end, the panel will seek to balance the final grantee pool across factors, which include: communities served, geography, business focus, benefit(s) imparted, arts and cultural form/tradition represented, and other descriptive demographics.
- External Impact: How this is realized will be relative to the individual business and its mission. For example, the business may create economic opportunities, bring accessible educational experiences to young people, help audiences heal, or center marginalized voices.
Refer to the Program Guidelines and FAQ for further details on the review process and criteria.
July 8 from 11:00 a.m-12:00 p.m. PT. Register Here
July 22 from 4:00-5:00 p.m. PT. Register Here
Please note: These are not formal presentations, nor will they be recorded. Office Hours are an opportunity to have your questions addressed by CCI staff in real time. We ask that you review the grant guidelines, application preview, and Frequently Asked Questions in advance to ensure everyone’s time is used efficiently.
CCI staff are here to help and listen. For assistance, please email us at grants@cciarts.org (include Zoo Labs: FUND 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!
