Onondaga County MicroGrant

To apply for the MicroGrant, applicants must: 

• Have a prior year operational budget of less than $20,000
• Have a permanent address located in Onondaga County
• Produce arts and cultural programming occurring January 1, 2026 – March 31, 2027
• Attend a CNY Arts Grant Seminar (either in person or online).

Unincorporated entities are eligible to apply but must have a short consultation call with CNY Arts Program Staff prior to submitting an application. The time and date of the consultation will be a required field in the application to complete for a submission. 

The following are not eligible for MicroGrant support: 

• An organization with a prior year operational budget of more than $20,000;
• An agency of the County (includes libraries);
• An educational institution, school, or educational foundation;
• A radio or television broadcasting network or station, a cable communications system, or a newspaper or magazine;
• An organization that is engaged solely in the acquisition or physical restoration of property;
• An organization that has received direct funding from Onondaga County for 2026;
• Individual artists;
• A CNY Arts Grantee with an outstanding final report from a prior year grant 

Organizations are eligible to receive one MicroGrant award in 2026: 

• Applicants awarded funding in Round 1 are ineligible to apply for Round 2
• Applicants denied funding in Round 1 are welcome to reapply for Round 2 

Grant dollars could cover expenses related to:

• Artist and talent fees;
• Space rental for arts and culture programming;
• Marketing and communication costs;
• Operating support directly related to arts and cultural programming, including administrative and personnel fees; contractual fees and equipment, dues and subscriptions 

Below are key dates for the MicroGrant program. Please note we do not accept applications or corrections after the deadline. 

ROUND ONE: 

ROUND TWO: 

New in 2026! MicroGrant awards will be distributed in two rounds. Applicants are only eligible to receive a single MicroGrant award across both cycles.

We recommend submitting an application in Round 1 if the following applies to you:

• The programming for which you are requesting support is occurring in 2026*
• You have sufficient information about the project (venues, collaborators, budget, etc.) to submit a clear and complete proposal before the Round 1 deadline.
• It is necessary or beneficial to receive the grant funds by early June 2026.

Apply in Round 2 if the following applies to you:

• The programming for which you are requesting support is occurring in 2026 OR the first quarter (January-March) of 2027**
• Information about the project (venues, collaborators, budget, etc.) is clarified after the Round 1 deadline.
• Receiving award notification in October 2026 and funding in November 2026 aligns with your project timeline.

*No funding for 2027 programming will be distributed in Round 1. Grants can support projects that occurred in 2026 prior to the application deadline or award date.

**Round 2 funding can support projects forthcoming within the eligible project period, or that have already occurred within the eligible project period.

Applications must be completed and submitted through Submittable via this link. 

You may save your progress on Submittable as you complete your application. Please note that once the application has been submitted, it cannot be edited any further.

Upon completing and successfully submitting an application through Submittable, you will receive an automated email confirmation to the registered email address. If you do not receive an email confirmation, the application has not been correctly submitted and cannot be considered for funding. 

For further assistance, please refer to the Submittable Help Forum or contact the CNY Arts Regrants Program Staff. 

Viewing the Applicant Support Webinar at the top of this page is required. This free, public seminar is designed to provide applicants with an understanding of the purpose and eligibility requirements of the MicroGrant opportunity.

You can download a full PDF of the application questions here. 

Applicant Information

• Contact information of applicant;
• CNY Arts funding history;
  • New applicant? Y/N;
• 501(c)3 status;
• Organization summary 

Basic Project Information

• Brief project summary, including dates & locations;
• Project budget and grant request amount 

Project Narratives 

You will be asked to provide detailed project descriptions in response to the project narrative questions, such as: 

• Artistic/cultural merit of project;
• Community engagement;
• Venue/timeline;
• How you frame success for this project;
• Admission fees 

Uploaded Documents 

• Additional artistic samples and support materials.
• Project Budget Form;
• Prior Year Annual Operating Budget; 
• Biographies or Resumes of Key Artists;
• For 501(c)3 organization applicants: Proof of nonprofit status and list of staff and Board of Directors;
• Letters of support (optional); and
• Additional artistic samples and support materials

Grant awards and funding recommendations will be determined by a competitive peer review process conducted by a panel of artists, arts administrators, and community leaders from throughout Onondaga County. The panel’s funding recommendations will then be submitted to the CNY Arts Board of Directors for approval.

Panelists for the MicroGrant program are nominated by residents and community members of Onondaga County and are subsequently appointed by the CNY Arts Board of Directors. Panelists must be nominated and must be residents of or work in Onondaga County to serve. Panelists are paid a nominal honorarium to participate and may not serve for more than three consecutive years. To nominate yourself or another individual to serve as a peer review panelist, please complete this nomination form. New panelists will be selected on a rolling basis. 

• Clarity of arts and culture program being proposed, its intended audience, and benefit to the community;
• Experience, credentials, and work samples of proposed artists and personnel;
• Originality, innovation, relevance within the community 

• Level of engagement with intended audiences; 
• Availability of free or low-cost attendance options;
• Thoughtful engagement with audiences from historically excluded communities (those communities might be cultural, racial, ethnic, religious; related to age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, income level, education, geographic location, access to transportation, etc.) 

• Overall clarity of project proposal with defined objectives; 
• Previously demonstrated ability to implement projects;
• Clear budget that aligns with project scope 

We share this scoring information to support you in crafting a strong application.

• Prominently and correctly include the following credit language in all printed and published materials: 

Made possible with generous support from the County of Onondaga. 

• Credit language should be accompanied by the CNY Arts logo (found here) and the Onondaga County seal (found here)
• Language should be used in all printed, broadcast, or online publicity related to the services supported by the Onondaga County and CNY Arts, or in any program, publication, catalog, film, or comparable product. 

• All grant-funded events, projects, and programs must be submitted to CNY Arts’ Arts & Entertainment Calendar (cnyarts.org/events) at least 30 days in advance of the first event 
• Agencies must maintain an up-to-date profile on the CNY Arts directory (cnyarts.org/directory) for the full contract period