upcoming grant deadline: 05/15/2024

upcoming grant deadline: 05/15/2024

FAQs

General Leeway Grant & Award FAQs 

What grants are open to the public at Leeway?
Leeway has three funding opportunities that are open to the public:

  • Art and Change Grant (ACG) provides project-based grants of up to $2,500 to women, trans*, and/or gender nonconforming artists and cultural producers in greater Philadelphia to fund art for social change projects. Deadline: August 1 
  • Leeway Transformation Award (LTA) provides unrestricted annual awards of $15,000 to women, trans*, and/or gender nonconforming artists and cultural producers living in greater Philadelphia who create art for social change and have done so for the past five years or more, demonstrating a long-term commitment to social change work. Deadline for Stage 1: May 15
  • Media Artist + Activist Residency (MAR) provides grants of $25,000 to women, trans*, and/or gender nonconforming media artists working in close collaboration with social justice/cultural organizations to document, reframe, and/or amplify the issues and campaigns addressed by the organization. Deadline: June 24
     

What grants are only open to past Leeway grantees?

In addition to the three funding streams listed above, Leeway grantees are eligible to apply for the following funding opportunities:

  • Window of Opportunity Grant (WOO) provides financial assistance of up to $1,500 to Leeway grant and award recipients to help them take advantage of imminent, time-sensitive opportunities to support their art for social change practice. Deadline: The 15th of every month (February-November)
  • Community Care Fund (CCF) provides financial assistance of up to $2,500 to Leeway grant and award recipients to support with immediate and essential emergency needs, including but not limited to the pandemic's impact. Deadline: Rolling – or until the maximum amount of funding per quarterly cycle is reached.
  • Leeway x Fleisher Visual Artist Residency offers a residency to a past Leeway grantee at Fleisher from January 2025 through December 2025. Residents receive a $2,500 stipend and access to Fleisher facilities, equipment, and classes. Deadline: April 22.
  • NextFab Art + Technology Residency offers a residency to a past Leeway grantee at NextFab from January 2025 through September 2025. Residents receive a $2,500 stipend and a Standard Membership to NextFab’s facilities, equipment, and classes. Deadline: October 14.

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How does Leeway define Art for Social Change?
Art with a vision and an intentional analysis. Find out more here.

What makes a Leeway artist or cultural producer?
Lots of different aspects! Find out more here.

What artistic disciplines does Leeway fund?
With the exception of the Media Artist + Activist Residency, which is open to Media Artists specifically, all of Leeway Foundation’s applications are open to all traditional and non-traditional arts forms. Artistic disciplines and examples of each discipline can be found on page 5 of both the ACG and LTA Guidelines. More about what we mean by Media Artist can be found on page 2 of the MAR Guidelines.

What are social change intents?
Leeway asks applicants to identify at least one but no more than three social change intents that best describe their intent or vision behind their work. There is no correct or incorrect way to choose; you should pick one that resonates with you as the core intent or vision of your work. For more details, please see page 2 of both the ACG, LTA, and MAR Guidelines.

How many grants does Leeway Foundation award in each funding year?
Each year, the amount of grants and awards change based on several different variables. Leeway usually awards somewhere between 15-20 Art and Change Grants, 10-12 Transformation Awards, and 3-5 Media Artist + Activist Residencies. In 2023, 223 artists applied for Leeway’s public funding opportunities and 43 artists (19%) were funded!

Where can I find information about past grantees?
Our past grantees are awesome. Find out more about them here.

Can I apply with other artists?
Yes. We understand that most projects are done in collaboration with others, so you are only required to submit an application with a Co-Applicant if you are both playing the same roles as artistic directors or partners for the project. If so, all collaborators must submit a Co-Applicant form. For more details, please see the ACG Guidelines (pg. 4), LTA Guidelines (pg. 3), or MAR Guidelines (pg. 4)

Does my Co-Applicant need to identify as a woman and/or trans* person?
Yes. Each co-applicant must meet Leeway’s basic eligibility requirements for each respective grant, which includes identifying as a woman, trans*, and/or gender nonconforming person.

We are a small arts collective. Can we apply for a grant?
As long as you’re not a non-profit or 501(c)3, your collective is eligible to apply for a grant. However, all members of your collective involved in the work will need to collaboratively apply for the grant – using a Co-Applicant form.

How can I submit my grant?
We accept applications for all funding opportunities via online submission by their respective deadline. We also accept hardcopy applications for ACG and LTA, with submissions received by the deadline (not postmarked, but received) either by mail or by drop-off to Leeway’s office.

Who decides who gets funding?
An independent review panel – consisting of community-based artists from different ranges, breadths, and depths of art for social change work – decides who gets funded. Leeway staff does not make these decisions.

How long does it take to hear back from the panel?
Grant notification letters are mailed approximately 10-12 weeks after the application deadline.

Does every applicant receive feedback on their grant application?
To keep our process transparent, every applicant receives feedback, based on the panel’s deliberations. This offers a view into the process and gives applicants information they can use as they think about their work and future applications to Leeway or other funders. Applicants may opt out of receiving feedback, but can always request it later.

I need help with my application. How do I get help?
No worries! You can get support by:

  • Attending an Information Session where you can learn more about Leeway grants and how to prepare your application.
  • Registering for an Applicant Support Session where you can meet one-on-one with a Leeway representative to get direct feedback on your application.
  • Contacting Leeway staff to set-up a one-on-one appointment at info@leeway.org or 215.545.4078.

LEARN MORE ABOUT LEEWAY'S GRANTMAKING MODEL

 

ART AND CHANGE GRANTS FAQs

Who is eligible to apply?

You are eligible to apply if you:

  • Live in Bucks, Camden, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia County
  • Are at least 18 years old
  • Identify as a woman, trans*, and/or gender nonconforming person
  • Have a Change Partner

Please note: Should you be awarded a grant, you will be asked to provide proof of both your age and current residency before receiving any funds. For more details, please see page 4 of the ACG Guidelines.

Who is not eligible to apply?

You may not apply if you:

  • Are a full-time student in an arts degree program
  • Do not have a Change Partner
  • Have an active Art and Change Grant project
  • Have received a 2023 Media Artist + Activist Residency
  • Have received a 2023 Leeway Transformation Award
  • Have not turned in all reports due from previous Leeway grants and awards

Can I apply for a phase of a project?

Yes. However, if you are applying for a particular phase of a project, be sure to describe the overall project and then explain what particular phase of the project you’re applying for and why. 

Also, if you’ve been previously funded for a project, you may apply for different phases of the same project. However, Art and Change Grants are not intended to fund the same phase of a project for which you received a prior grant.

What is a Change Partner?

A Change Partner is:

  • someone you have built a relationship with who is a member of the community that the project seeks to engage or in which it takes place, or
  • a person, organization, or business that has an interest in or connection to the project in some form.

Change Partners cannot benefit financially from the ACG grant – and every application must have a Change Partner. For more details on Change Partners, see page 3 of the ACG Guidelines.

Does my Change Partner need to identify as a woman or trans* person?
No. Your Change Partner does not need to be a identify as a woman, trans*, and/or gender nonconforming person. They should simply be the best person, organization, or business to support the project. Remember, Change Partners cannot financially benefit from the grant!

Does my Change Partner need to live in the Philadelphia area?
No. Your Change Partner can live within or beyond the Greater Philadelphia area and should simply be the best person, organization, or business to support the project. 

TRANSFORMATION AWARD FAQs

Who is eligible to apply?
You are eligible to apply if you:

  • Have lived for the past two years or more in Bucks, Camden, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia County
  • Are at least 18 years old
  • Identify as a woman, trans*, and/or gender nonconforming person
  • Have been creating art for social change for the past five years or more

Please note: Should you move forward to Stage 2, you will be asked to provide proof of both your age and current residency before receiving any funds. For more details, please see page 3 of the LTA Guidelines.
 

Who is not eligible to apply?
You may not apply if you:

  • Are a full-time student in an arts degree program
  • Have previously received a Transformation Award
  • Have received a Media Artist + Activist Residency in 2023
  • Have not turned in all reports due from previous Leeway grants and awards

What’s the timeline for the Transformation Award application?
The Transformation Award application is a two-stage application process. The Stage 1 application is due May 15 and is open to all eligible applicants. A peer-review panel of community-based artists will review applications and make decisions to invite applicants to submit work samples for Stage 2.

Stage 2 is by invitation only. All invited applicants from Stage 1 will receive an application stipend to help cover the costs of preparing work samples. The Stage 2 deadline will be announced to finalists only. All invitees will receive notification and announcement of final Awardees in December 2024.

So, do I need to have work samples for Stage 1?
No. Leeway does not require work samples for the Stage 1 application; however, if you are invited to Stage 2, you will need to provide work samples. So, we highly encourage you to think about what work you already have documentation for and/or what work you can document when applying for this award. Regardless of whether you move forward to Stage 2, this is good practice for any artist.

MEDIA ARTIST + ACTIVIST RESIDENCY FAQs

How does Leeway define Media Art?
Leeway understands Media Arts as an expansive category including but not limited to:

  • film and video (narrative, documentary, experimental) 
  • audio 
  • podcast 
  • installation/projection
  • animation
  • interactive design
  • digital art
  • games/gaming 
  • web-based content 
  • multimedia/multi-disciplinary work 
  • ...and more

While Leeway interprets Media Arts expansively, it will be the job of the applicants to demonstrate how the use of media is at the core of their proposal.

What type of project is eligible for this residency?
For all proposed residency projects, the following applies:

  • Media arts must be central and at the core of the proposed collaboration.
  • Artists and organizations are only allowed to submit one collaborative application per grant cycle.
  • The artist functions primarily as an artist and strategist – not a teacher, art therapist, or other capacity
  • The residency is not a production grant, but an intentional media residency where artists and social justice organizations work in collaboration to document, reframe, and/or amplify the work of the organizations.

This information can be found on page 3 of the MAR Guidelines.
 

What are the eligibility requirements for Artists?
You are eligible to apply if you:

  • Are a media artist
  • Live in Bucks, Camden, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia County
  • Are at least 18 years old
  • Identify as a woman, trans*, and/or gender nonconforming person
  • Are working collaboratively with a social justice/cultural organization

You may not apply if you:

  • Do not have a collaborating organization
  • Are on the staff or board of the collaborating organization
  • Are a full-time student in an arts-degree program
  • Have received a 2023 Leeway Transformation Award
  • Have applied for a 2024 Leeway Transformation Award
  • Have already received a 2022 or 2023 Media Artist + Activist Residency
  • Have not turned in all reports due from previous Leeway grants and awards
     

What are the eligibility requirements for Organizations?
You are eligible to apply if your organization is:

  • A social justice/cultural organization** with a 501(c)3 status or fiscal sponsor
  • Located in Bucks, Camden, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia County
  • Working with an operating budget less than $1.5M
  • Collaborating with a media artist

You may not apply if your organization:

  • Does not have a collaborating media artist
  • Is collaborating with a media artist who is on the staff or board of your organization
  • Has an operating budget greater than $1.5M 
  • Has already received a 2022 or 2023 Media Artist + Activist Residency

**A cultural organization must have a social-justice intention as part of its mission and work with communities that are often ignored, silenced, and/or marginalized because of who they are (for example - people of color; immigrants; queer people; trans* and/or gender nonconforming folks; poor and working-class people; people with disabilities; etc.)

Still have questions?

Attend an in-person Information or Applicant Support session.

Watch these videos for an overview of each funding stream. Please note: Some of these videos were recorded in 2023 – and while many pieces of the applications remain the same, there are some differences –  so please always refer to the 2024 applications.

 

Art and Change Grant Info Session
Leeway Transformation Award Guest Grantee Panel - and Information Session
Media Artist + Activist Residency Info Session

 

Contact Leeway staff at info@leeway.org or 215.545.4078.

*Leeway is a trans-affirming organization committed to gender self-determination, and we use the term “trans” in its most inclusive sense, as an umbrella term encompassing transsexual, transgender, genderqueer, Two-Spirit people, and anyone whose gender identity or gender expression is nonconforming and/or different from their gender assigned at birth.

 

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