Lifelong Learning Grants
Lifelong Learning Grants support Virginia learners of all ages through sustained, hands-on arts instruction with teaching artists, building skills, knowledge, and creativity while prioritizing underserved communities.
Funder: Virginia Commission for the Arts
Due Dates: December 1, 2026 (Cycle 1) | May 1, 2027 (Cycle 2) | At least four weeks before activities (both cycles)
Funding Amounts: Up to $4,000 per grant; minimum 10% cash match of total project expenses
Summary: Supports sustained, hands-on arts learning with teaching artists for Virginia learners of all ages, emphasizing underserved communities.
Key Information: FY27 General Operating Support or Community Impact Grant recipients cannot apply.
Description
The Virginia Commission for the Arts funds sequential, hands-on arts learning that builds skills, knowledge, and creativity over multiple sessions rather than through a single exposure event. Lifelong Learning Grants serve students, educators, youth, and adults in traditional and non-traditional learning environments, with an emphasis on underserved, under-resourced, and under-represented communities.
Projects may involve dance, literary and media arts, music, theatre, traditional and folk arts, or visual arts. Supported activities include in-school, after-school, and summer programs; multi-day workshops, including intergenerational learning; and training for artists and arts educators. Arts integration professional development for educators working with Virginia Pre-K–12 students is also eligible. Programs must define learning objectives, outcomes, and methods of evaluation.
