Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grants
Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grants support professional dancers facing financial emergencies, covering essential living expenses to help them regain stability and return to creative practice.
This grant was recently updated
Cycle 27 applications are now open, closing December 8 at 5:00 PM ET, replacing the October 6 closed notice. Cycle 29 dates were added (opens March 9; closes April 6; decisions May 21, 2027), approximately $68,000 per cycle is now specified, and other details also changed.
Funder: New York Foundation for the Arts
Due Dates: December 8, 2026 (Cycle 27) | February 2, 2027 (Cycle 28) | April 6, 2027 (Cycle 29)
Funding Amounts: One-time grants up to $3,000 for up to three consecutive months of essential expenses; approximately $68,000 per cycle
Summary: Emergency assistance for professional dancers facing urgent financial hardship caused by lost or unavailable live performance work beyond their control.
Key Information: Applicants must demonstrate at least five years of qualifying paid live dance performance and an urgent threat to essential needs.
Description
The Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grants program is administered by the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), with support from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. It helps professional dancers facing dire financial emergencies resulting from the loss or lack of recent paid live performance work because of circumstances outside their control. Examples include canceled performances, reduced contracts, lost touring opportunities, illness, and injury.
The program addresses the lack or imminent endangerment of essentials such as housing, healthcare, utilities, food, and transportation. By covering essential expenses, it aims to help dancers recover, gain stability, and return to their creative practice. The program recognizes the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dance, alongside other career interruptions. Economic urgency guides selection, and demand exceeds available funding.
