Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grants
Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grants help professional dancers cover essential living expenses after losing paid live performance work, providing stability so they can recover and return to creative practice.
Funder: New York Foundation for the Arts
Due Dates: August 4, 2026 (Cycle 25) | October 6, 2026 (Cycle 26) | December 8, 2026 (Cycle 27) | February 2, 2027 (Cycle 28)
Funding Amounts: One-time grants up to $3,000 for up to three consecutive months of essential expenses
Summary: Emergency aid helps professional dancers meet essential living expenses after losing paid live performance work beyond their control.
Key Information: Applicants must demonstrate five years of paid public-facing dance performance and meet income and emergency-need requirements.
Description
The Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grants program provides emergency support to professional dancers facing the loss or imminent endangerment of basic necessities. Administered by the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) with support from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, it helps cover essential living expenses when recent paid live performance work has been lost or unavailable because of circumstances beyond the dancer’s control.
The program recognizes the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on dancers, alongside interruptions such as canceled performances, reduced contracts, lost touring opportunities, illness, or injury. Its goal is to give dancers greater stability so they can recover and return to their creative practice. Funding is based on economic urgency rather than artistic merit, and demand exceeds available funds.
