NYC Cultural Affairs Allocates $74.3 Million in Grants to 1,171 Organizations

The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) has announced that it is distributing $74.3 million in grants for 1,171 cultural organizations across New York City through the agency’s Fiscal Year 2026 Cultural Development Fund. The FY26 awards represent the largest-ever funding allocation for the CDF and the most-ever grantee organizations. More than half of the recipient organizations are receiving funding as part of a multi-year award cycle following reforms that expanded eligibility for multi-year grants to all organizations, offering greater stability in funding for grantees. This year’s CDF also maintains a 15% increase in funding for the city’s borough arts councils, which goes support individual artists, collectives, and smaller organizations; support for the Language Access Fund, Disability Forward Fund, and Equity Fund to foster greater equity and access throughout the cultural sector; and discretionary funding from the City Council.  With more than 84% of applicants receiving awards, DCLA continues to build on its commitment to leverage public funding in support of the broadest, most equitable group of cultural organizations possible.

“New York City’s cultural community brings meaningful, affordable, and accessible cultural programs to every corner of the five boroughs,” said DCLA Assistant Commissioner for Program Services Audrey St. Clair. “With this historic investment through our Cultural Development Fund, we’re proud to support and partner with more than 1,000 cultural nonprofits citywide – working across disciplines, communities, and geographies – to lift up the creative sector that is so vital to our city. Art and culture can change lives, and that’s something every New Yorker deserves to experience.”

“This historic investment through the Cultural Development Fund reflects the central role arts and culture play in New York City’s identity and economic vitality. Supporting more than 1,100 organizations across all five boroughs means investing in the artists, administrators, and cultural workers who keep our communities vibrant and connected,” said Deputy Speaker Nantasha Williams, Chair of the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Relations. “The fact that the overwhelming majority of grantees offer free or subsidized programming underscores the importance of public funding in keeping cultural access affordable and accessible for New Yorkers. As Chair, I remain committed to ensuring that our funding structures are transparent, stable, and responsive to the realities organizations face on the ground. Sustained investment in this sector is essential to preserving a cultural landscape that is diverse, community-rooted, and reflective of every neighborhood across our city.”

The FY26 CDF integrates a number of initiatives meant foster greater equity, access, and sustainability for the city’s cultural sector:

• Multi-year awards: the CDF continued to offer expanded eligibility for multi-year awards from the agency (previously, only organizations with larger budgets were eligible). More than half of this year’s CDF grantees – 602 in all – are in a multi-year award cycle, providing this long-term, stable source of support to more groups across the city.
• The Disability Forward Fund (DFF) supports substantive projects that engage people with disabilities as artists, cultural workers, and audience members. 45 CDF grantees received an additional $10,000 added to their award as part of the DFF.
• The Language Access Fund (LAF) supports substantive engagement with audiences whose primary language is not English, as well as Multilingual Language Learners (MLLs)/English Language Learners (ELLs). 65 CDF grantees received an additional $10,000 added to their award as part of the LAF.
• CDF Equity Fund provides additional support to cultural nonprofits located in communities with the city’s lowest median incomes and highest poverty rates. Research has shown that the presence of cultural assets correlates with better outcomes in public health, education, and safety, making these investments part of a broader strategy to make additional investments in culture in underserved communities. 283 CDF grantees located in 24 neighborhoods across the city received $2.1 million in additional funding as part of this year’s Equity Fund.
• CDF Safety Net: The FY26 CDF also includes the second year of Safety Net Funding, which offers continued support to longtime grantees who aren’t awarded a CDF baseline grant, reducing major interruptions and impacts to their programming. 60 groups in all received CDF Safety Net funding this year.
• Increase for local arts councils: for the second year in a row, DCLA provided additional funding to the local arts councils, which is in turn distributed to artists, collectives, and small arts groups in all five boroughs. The $3.4 million awarded to the five re-grant partners maintains the FY25 levels and represents a 15% increase over their FY24 awards.

Official award notifications were sent to FY26 CDF grantees in December 2025. The application for the FY27 cycle of the CDF opened on February 23, 2026 and applications are due in early April. Groups interested in applying can learn more on DCLA's website.