How to Apply
The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation supports arts activities across the University of Pennsylvania community with grant opportunities for Penn faculty, staff, students, departments, programs, and centers.
Grant awards range in amount, with the largest being $25,000, and provide funding for a wide variety of activities aligned with the funder’s vision to support teaching, making, and presenting art, consistent with their aim to provide Penn students with increased access to the arts.
The first step in applying for any Sachs Program grant is to review the current grant opportunities and submit a short inquiry form from our website for the type of grant that best fits your request.
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The deadline to submit an inquiry form for 2026 Sachs Program grants has passed and we are no longer accepting new inquiries in the 2026 grant cycle.
If you have previously submitted a grant inquiry form during the 2026 grant cycle, completed applications must be submitted by December 19, 2025, midnight.
2026 Grant Opportunities
Student Grants
The Sachs Program offers grant opportunities to University of Pennsylvania undergraduate and graduate students as well as student groups.
- Student Grants provide up to $3,500 to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as student groups, to support creative practice, including independent projects, thesis and dissertation-related work, and programs and initiatives that engage the student body or broader public.
Annual Grants
Sachs Program 2026 Annual Grants include a range of opportunities supporting University of Pennsylvania faculty and staff, departments, programs and centers, as well as collaborations with community partners.
- Artist Residency Grants provide up to $25,000 to departments, programs, and centers to bring artists, curators, and collectives (formal or informal) to Penn as artists-in-residence or curators-in-residence.
- Community Partnerships Grants provide up to $15,000 to support collaborations between Penn faculty (standing and non-standing), staff, departments, programs, and centers in partnerships with community arts and civic organizers and non-profit organizations.
- Curricular Support Grants provide up to $3,500 to non-standing faculty for the implementation of arts-based activities in a currently running or scheduled course, or for research and professional development related to a course they are teaching.
- Independent Creative Production Grants provide up to $7,500 to faculty and staff to support (partially or fully) the production of their own artistic work.
- Project Support Grants provide up to $7,500 to faculty and staff, departments, programs, and centers to support engagement with the arts and humanities through projects directed towards the Penn community or the broader public.
Additional Grants
Additional grant opportunities are available to support arts activities that fall outside the annual Sachs Program grant cycle schedule.
- Rolling Grants provide up to $1,500 to faculty, staff, departments, programs, and centers to support urgent requests in the arts and humanities.
2026 Information Sessions
Following the opening of our 2026 grant cycle in September 2025, the Sachs Program will host a series of information sessions during October and November to review 2026 grant opportunities. Interested applicants are encouraged to attend for a chance to learn about each opportunity in discussion with Sachs Program staff and previous grantees.
For More Information
For more information about Sachs Program grant opportunities and application guidelines, please email Sachs Program Associate Director Chloe Reison at reison@upenn.edu.
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