The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation 2025 grant cycle opens in the fall of 2024 and culminates in an awards presentation event in the spring of 2025. Sachs Program grants support innovative arts activities throughout the University of Pennsylvania community. Cover design by Elaine Lopez.
The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation is happy to announce the opening of our 2025 annual grant cycle. We are now accepting applications for Sachs Program 2025 grants.
The Sachs Program is offering six categories of grant opportunities during the 2025 grant cycle.
- Artist Residency Grants
- Community Partnerships Grants
- Curricular Support Grants
- Independent Creative Production Grants
- Project Support Grants
- Student Grants
All Sachs Program grants support innovative arts activities throughout the University of Pennsylvania community, aligned with our mission to support and inspire creative practice and practitioners across the university and our broader community.
Complete information about all Sachs Program grant opportunities is available on our website and is outlined below.
Information Sessions
Throughout the fall of 2024, The Sachs Program will host information sessions to review our 2025 grant opportunities. We encourage all interested applicants to attend for a chance to learn about each opportunity in discussion with Sachs Program staff and previous grantees.
In December, we will host an information session about grants disbursement to share details about receiving and managing grant funds.
- Student Grants Information Session
Wednesday, October 16, noon–1 PM
Arts Lounge at the Annenberg Center - Annual Grants Information Session
Friday, October 18, 10–11 AM
Online (Zoom) - Community Partnerships Grants Information Session
Monday, October 28, noon–1 PM
Arts Lounge at the Annenberg Center - Second Community Partnerships Grants Information Session
Friday, November 8, noon–1 PM
Online (Zoom) - Grants Disbursement Information Session
December 4, noon–1 PM
Online (Zoom)
More details about information sessions for Sachs Program 2025 grants are forthcoming and will be shared as they are confirmed.
How to Apply
The first step in applying for any Sachs Program grant opportunity is to review the grant opportunities described on our website and fill out a short inquiry form for the grant that best fits your request.
If you’re interested in applying, even if you’re not yet sure what to apply for, we encourage you to get in touch. The preferred method is to submit an inquiry form through one of our website’s individual grant category pages. You can also easily access these from the links included below.
We are happy to meet with anyone interested in applying. Meetings are required to apply for an Artist Residency Grant or Community Partnerships Grant, but are optional for other categories. We also provide opportunities to review draft applications and are happy to discuss your ideas with you at any time throughout the application process.
Deadlines for Student Grants
- November 22, 2024, noon
Deadline to submit a grants inquiry form - December 13, 2024, midnight
Application submission deadline
Deadlines for Annual Grants
- December 6, 2024, noon
Deadline to submit a grants inquiry form for Community Partnerships and Artist Residency Grants - January 3, 2025, noon
Deadline to submit a grants inquiry form for all other Annual Grants - January 10, 2025, midnight
Application submission deadline
Complete information about all grant opportunities and application guidelines can be found on the Sachs Program website and are summarized below.
Student Grants
Sachs Program Student Grants are offered annually in the fall.
- Student Grants provide up to $3,500 to undergraduate and graduate students and student groups to support creative practices, from independent projects to thesis and dissertation-related work to programs and initiatives intended to engage the student body or broader public.
Annual Grants
The Sachs Program 2025 Annual Grants include a range of opportunities to support University of Pennsylvania faculty and staff, departments, programs and centers, and collaborations with community partners and student groups.
- 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- 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 course that is currently running or expected to run or for research or 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 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 broader public, including but not limited to public programming, performances, exhibitions, and non-curricular opportunities for learning and making.
Additional Support
Additional support for arts activities is provided through our First-Year Seminar Grants and Rolling Grants, which fall outside the schedule of our annual grant cycle and are offered on different timelines. Please visit the links provided here to learn how to apply for additional grant opportunities.
- First-Year Seminar Grants provide up to $2500 to anyone teaching a first-year seminar to support arts activities and arts-driven pedagogy within their course and are administered in partnership with the College of Arts & Sciences.
- Rolling Grants provide up to $1,500 to faculty, staff, departments, programs, and centers to support arts activities that fall outside the schedule of our annual grant cycle.
Thank You
Thank you for your interest in The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation and for all the important ways you contribute to the creative communities of Penn and Philadelphia. Please let us know if you have any questions, and please share this announcement with your students, colleagues, and peers.