New Jersey State Council on the Arts

In 1966, the legislature passed and the governor signed a law creating the NJ State Council on the Arts and directing us to do all that is necessary and appropriate to: support, encourage, and foster public interest in the arts; enlarge public and private resources devoted to the arts; promote freedom of expression in the arts; and facilitate the inclusion of art in every public building in New Jersey.

Created as an agency of state government, the NJSCA operates as a division within the Department of State. Its purpose is to encourage and give financial support to artists, arts organizations and projects throughout New Jersey. We are proud that our support is bringing the benefits of the arts to audiences exceeding 18 million annually.

As a result of our grant programs, the NJSCA is the largest single contributor to the arts in New Jersey. We are also an advocate for arts activities and events in our state's communities, schools, hospitality centers and urban entertainment complexes.

The NJSCA receives funding through direct appropriations from the State of New Jersey and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

In addition to direct funding to arts organizations and projects, the NJSCA supports activities and events carried out by nonprofit organizations and artists whose combined efforts move nearly a billion dollars through our state's economy every year.

The NJSCA works closely with a growing array of partners involved in arts education, community cultural planning, urban revitalization, communications and broadcasting, transportation, travel and tourism, social services and economic development.

Chief among the many programs and services of the Council is its Organizational Grant Program. Through this multifaceted package of matching grants informed by the needs of the field, the Council assists eligible organizations in fulfilling our intersecting missions of service to the people of New Jersey through the arts.

To be eligible organizations must:

Have an arts mission for the organization, program or project
Be incorporated in New Jersey as a nonprofit organization, be a college or university, or a unit of government
Have tax exempt status with the IRS
Be in existence for at least two years with a two-year track record of public programming or services Have an active governing board
Serve audiences in a multi-county region of the state. Organizations or projects that serve audiences primarily within the boundaries of a single county are directed to apply to their respective County Arts Agency, which annually receive NJSCA funding for support of local arts programs.

The three types of grants with multi-year commitments available through this program are:

General Operating Support (GOS): Awarded to New Jersey based, nonprofit, arts-missioned organizations to help underwrite the expense of their total operation including the expense of producing and presenting arts events.

General Program Support (GPS): Awarded to New Jersey based, nonprofit organizations, agencies, institutions, or units of local government to help underwrite the expense of presenting major, on-going arts programs. This grant category is open to a variety of organizations that produce or present on-going public arts programs.

Arts Education Special Initiatives (AESI): Awarded to recipients of GOS or GPS grants to support the development or expansion of programs that make substantial contributions to quality arts education in schools. This grant category intends to aid arts organizations develop their full potential as community resources to educational systems throughout New Jersey and create a stronger infrastructure for arts education statewide.

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