National Assembly of State Arts Agencies

Locating available grants and financial support can be a daunting, though essential, task for many writers. An excellent starting point is the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA), a non-profit organization dedicated to connecting artists with state agencies that provide funding and assistance. Their website provides links and contact information for all fifty states and six U.S. jurisdictions, as well as seven regional arts organizations.

The site makes it easier to apply for grants, find out what’s going on in each state, and access information about the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) and state funding. The News from NASAA section keeps visitors updated on the political issues surrounding arts funding, and the State Spotlight feature focuses on programs, events, and initiatives in selected states with accompanying articles, pictures, and profiles.

NASAA functions mainly as a gateway to state sites and, since forty percent of NEA money goes to individual state agencies, seeking local support is the chief way to access national funding for the arts. It takes just a few clicks on NASAA’s interactive map to learn about state programs, discover a state’s poet laureate, access lists of available grants, find local events, and see images of artists at work around the nation.