Trump Cancels NEA Grants for Many Bay Area Arts Nonprofits

Updated 10:05 p.m. Monday.

More than a dozen Bay Area arts nonprofits received emails the afternoon of May 2 that their grants from the National Endowment for the Arts have been canceled.

The cancellations affect a wide range of Bay Area arts organizations, including Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the Frameline film festival, SFJAZZ and The Lab. The emails stated that “the NEA is updating its grantmaking policy priorities to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President.”

In a budget proposal released on May 2, President Trump called for eliminating the NEA entirely, along with the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences.

The grant terminations are effective as of May 31, 2025. Affected grantees now have until June 30, 2025 to make a final payment request — if they are able to complete their awarded projects by the end of May.

Trump’s new priorities

The NEA’s Grants for the Arts, issued twice a year, historically range in value from $10,000 to $100,000 and support arts nonprofits in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. The most recent grant announcement in January totaled nearly $36.8 million, spread across 1,474 awards.

Previous NEA chair Maria Rosario Jackson, who had been appointed by former President Joe Biden, resigned on Jan. 20, the day of Trump’s inauguration. Mary Anne Carter, Trump’s NEA chair during his 2017-2020 administration, is currently overseeing the agency.

The termination emails received by grantees list the updated priorities of the NEA as “projects that elevate the Nation’s HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions, celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, foster AI competency, empower houses of worship to serve communities, assist with disaster recovery, foster skilled trade jobs, make America healthy again, support the military and veterans, support Tribal communities, make the District of Columbia safe and beautiful, and support the economic development of Asian American communities.”

While some of these are familiar to arts nonprofits who have previously applied for NEA grants, projects intended to “foster AI competency” and “make America healthy again” stood out as new additions.

Confusingly, some organizations had funding rescinded for projects that, in fact, met the NEA’s new criteria. The California Symphony, for instance, had $10,000 in grant funds terminated, resulting in the possible cancellation of a commission by its composer-in-residence, Saad Haddad.

“The unfortunate irony,” symphony director Donato Cabrara told KQED, “is that this final commission was to help celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, one of the new criteria listed by the NEA.”

A ‘roller-coaster ride’

SCRAP, the San Francisco creative reuse center, was proud to announce its very first NEA grant in January. But since then, the $25,000 in funds have been effectively frozen. SCRAP received notice that their funding recommendation had been withdrawn on Friday. The grant was meant to support staff and teaching artists running a sustainable fashion design program for underserved youth.

The nonprofit now has seven calendar days to appeal the decision. SCRAP’s Director of Programs Danielle Grant says it’s unlikely they will appeal. “We don’t fit any of those ‘new priorities,’” she told KQED.

Oakland Theater Project, which received a $30,000 award in 2024 for the world premiere production of Erik Ehn’s Moby Dick, was also among the affected nonprofits. Managing Director Colin Mandlin said they have received about half of the funds from the NEA, which were meant to cover a two-year granting period.

Just last month, Oakland Theater Project was hit by other federal funding cuts: Their $25,000 grant from California Humanities was canceled when the National Endowment for the Humanities canceled millions of dollars in previously awarded federal grants to arts and cultural groups across the country.

“The roller-coaster ride continues,” Mandlin wrote in an email to KQED.

Moby Dick was scheduled to premiere in 2026; it’s unlikely Oakland Theater Project will be able to receive their full grant amount by the June deadline. Mandlin said they’ll have to revisit the extent of their plans for the production. “It’s more ambitious, world premieres, when we’re commissioning a piece from scratch,” Mandlin said. “Commissioning a play costs a substantial amount of funds.”

Uncertainty in all sizes

The grant cancellations are particularly dire for smaller arts organizations with smaller operating budgets, for which an NEA grant can constitute substantial assistance.

Andrew Smith, executive director of the San Francisco experimental arts space The Lab, also received the notice-of-termination email — twice. Both projects, Smith said, have thankfully been completed and fully reimbursed.

Expecting something like this grant termination to happen, Smith pushed NEA-funded programming from the fall to the spring in order to submit for reimbursement as quickly as possible.

Additionally, the literary magazine ZYZZYVA, the Richmond Art Center, the San Francisco International Arts Festival and San Francisco Contemporary Music Players all received emails that their ongoing NEA grants were canceled.

“Our program is happening next Saturday, and the loss of $20K is a major fiscal blow to our organization,” Richard Aldag, executive director of SFCMP, wrote to KQED.

Women’s Audio Mission had been awarded $45,000 from the NEA to support Girls on the Mic, a free music and media arts training and mentorship program with a focus on girls and gender-diverse youth. Those funds were pulled Friday, executive director Terri Winston said.

“I can understand changing priorities moving forward, but withdrawing funds after they had been approved is pretty cruel,” said Winston.

Dance organizations ODC, Flyaway Productions and Dance Mission all had grant funds canceled, as did the Omnira Institute in Oakland, which had been awarded $10,000 to support a festival of Black music and art. The San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday that Circo Zero and New Conservatory Theatre Center had their funding canceled.

Larger arts groups were not spared in Friday’s slashing of funds. A representative of both Berkeley Repertory Theatre and American Conservatory Theater confirmed to KQED that the long-running theater companies received the cancellation email. The 42-year-old SFJAZZ and 55-year-old TheatreWorks Silicon Valley also had their NEA grants canceled.

Both The Lab and Oakland Theater Project have submitted applications, currently pending, for future NEA grants. It’s uncertain if any grants submitted under the previous guidelines will be awarded.