FAQs

Yes, students are eligible to apply.

Yes, you must be between the ages of 25-40 years old to be eligible for this particular program.

You can supply a copy of your Canadian passport, identity card, or other government issued ID confirming Canadian citizenship. 

Yes, you must currently reside in New York State to be eligible for this particular program.

No, please select only one category that best describes your artistic practice.

You can find all open application forms at apply.nyfa.org/submit.

Step by step guidance for using the Submittable platform and setting up a free account is available here.

First, please make sure you are trying to log into Submittable and not NYFA’s website. NYFA uses a third party platform to host our grant applications called Submittable. This platform is not managed by NYFA and NYFA cannot help you with your login or password. Please contact Submittable directly if you are still having issues at [email protected].

We highly suggest using a laptop or desktop computer to complete your application on the platform. For a smoother performance, we recommend using either Firefox or Chrome as your browser. If you’re already using Chrome, please clear the browser cache and cookies. Additionally, please make sure you are using the most up to date version of your browser.

If you are still running into technical issues, you can reach out to Submittable’s Support team directly via the contact form, Submitter Support, or via the support email address [email protected] so that they can troubleshoot directly. 

NYFA staff do not have access to your Submittable account. 

We strongly encourage that you apply at least two days before the deadline in case technical difficulties come up to allow us time to assist your application. In the event you encounter technical difficulties on the last day and as a result cannot get your application in on time, NYFA cannot extend the deadline regardless of the cause of the problem you may have encountered. Please email [email protected] with questions.

Instructions for scanning documents on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch are available here. Instructions for scanning documents on an Android device using Google Drive are available here.

Work samples should be representative of your grant project and you must be the originating artist of all work samples submitted. Please see the guidelines for the category in which you plan to apply for full instructions on uploading work samples.

• Media & Design work samples:
  • Up to 8 digital images and/or 2 videos up-to 15-minutes each in length, and/or 2 audio excerpts up-to 5-minutes in length
• Visual Arts work samples:
  • Up to 10 digital images and/or two videos of up to 2-minutes in length
• Literary Arts 
  • Up to 15 pages of manuscript

All demographic questions in application forms are optional. By completing this information you are helping NYFA secure future funding.

Your responses will remain anonymous and will not be linked to your personal information.

An unrestricted grant means you can use the funds how you like. It doesn’t need to be dedicated to a project and you do not need to talk about a project in your application.

Applications are reviewed by external panelists through 2-3 elimination rounds, producing a smaller pool for each round. 

In the first two rounds, panelists review all applications remotely and vote online. If a clear winner is not found in the first two rounds, a third round will be held in which panelists meet online to discuss applications and collectively select the award recipients.