California Arts Council – GOS
Information
The California Arts Council is accepting applications for the General Operating Support grant program.
This program provides direct funding to arts and cultural organizations in support of ongoing operations.
Arts organizations defined: An arts and cultural organization is defined as an entity with a primary purpose of providing arts, creative, or cultural programming/services. Assessed by CAC staff, this purpose is determined by the organization’s mission, purpose statement, and/or by its summary of core organizational programs and services.
2025-26 Funding Priorities
- Organizations serving historically and systemically underserved communities located in the lower two quartiles of the Healthy Places Index, including rural and inland areas, as well as regions with a history of low investment from the CAC;
- First-time grantees, who have not previously received direct CAC funding (except for organizations whose only previous CAC funding was a Cultural Pathways grant); and
- Small organizations with Total Revenues of $250,000 or below.
General Operating Support grantees can receive up to two consecutive years of funding, followed by a one-year break, starting with the 2025-26 funding cycle. Past general operating grantees are eligible to apply for this round of General Operating Support.
Match
A 1:1 match is required for organizations with total revenue above $250,000.
Office Hours
May 27 at 12:00 pm
- Organizations who have applied for the 2025 cycle of State-Local Partners are not eligible for General Operating Support.
- For applicant organizations with total revenue above $250,000, the sum of requests during the same year of funding cannot exceed 50% of the total revenue from the most recently completed fiscal year.
- The CAC’s definition of Total Revenue is the total cash inflow from your organization’s most recently completed fiscal year. Cash inflow/income includes all earned income (ex: ticket sales) and contributed income (ex: grants, donations/contributions, one-time organizational funding, operational grants). Re-granting and pass-through funding are excluded from the organization’s total revenue calculation.