The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), a federal organization that distributes around $200 million in federal grants annually to theaters, museums and other cultural institutions, has revised its grant guidelines for 2026 and eliminated a grant intended to extend arts access to "underserved communities."
The Challenge America grant, which provided $10,000 to small organizations that could match the funds, has been rolled into the more general Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) program for 2026, which offers up to $100,000.
In January, two Iowa organizations were recommended to receive $10,000 each from the last round of Challenge America grants to use for 2025 programming. The Fairfield Arts & Convention Center plans to use its funding to support performances by Rhythm India with associated youth engagement in March — but since the NEA's announcement on Feb. 9, the money has still not been awarded, and the organization's acceptance of the grant offer remains under review.
“The Challenge America grant specifically was focused on opportunities that a certain population would not have," said Lindsay Bauer, president of the Iowa Cultural Coalition and executive director of the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center. “We are the biggest cultural center in our community, and making sure that our community has the opportunity to see the things that they're interested in is really important to us.”
Bauer says she hasn't yet received any communication indicating that she should expect any changes to the center's 2025 award. Any organization that has applied for a Challenge America grant for 2026 must now reapply for GAP.
During a webinar Tuesday, NEA administrators said the organization would still fund organizations centered on specific genders or racial groups. However, Director of Arts Education Michelle Hoffman added that the organization "will not fund projects that include DEI activities," in accordance with executive orders by President Donald Trump. Applicants must certify that they do not operate any programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, including programs outside the scope of their NEA project, and may not request funding for projects that "promote gender ideology."
Trump, who recently became the chair of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' Board of Directors, has closed the Smithsonian’s diversity office and reassigned DEI staff at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. During his first term, Republican lawmakers sought to dismantle the NEA through budget cuts.
“The project that I have Challenge America grant support for technically could be considered a DEI project. Was it booked on the basis of it being a DEI project? No, it wasn't. It was booked on artistic merit. But how do we answer those questions?”Lindsay Bauer, executive director of the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center
Elizabeth Ferreira, the grants and operations manager for the Iowa Arts Council, said that the organization is still working “to understand changes at the federal level.”
“For the Iowa Arts Council’s next grant cycle, we are working to gain clarity around the new requirements from the federal government, including the NEA, and will share additional information as it becomes available,” she wrote in an email to IPR.
The new guidelines encourage projects that commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence (America250).
During the webinar, NEA administrators emphasized that the organization has been encouraging projects celebrating America's 250th anniversary since 2021 and that GAP applications do "not need to include America250 activities to be eligible or competitive."
Prior to the webinar, Bauer said she'd received "very little" information about upcoming changes to the grants, which cast uncertainty over her decision-making for the center's upcoming season.
"All of this uncertainty trickles down into the audience level and ticket buying and donor behavior.”Lindsay Bauer, executive director of the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center
“I'm signing contracts now. I'm budgeting now. If I can't count on a level of funding that we've been able to rely on in the past, that really is going to affect how we're able to plan," she said.
She remains optimistic and ready for anything, but added that for arts centers like hers, the lack of information has rippling effects across every level of programming.
"If the performing arts centers aren't able to be confident that they're going to have the funding, then they're not going to book. And if they're not going to book, then the tours don't happen. And if those tours don't happen, then my choices for what I can offer my audience become more limited as well," Bauer said. "All of this uncertainty trickles down into the audience level and ticket buying and donor behavior.”
She said one of her biggest questions is what will be defined as "DEI."
“The project that I have Challenge America grant support for technically could be considered a DEI project," she said. "Was it booked on the basis of it being a DEI project? No, it wasn't. It was booked on artistic merit. But how do we answer those questions?”
