Graham Foundation Grants to Individuals 2019 | Up to $30,000

Applications for the Graham Foundation Grants to Individuals 2019 are now open. The Graham Foundation has fostered the development and exchange of diverse and challenging ideas about architecture and its role in the arts, culture, and society. As one of the few funders of individuals in the field of architecture, the foundation’s grants provide important support for the work of emerging and established architects, scholars, writers, artists, designers, curators, filmmakers, and other individuals.

The Graham Foundation supports innovative, thought-provoking investigations in architecture; architectural history, theory, and criticism; design; engineering; landscape architecture; urban planning; urban studies; visual arts; and related fields of inquiry. Their interest also extends to work being done in the fine arts, humanities, and sciences that expands the boundaries of thinking about architecture and space.

Contents

Grant Type

The Graham Foundation offers two types of grants to individuals: Production and Presentation Grants and Research and Development Grants.

Production and Presentation Grants:

These grants assist individuals with the production-related expenses that are necessary to take a project from conceptualization to realization and public presentation. These projects include, but are not limited to, publications, exhibitions, installations, films, and new media projects. Projects must have clearly defined goals, work plans, budgets, and production and dissemination plans.

Grant amount: Production and Presentation Grants to individuals do not exceed $20,000 and are likely to be less. Given the demand for funding, the Graham Foundation is not always able to fund projects at the full request amount.
Grant period: Production and Presentation Grants must be completed within two years. Applicants should allow sufficient time to plan, implement, close out their project, and, if funded, acknowledge Graham Foundation support in all published media.

Research and Development Grants

Research and Development Grants assist individuals with seed money for research-related expenses such as travel, documentation, materials, supplies, and other development costs. Projects must have clearly defined goals, work plans, and budgets. Upon completion of research projects, recipients of Research and Development Grants must complete a research report and provide documentation that can be archived at the Graham Foundation and/or presented on our website.

Grant amount: Research and Development Grants do not exceed $10,000 and are likely to be less. Given the demand for funding, the Graham Foundation is not always able to fund grantees at the full request amount.
Grant period: Research and Development Grants must be completed within one year. Applicants should allow sufficient time to plan, implement, close out their project, and, if funded, acknowledge Graham Foundation support in all published media.

Eligibility for Graham Foundation Grants to Individuals

Open to emerging and established architects, scholars, writers, artists, designers, curators, filmmakers, and other individuals in the United States, however, they do make a small percentage of international grants. Please note they require that final projects be disseminated in English;
Individuals are eligible to apply for Production and Presentation Grants and Research and Development Grants;
Collaborative projects by individuals are eligible for funding. A collaborator is defined as a co-author of the project. A collaborator is not a participant who is providing contracted services for the project;
Individuals may only apply for one grant per year;
Applicants who have received prior Graham Foundation support must have satisfied all grant requirements before applying again;
Individuals working on independent projects who are required by their organizations to apply for and receive funding under the aegis of the organization (e.g., a faculty member of an academic institution) may use a fiscal agent;
Individuals applying for Production and Presentation Grants should have a Committed Producer(s) for the project, that is, an entity committed to producing and/or presenting the project with the individual, such as a publisher, exhibition venue, etc;
A recipient of a Research and Development Grant is eligible to apply for a Production and Presentation Grant for the same project once the first grant has been satisfied, however, future funding is not guaranteed.

Evaluation Criteria

Given the priorities, the organisers believe projects of the greatest potential should fulfill the following criteria:

Originality: the project demonstrates an innovative, challenging idea; critical, independent thinking; advanced scholarship; a new or experimental approach
Potential for impact: the project makes a meaningful contribution to discourse and/or to the field; expands knowledge; is a catalyst for future inquiry; raises awareness of an understudied issue; promotes diversity in subject matter, participants, and audience
Feasibility: the project has clear and realistic goals, timeframe, work plan, and budget
Capacity: applicant possesses strong qualifications and/or knowledge; demonstrates ability to carry out the project successfully; has access to necessary resources outside of the grant request