The mission of the Cultural Trust is to ensure a stable and healthy cultural industry in New Jersey that is sustainable under fluctuating economic conditions through the establishment of permanent, interest-generating funds to be an additional source of revenue to nonprofit arts, history and humanities organizations.

Bette C. Daniele, Chair
Deborah R. Bozarth, Vice Chair,
Carol Cronheim, Secretary
Tom Carroll, Board Member
Jill Morton, Board Member
John Paul Nicolaides, Board Member

ex officio members
Tahesha Way, Secretary of State

Sara Cureton, Executive Director
609-943-3306
sara.cureton@sos.nj.gov

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the New Jersey Cultural Trust, a public/private partnership that works in harmony with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the New Jersey Historical Commission, and the New Jersey Historic Trust. The Trust is the only state agency with a mission that encompasses the entire non-profit cultural community: the arts, history, and humanities. In the past two decades, $14,464,711 have been given out to more than 196 organizations to ensure that our cultural community continues to thrive so New Jersey can continue to flourish. Read more about the history of the NJ Cultural Trust in this special anniversary article by Dr. Carol Cronheim, NJ Cultural Trust Board Member and Former NJ Secretary of State.

Rotating every year with the NJ Historic Trust and NJ Council on the Arts, FY 2022 is a NJ Historical Commission year for Institutional and Financial Stabilization Grants. The program is designed to assist groups in addressing financial and operational challenges that threaten their stability and to help build greater operational capacity to manage and advance their work and achieve their missions. To be eligible, an organization must first be designated as "qualified" by the New Jersey Cultural Trust.

Important deadlines:

• March 31, 2021 – Deadline to be designated a Qualified Organization by the NJ Cultural Trust
• March 31, 2021 – Declarations of Intent to Apply due
• April 30, 2021 – Full Applications due

Important documents:

Application for Qualification
FY 2022 New Jersey Cultural Trust Grant Guidelines
Submitting Your FY 2022 Cultural Trust Declaration of Intent (DOI) to Apply
Submitting Your FY 2022 Cultural Trust Application

Alternating every other year with the NJ Historic Trust and the NJ State Council on the Arts, the FY21 NJ Cultural Trust grant program is a NJ State Council on the Arts year for grants.

IMPORTANT UPDATE
Due to the current COVID-19 crisis, the FY21 Cultural Trust application was recently updated to focus on priorities that would allow the Arts Council and the Trust to best serve the immediate needs now faced by the arts sector. The updated application is being reopened to all qualified arts organizations. If you previously submitted an application for FY21 funding, Arts Council staff will be in touch.

For FY 2021, a qualified organization may submit an application for an Institutional/Financial Stabilization Project: a project that addresses financial and operational challenges or helps build greater operational capacity.

If you have any questions about the FY21 Cultural Trust grant application, please contact:
Tammy Herman, Director of Programs & Services, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, at 609-292-4435 or via email at tammy.herman@sos.nj.gov.
Mary Eileen Fouratt, Program Officer, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, at 609-984-6815 or via email at maryeileen.fouratt@sos.nj.gov.

PLEASE NOTE: In order to access and submit the application form, an applicant must: 1) first be registered in the SAGE system; and 2) after registering in SAGE, contact Patricia Hamilton-Ross at patricia.hamilton-ross@sos.nj.gov or 609-633-1273 to get access to the application. Note: SAGE does not work properly with Google Chrome.

Important dates:

• August 13, 2020 - Cultural Trust application available in SAGE.
• August/September - Application Assistance: ZOOM Office Hours (See guidelines for more information.)
• September 4, 2020 - Deadline for applications submitted to the Cultural Trust for Qualification.
• September 10, 2020 - Cultural Trust applications due in SAGE by 11:59 p.m. Requests for extensions to the deadline will not be permitted.
• October/November 2020 - Council convenes peer panels, and craft recommendations.
• December 2020 - Council votes on award recommendations to the Cultural Trust.
• January 2021 - Cultural Trust will take action on and announce grants.

Important documents:

Application for Qualification

FY 2021 New Jersey Cultural Trust Grant Guidelines

Awards to Support Diverse Improvement and Restoration Projects across New Jersey