Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grants

• Applicants must be 21 years or older.
• Applicants must reside in the United States, the District of Columbia, a Tribal Nation, or a U.S. Territory.
• Applicants must be an artist in need, having an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or lower for an individual, or $150,000 for joint filers, averaged over the last two federal tax returns.
• Applicants cannot be enrolled in any degree-seeking program.
• Applicants must not have received a Rauschenberg Medical or Dancer Emergency Grant previously.
• Applicants must demonstrate current and ongoing activity as a professional dancer (defined below).

• Applicants must be a professional dancer. You need to have been working as a paid, live dance performer for at least the last five years (since 2020), in any stage/performance style, including aerial, ballet, hip-hop, jazz, modern, tap and traditional/folk. You may apply if you perform in a variety of settings (for instance: ticketed stage performances, free street festivals, and music videos), as long as you have performed in live, public-facing performances regularly since 2020 (at least one paid engagement annually).
• You do not need to be a full-time dancer, or receive your primary income through your dance performance.
• Inactivity, or online/streaming activity, during COVID, and during the last six months, is allowable.
• Performances in educational/academic settings, social dance, competitive settings, clubs or other commercial settings, exotic dance, commercials, and industrials cannot be considered in this history of performing.
• Self-produced online presentation, and/or performances shared solely through personal websites, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or other online platforms are not eligible.
• If you perform your own work live, your resume needs to clearly indicate that you were BOTH the choreographer and dancer.

• Applicants must be experiencing a dire financial emergency that has occurred within approximately the last six months. This is defined as the lack or imminent endangerment of essentials such as housing, medicine/healthcare, utilities, food and/or transportation. Your expenses must be direct, out-of-pocket expenses for you individually.
• The dire financial emergency needs to be the result of a loss or lack of current/recent (in the last six months) work as a paid dancer because of circumstances beyond your control. Common circumstances include canceled performances, cutbacks or cancellations of dance engagement contracts, loss of touring opportunities, illness or injury, and ongoing shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact.
• The expenses for which you are requesting funds must be incurred and paid within the U.S. (including D.C., Tribal Nations and U.S Territories).
• In each cycle, we can consider emergencies that have occurred within approximately the last six months. The earliest date for an eligible emergency is listed in the cycle’s information.

When you fill out your application, you will need to:

• Provide your contact information
• Complete a checklist to describe the economic severity of your emergency situation
• Provide your annual income (averaged over the last two years)
• Summarize your typical professional dance activity in the past, any change in that activity over the last six months and your current level of paid dance work (maximum 100 words)
• Describe your dire financial emergency as clearly and thoroughly as possible (maximum 200 words)
  • What is your urgent and critical need for financial support?
  • What circumstances led to your current financial emergency?
• Describe your urgent and critical need for financial support.
• Describe what circumstances led to your current financial emergency.
• Describe one step you will take towards stability, if you receive the grant. (Maximum 150 words)
• List the expenses for which you are requesting this grant. For recurring expenses, you may request up to three months of funding within the eligible time period.
• Upload a current resume/bio/CV which demonstrates recent and sustained activity as a professional dancer in live, public-facing performances since at least 2020
  • List your engagements as a paid, live dance performer for at least the last five years, in any stage/performance style, including aerial, ballet, hip-hop, jazz, modern, tap and traditional/folk. List the production/event name, your role/position, the year, and the location (venue if any, city and state). If you perform your own work live, your resume needs to clearly indicate that you were BOTH the choreographer and dancer.
  • Your resume may list all of your performance work (for instance, ticketed stage performances, free street festivals and music videos), but you should specifically list/highlight/notate your live, public-facing performances since 2020, at least one paid engagement annuallly. Inactivity, or online/streaming activity, during COVID (2020-21), and during the last six months, is allowable.
  • Performances in educational/academic settings, social dance, competitive settings, clubs and other commercial settings, exotic dance, commercials, and industrials cannot be considered in this history of performing. Self-produced online presentation, and/or performances shared solely through personal websites, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or other online platforms are not eligible.
  • We do not accept work samples or URLs/links.
• Certify that the information in the application is true.

You may request up to $3,000 for eligible essential expenses, for up to a three-month consecutive period, ranging from six months before the grant deadline through six months after the grant deadline. Expenses can be already paid by you, can be owed, or can be coming up in the near future.

NYFA reserves the right to determine eligible and reasonable expenses to support through this grant program.

Eligible expenses include:

• Rental housing (deposits, rent)
• Utilities
• Food
• Medical/dental/mental healthcare and insurance premiums
• Transportation (car payments, insurance, ride shares/taxis, mass transit)
• Other essential expenses which you can specify
• Additionally, up to $1,000 of your may request may be for expenses essential to maintaining your abilities as a dancer:
• Class fees
• Dance gear/shoes
• Physical therapy
• Rehearsal/studio space rental for teaching or choreographing (including insurance/utilities)

Ineligible expenses include, but are not limited to:

• Mortgage payments
• Expenses related to other family members (i.e. food, healthcare, child/parent-care)
• Non-essential expenses including credit card debt or student loans
• Purchases of vehicles or other equipment

While housing and utilities expenses may be requested for your general household, other eligible expenses may only be requested for your own individual purposes. If you receive a grant, you will be required to certify your use of the funds for the expenses itemized in your application.

We take the privacy of applicants and recipients seriously. The names of recipients of emergency grants are not published on our website or in our 990 or other financial documents. All reviewers sign confidentiality agreements, and financial information such as tax returns is kept confidential by staff.

NYFA is committed to supporting artists from every background, and at all stages in their creative careers. We strongly encourage artists of color, LGBTQ+ artists, artists with disabilities, and artists living outside of the East and West coasts to apply.

Your recent and sustained commitment is demonstrated through your resume/bio/CV attached to your application.

List your engagements as a paid, live dance performer for at least the last five years, in any stage/performance style, including aerial, ballet, hip-hop, jazz, modern, tap and traditional/folk. List the production/event name, your role/position, the year, and the location (venue if any, city and state). If you perform your own work live, your resume needs to clearly indicate that you were BOTH the choreographer and dancer. Your resume may list all of your performance work (for instance, ticketed stage performances, free street festivals and music videos), but you should specifically list/highlight/notate your live, public-facing performances since 2020. Inactivity, or online/streaming activity, during COVID (2020-21), and during the last six months, is allowable.

Performances in educational/academic settings, social dance, competitive settings, clubs, exotic dance, commercials, and industrials cannot be considered in this history of performing. Self-produced online presentation, and/or performances shared solely through Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or other online platforms are not eligible.

“Dire financial emergencies“ include the lack or imminent endangerment of essentials such as housing, medicine/healthcare, utilities, and food, due to the artist’s loss or lack of recent/current live performance work, because of circumstances outside of their control. Common circumstances include canceled performances, cutbacks or cancellations of dance engagement contracts, loss of touring opportunities, illness or injury, and ongoing shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact.

Two things: Who is eligible and what expenses can be requested. Both programs are for artists in need, and therefore have an income ceiling for eligibility. Please see each program’s guidelines for additional details. Both have multiple cycles running through at least June 2025.

Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grants are open to professional dancers in a dire financial emergency due to the artist’s loss or lack of current live performance work, because of circumstances outside of their control. Eligible applicants may request essential expenses such as housing, food, utilities, and medical care. Choreographers may not apply unless they also have recent and sustained activity as a professional dancer.

Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants are open to artists working in the visual arts, film/video/digital/electronic arts, and choreography. Eligible applicants may request funds for recent medical/dental/mental health emergencies. Dancers may not apply unless they also have recent and sustained activity as a choreographer.

Yes.

No. Available funds are limited to approximately $65,000 in each grant cycle, and the demand for emergency funding is high.

Yes, if you also can demonstrate being a professional dancer in live performance over at least the last five years.

This program is intended for dancers who have lost live performing engagements/opportunities for public audiences. Therefore, performances in competitive settings, K-12 educational settings, social dance, commercial settings (clubs, exotic dance, commercials, industrials, etc.) are not eligible.

Yes, if the production was available for broad public viewing which is demonstrated on the resume (screening, broadcast, etc.) and if you also perform in live productions. If you perform exclusively in film/television, you may not apply.

Yes, if it is clear that your roles were primarily as a dancer.

Yes, if you also can demonstrate being a professional dance performer over at least the last five years.

Yes, you must summarize your typical professional dance activity in the past, any change in that activity over the last six months and your current level of paid dance work. You must also demonstrate, through your narrative, an urgent and critical need for emergency funding.

No. With our limited funds, we want to serve as many artists as possible.

If you are not awarded funding, and you still meet the eligibility criteria for a future cycle, you may re-apply. You may not receive more than one Rauschenberg Emergency grant in a lifetime.

Monthly rent and security deposits. Mortgage payments and mortgage insurance, and property/liability insurance, are not eligible. You may request a maximum of three months’ expenses.

Monthly electric, gas, internet and cellphone expenses, and purchases of home heating fuel. Cable television expenses are not eligible. You may request a maximum of three months’ expenses.

Purchases of groceries and prepared food for the individual dance applicant only. Dine-in restaurant expenses are not eligible. You may request a maximum of three months’ expenses.

Monthly insurance premiums for the individual dance applicant only; out-of-pocket expenses for medical, dental and/or mental health treatment. Expenses for glasses, contacts or hearing aids may be requested if the item was purchased during the time period covered in the application, as can be expenses for regular prescribed medications and personal hygiene items.

Vehicle payments, vehicle insurance, fuel, ride shares/taxis and mass transit. For monthly expenses, you may request a maximum of three months’ worth.

You must describe the essential nature of any additional types of expenses, and describe/itemize the expense. For monthly expenses, you may request a maximum of three months’ worth.

Up to $1,000 of your request may be for expenses essential to maintaining your abilities as a dancer such as:

• Class fees
• Dance gear/shoes
• Physical therapy
• Studio/rehearsal space rent/utilities for income-generating activities (teaching class, choreographing new work, rehearsing for an upcoming engagement, etc.)

Up to three months’ worth of expenses may be requested.

Ineligible expenses include, but are not limited to: Mortgage payments; expenses related to other family members such as food, healthcare, child/parent-care; credit card debt or student loans; and purchases of vehicles or other equipment.

NYFA reserves the right to determine eligible and reasonable expenses to support.

No.

Yes. We understand that certain medical conditions may make it necessary for a proxy to complete the application, but the funds will only be released to the artist who has experienced the emergency.

We do accept applications completed and submitted by a proxy; if the grant is awarded, the artist themself will need to legally accept the grant.

Yes. We understand that under certain conditions, it may be easier for an artist to submit a paper application. If this is of interest, please email [email protected] or call (212) 366-6900 ext. 239 to speak with the program coordinator.

If you have Microsoft Office, and you have the files as Word, you should have Adobe Acrobat on your computer or you can download it for free, and you can save the doc or an email from your provider as an Adobe pdf file.

For medical documentation, the best choice is to scan up to 15 pages and have them saved as one PDF. If you don’t have a scanner, if you have a friend or relative close by with a scanner, or can get to a FedEx-type shop, that’s best. If not, you can contact the program coordinator at [email protected] to make arrangements.

Get step-by-step guidance for using the Submittable platform and setting up a free account here.

Yes. To save your application as a draft, scroll to the bottom of your working application and select “Save Draft.” Sign in to your submittable account to view your draft applications. You can’t also sign in via the direct link to saved drafts here.

We highly suggest using a laptop or desktop computer to complete your application on the platform, rather than a mobile device or tablet. Free access to these types of computers are available at most public library branches throughout New York City. 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 this contact form or by emailing [email protected] so that they can troubleshoot directly.

To preview your submitted application, please sign in to your Submittable account. If you continue having issues viewing your submission, please reach out to[email protected] for further assistance.

Note: Submitted applications should only be previewed using the link above; you may not be able to preview your submitted application by signing in through the same portal link you used to apply.

All eligible applications are reviewed at the same time by the panel, so there is no advantage to applying quickly or early. We recommend you take your time to submit a strong and complete application by the deadline.

We make every effort to notify applicants of their status within six weeks of the application deadline. For those receiving grants, additional documentation is required, and payment processing can take a minimum of up to 30 business days after all paperwork is submitted. These processing times are subject to change.

By completing this information you are helping NYFA secure future funding, collect general information about our audience, and properly assess our effectiveness in serving the creative community. Your responses will remain anonymous and any personally identifying data will be removed prior to sharing the demographic data with third parties.

NYFA is committed to supporting individuals from all backgrounds and disciplines and will continue to work towards values of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility across all programs. Read NYFA’s DEIA statement on our website.