WFF Housing Stability Grant for Artists

Yes, this program is only open to artists in financial need with an averaged adjusted gross income (from your two most recent federal tax returns) of $75,000 or less; $150,000 or less if you file jointly. You will submit your tax returns with your application.

Yes, this program is only open to artists in financial need with household assets of no greater than $108,710 ($155,300 for joint filers) as of the application deadline. Household assets include savings accounts, checking accounts, trusts, cash savings, investment assets (stocks/bonds etc.) and the entire market value of any interest in real property (residential, commercial, land, shares in a co-op, etc.). 

Applicants cannot currently own or have equity in a primary or secondary residence.

You will complete an estimated asset list in the application.

Make your best estimate of the current value of your assets. Household assets include savings accounts, checking accounts, trusts, cash savings, investment assets (stocks/bonds etc.) and the entire market value of any interest in real property (residential, commercial, land, shares in a co-op, etc.). 

If you are awarded a grant, we will work with you to receive the necessary documentation.

No. Individuals receiving rental assistance through a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Section 8 project-Based Voucher (PBV), Family Eviction Prevention Supplement (FEPS or CityFHEPS), Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH), or I am a tenant in Public Housing or Section 202 (Supportive Housing for the Elderly) are not eligible to apply.

If you had a short (12 months or less) absence in 2020/2021 due to COVID, that is an eligible exception. Lengthier absences or during other time periods would mean that you are not eligible to apply. If awarded, you will need to provide documentation of NYC residency.

No. Applicants cannot be enrolled in a degree-seeking program at the time of application.

You cannot be enrolled as of the application deadline.

Yes. All past recipients of other NYFA grants are eligible to apply.

Any eligible artist may apply. Artists may only request and receive a grant for the portion of rent/utilities for which they are individually responsible. For those who reside at the same address and file their taxes jointly, their combined household income and assets should be provided on the application. For those who reside at the same address but do not file taxes jointly, their individual income and assets should be provided on the application. Recipients will need to provide documentation of their individual rent/utility obligations and payment to receive funds.

The WFF HSG is open to visual artists currently practicing in one or more of the following discipline categories:

• Painting
• Photography
• Printmaking/Drawing/Book Arts
• Sculpture

This category includes work that involves painting of any kind upon any surface. Painting utilized within functional design (such as set design, home design, or fashion design) or work for hire is not eligible.

This category includes work in traditional and experimental photography or any work in which photography or photographic techniques are pivotal, if not exclusive.

This category includes work in visual media other than painting, including artist’s books, aquatints, collages, engravings, etchings, lithographs, monotypes, prints, serigraphs, woodcuts, and drawings.

This category includes three-dimensional work in ceramics, glass, wood, metal, fiber, textiles, mixed media and synthetic materials, and includes kinetic works and installations.

No, in this program, craft that is primarily functional or production-oriented, video/film, and functional design (including theatre design, fashion design/wearable fashion, and make up design/special FX) are excluded. The disciplines of painting, photography, sculpture, and drawing/book arts/printmaking have been selected because these are the disciplines in which George, Betty, and Francesca Woodman, whose family foundation supports this program, practiced.

Zines do not fall within our definition of Printmaking/Drawing/Book Arts, as the book needs to be an individual work of art, wholly generated by the applicant. 

The artist must be the sole or primary creator of the artwork, and have full and final artistic control. If you assist the primary creator, or if you interpret another artist’s work such as serving as a studio assistant, preparator, or writer, you are not eligible.

You must be able to demonstrate a proven track record of your commitment to your art practice for at least the last seven years (since 2018) on your resume/bio/CV. The resume/bio/CV must list activities which can include any/all of the following:

• Public showings of your work including exhibitions, presentations, installations, or workshops (list the venue, location [city/state/country], and year[s].)
• Public/community projects such as public art, murals, or community-based projects with public components (list the venue or sponsoring organization, location [city/state/country], and year[s].)
• Participation in artist residency, fellowship, or grant programs (list the name of the residency site/fellowship/grant and the year).
• Documentation of art sales (list the title of the work and year sold; in the case of art fairs/festivals, list the name, location [city/state] and year)
  –Work for hire or mass produced work is not eligible
• Reduced activity during the pandemic (2020-21) is acceptable.

Please note: Work that is created for online distribution and consumption is eligible IF it is a creative work, and was actively marketed to the public for showing at a specific date and time. If online presentations or sales of your work are your sole platform, such as online galleries, Instagram or YouTube, or your work is only available on-demand, we cannot consider your application eligible.

Work samples are not considered and are not requested.

This program is intended for artists who work consistently and regularly in one or more of the eligible artforms, not those whose work in an eligible artform is tangential or incidental or infrequent. For example, a theatre director who created scenic elements for one or two productions as part of their direction would not be considered an eligible visual artist for this program.

You may apply if you work in multiple disciplines, as long as you have sustained public-facing activity in one or more of this program’s designated disciplines over at least the last seven years (2018-2025).

No, please feel free to submit your full resume. One, because we don’t want you to have to create a new resume for this application; and two, because seeing your complete artistic history is helpful contextual information. However, if you do want to submit just the last seven years’ activity, be sure that it runs from 2018 to the present.

None. These applications are reviewed for eligibility and demonstrated need only, so no work samples or portfolios are necessary or accepted.

You must be experiencing one or more of the following:

• You do not have a lease or written agreement with the owner/landlord of your housing, or a sublease with tenant of record
• You are currently in a month-to-month or other uncertain housing situation
• You are currently paying more than 40% of your income in rent (including utilities)
• You have received notice of a rent increase within the next six months that will increase your rent to 40% or more of your income
• You need to leave your current housing because of an unexpected partnership dissolution, for your physical or emotional safety, or because of an unhealthy condition such as mold, lack of utilities or hazardous conditions

You are not eligible; this is a pilot program that provides rent subsidies to artists who are currently renting in NYC. 

While we are not able to provide direct financial support to unhoused artists at this time, we recommend that artists who are currently, or may imminently become, unhoused, to explore our list of Housing Resources and/or visit Entertainment Community Fund’s Information and Resources portal. To access the portal, you can register with a free account.

Funds cannot be used to simply cover or supplant existing rental costs. To be eligible, you must be experiencing one or more of the following:

• You do not have a lease or written agreement with the owner/landlord of your housing, or a sublease with tenant of record
• You are currently in a month-to-month or other uncertain housing situation
• You are currently paying more than 40% of your income in rent (including utilities)
• You have received notice of a rent increase within the next six months that will increase your rent to 40% or more of your income
• You need to leave your current housing because of an unexpected partnership dissolution, for your physical or emotional safety, or because of an unhealthy condition such as mold, lack of utilities or hazardous conditions

No.

This program is for artists in financial need. Our income caps represent a general national standard. The asset definition and cap is drawn from current New York City Housing Development Corporation policy.

This program is specifically for affordable residential housing. Grants may not be requested for studio rental expenses at this time. 

If you are seeking a combined live/work space, or if your rental housing expense increase will force you to give up an existing rental studio space, AND you are facing an eligible housing instability situation, you may apply.

If you will retain ownership, you are not eligible to apply. 

If you will be ceding ownership of the property within the first year of the grant period (May 1, 2025 – July 31, 2026) due to divorce, death in the family, or another unexpected situation, AND any income you derive from the sale will not exceed the asset limit, you may apply.

This alone is not an eligible emergency situation in this program. To be eligible, you must be experiencing one or more of the following:

• You do not have a lease or written agreement with the owner/landlord of your housing, or a sublease with tenant of record
• You are currently in a month-to-month or other uncertain housing situation
• You are currently paying more than 40% of your income in rent (including utilities)
• You have received notice of a rent increase within the next six months that will increase your rent to 40% or more of your income
• You need to leave your current housing because of an unexpected partnership dissolution, for your physical or emotional safety, or because of an unhealthy condition such as mold, lack of utilities or hazardous conditions

You may apply for a grant to either stay in your apartment at the increased rental rate (if it will constitute 40% or more of your income), or for new housing.

You may apply for a grant to find new rental housing.

You may apply for a grant to stabilize your housing through a lease agreement, either for your existing housing or new housing.

You may apply for a grant to seek new housing.

If any proceeds from the sale of a house, distribution of assets, or other liquidation does not exceed this program’s asset cap, you may apply for a grant to seek new housing.

You may apply for a grant to help with the increased rent in your current housing or to seek new housing.

You are not eligible to apply at this time. We encourage you to apply in future cycles, if they are offered, once you receive notice of a rent increase.

To be eligible, you must have lived within the five boroughs of New York City for at least the last five years (a short absence during 2020-21 due to COVID is acceptable). 

We encourage you to explore our list of Housing Resources and/or visit Entertainment Community Fund’s Information and Resources portal. To access the portal, you can register with a free account.

Due to the large number of qualified applications and the limited amount of funds, NYFA uses a two-step award process.

1. Applications are reviewed by NYFA Grants Staff for eligibility and completeness. Eligible applications are then assessed by an outside panel based on the criterion the demonstrated need of each applicant:

• Urgency of the housing need. 
• Economic severity of the housing need.
• The potential impact of funding on the artist’s ability to continue/return to their creative practice.

2. Following the panel review, the top pool of applications based on scores is placed into a lottery for the final awards.

Please note, this is a very competitive program, and an application is not a guarantee of support.

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 the financial information such as tax returns, bank records, and leases/bills is kept confidential and only seen by staff.

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 confidential and will only be reviewed by NYFA staff members. 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.

We anticipate notifying applicants of their status in Summer 2025. All applicants will receive a notification, regardless of the outcome.

No, this program does not have an appeal process. If you remain eligible, and if future cycles are implemented, we encourage you to apply in the next cycle.

To receive your grant, you will need to:

• Sign a Letter of Agreement
• Submit documentation of assets including a Balance Sheet spreadsheet and other required bank/financial documents upon acceptance of your grant, and for the two subsequent years of the grant
• Submit documentation demonstrating you’ve lived within New York for the last five years (a short absence of 12 months or less in 2020/2021 due to COVID-19 may have occurred)

Once all required documentation is provided, the first grant installment ($12,000) will be paid. Funds can be used for future deposits, rent and utilities incurred between August 1, 2025 – July 31, 2026.

During the three-year course of the grant you will also need to:

• Submit copies of federal income tax statements after you file them for 2025 and 2026
• Provide documentation of your lease/rent/utility expenses within the five boroughs of New York City
• Provide updated Balance Sheets and required bank/financial documentation annually
• Complete interim reports to help us know the status of your housing stability, and other impacts of the grant at three points during the grant period, and within 12 months after the final award payment.

Yes. If you are awarded a grant, you will be provided a Balance Sheet spreadsheet to complete and submit along with copies of required bank/financial records.

If all grant requirements are met, grants are paid in three annual installments:

• Year 1 ($12,000): Upon receiving the grant in Summer 2025, after all paperwork has been received and approved
• Year 2 ($10,000): As early as August 1, 2026; no later than July 31, 2027*
• Year 3 ($8,000): As early as August 1, 2027; no later than July 31, 2028*

*Exact dates dependent on recipient’s completion of Interim Reports.

Grant funds may be used for residential rent, utilities (gas/electric/phone/internet) and/or security deposits. 

Funds may only be used for eligible expenses within these grant periods:

• Year 1 ($12,000): May 1, 2025 – July 31, 2026
• Year 2 ($10,000): August 1, 2026 – July 31, 2027
• Year 3 ($8,000): August 1, 2027 – July 31, 2028

Ineligible expenses include, but are not limited to:

• Mortgage payments or the purchase of a home
• HOA fees
• Expenses incurred outside of the eligible grant periods listed above. Funds may not be used to simply cover or supplant existing rental costs.

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

Yes. If you are awarded a grant, you will need to provide copies of paid bills/receipts for the rent/utility expenses described in your application.

We classify these as emergency grants, and you will not receive a 1099 for these funds.

Grant funds are only sent to the artist, not the owner/landlord of your housing.

You can explore our list of Housing Resources and/or visit Entertainment Community Fund’s Information and Resources portal. To access the portal, you can register with a free account.

If desired, grant recipients will be provided with information and guidance for affordable housing in New York through a partnership with the Entertainment Community Fund.

All applications must be submitted through the Submittable platform. All open applications can be found here: https://apply.nyfa.org/submit

If you haven’t already, you will need to create a free Submittable account to be able to access the application. Visit www.submittable.com to start a free account.

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

Yes. We understand that in some situations it is 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 with the applicant’s approval; if the grant is awarded, the artist themself will need to legally accept the grant.

The Submittable platform is free to use for applicants. If you require an accommodation due to a disability, please contact [email protected] or 212-366-6900 ext. 239 at least two weeks prior to the deadline.

If you have MS 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.

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 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 the contact form, Submitter Support, or via the support email address [email protected] so that they can troubleshoot directly.

To preview your submitted application, please sign in to your Submittable here. 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.