OVERVIEW: WESTAF (Western States Arts Federation) creates and promotes arts opportunities in the western region of the U.S. Its grantmaking supports presenting organizations by financially incentivizing them to bring visiting artists into the area. Its TourWest program is a grantmaking program that supports local arts and community organizations for the presentation of touring performers and literary artists.
IP TAKE: WESTAF funding supports organizations in Western states that present the work of performing artists who also reside in those states. Within this geographic confine, a range of opportunities is available.
PROFILE: Established in 1974, Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) is a regional arts nonprofit that services the western part of the United States, including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawai’i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The organization seeks to assist “state arts agencies, arts organizations, and artists in their quest to serve diverse audiences, enrich lives of local communities, and provide access to the arts and arts education for all.” It is one of six U.S. Regional Arts Organizations created and largely funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. Its signature grantmaking program is TourWest which supports presenting organizations within WESTAF’s 13-state region looking to host touring performers.
Grants for Arts Education, Music, Theater, Dance, Creative Writing
WESTAF currently offers three grant programs, the most prominent of which is TourWest. This program supports community and arts organizations within the 13-state WESTAF region which feature out-of-state touring performers and literary artists. Funded projects must include an educational component in addition to the public performance. Grant amounts are the lesser of $2,500 or 50% of the overall project expenses, and require a 1-1 cash match by the presenting organization. Projects that reach underserved and/or culturally diverse audiences will likely receive priority in funding considerations.
WESTAF’s other two programs are COVID-19-related and designed to help arts organizations survive and recover from problems incurred as a result of the pandemic. The WESTAF Regional Arts Resilience Fund is operated in partnership with The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and is “designed to help mitigate the financial threat to the sector caused by COVID-19 by supporting small- and mid-sized arts organizations of all artistic disciplines in rural and urban areas that are regarded by their peers as having statewide, regional, or national impact.” The WESTAF CARES Relief Fund for Organizations is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. It works to “provide general operating support to arts and cultural organizations in the West that have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.” It is unclear for how long these programs will run beyond their initial CFP.
Important Grant Details:
The organization is open to all sorts of presenting organizations—performance halls, community centers, museums, parks, college campuses, high school theaters, and more—as long as they are a nonprofit and in one of these 13 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. TourWest applications are an online process, and due at the beginning of April each year for performances starting the following September.
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