Application for December 1, 2026 – Harkness Foundation for Dance

Guidelines: Eligibility, Exclusions & Deadlines

If you came to this page directly, please review the guidelines before applying:

Form Tips:

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“Organization” means dance companies, dance education organizations, dance presenting organizations, dance/arts service organizations, multi-discipline organizations with dance programs.
“Artist” means independent choreographers working on a project basis.
Required Items: Required items for all types of submitters are marked with a red asterisk * after the label.
Save as Draft: The “Save as Draft” link at the bottom of the page will allow you to resume your application later if you are interrupted. After clicking “Save as Draft” two options will appear: 1) you can copy the unique draft link and save it, or 2) email it to yourself for safekeeping using the form that appears. The draft will not automatically be sent to you without clicking the “Send draft link” button.
To continue working on a Draft: You must access the draft using the unique link generated when you clicked “Save as Draft.”
Uploaded files: For security purposes, uploaded documents will NOT be saved in drafts. If you save a draft, please add file uploads as a last step before you submit.
Submission: After submitting, you will see a confirmation message on screen and receive email confirmation of your submission to the “Contact Person Email” you provided. If you do not see the email, check your Spam folder and mark the message as “Not Spam” to help prevent future issues. Depending on your email provider, it may take some time to arrive.
Corrections: To make a small correction after submission, please send only the correction to info@harknessfoundation.org. Please format the subject line CORRECTION — HARKNESS 12/1/26 PROPOSAL — [ORGANIZATION/ARTIST NAME].

The language in this proposal submission form is aligned with question language developed by the New York Grantmakers in the Arts’ (NYGIA) Common Application Committee. By standardizing question language across applications, we seek to reduce the amount of time New York artists and arts organizations spend on grant proposals. If you encounter one of these questions on another funder’s application, you are encouraged to cut and paste the same answer. (NOTE: NYGIA based this initiative on the efforts of the Common Application for the Arts – Bay Area)

Organization / Artist Info & Contacts

Organization/Artist Name *

Organization/Artist Classification (check one) *501(c)3 nonprofitFiscally Sponsored (enter sponsor name below)

Fiscal Sponsor Name

Organization/Artist Permanent Address *

Apartment, suite, etc

City

State/Province

ZIP / Postal Code

Contact Person (who should receive confirmation of proposal submission) *

Contact Person Job Title *

Contact Person Email (will receive confirmation of proposal submission) *

Confirm Email Address *

Contact Person Phone *

Executive/Artistic Director Name & Title (if different than Contact Person)

Executive/Artistic Director Email

Confirm Email Address

Current Mailing Address (if different than permanent address)

Apartment, suite, etc

City

State/Province

ZIP / Postal Code

Request & Budget(s)

Cover Letter *Brief cover letter addressed to Joan Finkelstein, Executive Director, summarizing:
— The amount you are requesting
— Whether it is for a Program Grant (please specify whether general operating support or support for a particular ongoing core program); or a Project Grant (support for a specific project).

Narrative *Describe your program(s) or project (1–2 pages):
— Organizational/artistic priorities
— Any recent changes or challenges that inform this request (leadership, operational, financial, shift in programmatic/artistic focus)
— For programs: Key personnel, timeline, goals, expected outcomes
— For projects: Concept, collaborators, timeline, goals, plans for presentation/production

Budget(s) (1–2 spreadsheets, 4MB limit) *For all budgets: Please include both projected expenses and projected income, with contributed income sources identified and marked ‘received’ or ‘pending’ as appropriate.
— Organizations seeking support for a program/project should submit 2 files: a program/project budget + an annual operating budget.
— Organizations seeking general operating support should submit 1 file: an annual operating budget only.
— Artists should submit 1 file: a program/project budget only.

Organization / Artist Background

Historical Summary *Please address the following in 1 page:
— Organizations/dance companies: Year founded, mission, key programs and activities
— Artists: Years in the field, core artistic focus, key prior works
— Communities your work is rooted in, engages, or serves
— How you consider equity and accessibility in your work

List of board members & their affiliation (choose one option) *(Fiscally sponsored artists do not need to include fiscal sponsor’s board list. Please write n/a.)Board List (copy/paste text)Board List (upload file)

Board List (copy/paste text)

Board List (upload file)

Key artistic personnel *Short bios of key artistic personnel.

Representative support material: option 1 (copy/paste links as plain text)2–3 samples of representative work (please include a title for each link):
—Video links (Vimeo/YouTube/etc); provide timestamp if applicable
—Links to individual items or a folder of images, performance review, lesson plan etc (please ensure it is set to “anyone with the link can view”)

Representative support material: option 2 (3 files max, 6MB limit)1–3 representative pieces of support material, such as images, performance review, lesson plan

Tax Status & Financial Documents

Tax Exemption Documents (2 files max, 4MB limit) *For Tax Exempt Organizations:
— Copy of IRS 501c3 tax exempt letter
For Fiscally Sponsored Organizations/Artists:
— Letter of fiscal sponsorship
— IRS tax exempt letter of sponsoring organization

Organizations Only: Audited Financial Statement –OR– 990 —OR— short form 990 (1 file max, 2MB limit)(Fiscally sponsored artists do not need to include the financial statement of fiscal sponsor. We will contact them directly if we need this.)

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