Assistance for Arts Education Program: Arts in Education National Program (AENP)

Grants to USA national nonprofits to provide high-quality arts education services and projects for youth and children. Applicants are advised to create or verify the required registrations well in advance of the deadline date, and are requested to submit a letter of intent. This program places a strong emphasis on benefitting students with disabilities and students from low-income families.

Program Requirements. Projects funded under this program must include

1. Professional development for arts educators, teachers, and principals;
2. Development and dissemination of accessible instructional materials and arts-based educational programming, including online resources, in multiple arts disciplines; and
3. Community and national outreach activities that strengthen and expand partnerships among schools, LEAs, communities, or centers for the arts, including national centers for the arts.

This notice contains two competitive preference priorities and one invitational priority.

• Competitive Preference Priority 1: Applications From New Potential Grantees
• Competitive Preference Priority 2: Applicants That Are National Nonprofit Organizations. 
• Invitational Priority: Art Therapy. Under this priority, an applicant must describe how it will include art therapy in their project to improve cognitive and sensory-motor functions, foster self-esteem and self-awareness, cultivate emotional resilience, promote insight, enhance social skills, or reduce and resolve conflicts and distress.

This program supports high-quality arts education projects that must:

• Support community and national outreach activities that strengthen and expand partnerships among schools, local educational agencies (LEAs), communities, or centers for the arts, including national centers for the arts.
• Implement, or expand, initiatives in arts education and arts integration.
• Have a special emphasis on serving children from low-income families and children with disabilities.

The following activities and services can be supported through the Arts in Education National Program (AENP):

• Professional development for pre-kindergarten-through-grade-12 educators, including special educators and arts educators.
• Development and dissemination of instructional materials, including online resources, in multiple arts disciplines for educators.
• Arts-based and arts-integrated curriculum and educational programming in music, dance, theater, media arts, and visual arts, including folk arts, for pre-kindergarten-through-grade-12 students and arts educators.
• Community and national outreach activities that strengthen and expand partnerships among schools, school districts, communities and centers of the arts throughout the country.
• Other high-quality arts projects for children and youth, with special emphasis on serving children from low-income families and children with disabilities.