Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation Arts & Culture Initiative

1. Combined Capacity-Building and General Operating Funds for organizations with at least one full-time (or one FTE) staff member to help organizations build the solid foundation necessary to pursue an ambitious mission and vision;
2. General Operating Micro Grants for organizations with less than one full-time staff member to execute immediate programming.

To better understand the differences between these two grant opportunities, please review the comparison chart here.

• Virtual grant training sessions June 3 and June 4, 2025. Click here to learn more. Click here to register for either session.
• Application available online August 4, 2025.
• Application due September 12, 2025 by 4 p.m. No exceptions.
• Micro-grant decision notification November 2025.
• Capacity building grant decision notification December 2025

• Small to mid-sized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that have arts and culture as core to their mission.
  Exceptions may be made for the core mission in rural communities with limited independent arts and cultural organizations. Exceptions must be granted by the Community Foundation in writing. Please write to Yuki at yukinr@cfgb.org to explain the unique circumstances in your rural community by August 29, 2025.
• Applicant organizations must be physically located in and/or operate in one or more of nine counties – Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Wyoming.
• Applicant organizations must have had an operating budget of no more than $500,000 in their most recently completed fiscal year. NOTE: We look at the operating expenses when determining the operating budget size of an organization.
• While organizations undergoing significant capital projects resulting in significantly reduced programming are eligible to apply, organizations with fully active programming will be prioritized.
• The 13 organizations named by Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation receiving direct, yearly funding are not eligible.
• Fiscal sponsorships are acceptable; the fiscal sponsor does not need to meet above criteria but the applicant organization does.

Please click here to view answers to frequently asked questions.

For arts organizations based in the eight counties (excludes Monroe County):

Please direct all questions to Yuki Numata Resnick, Director of Arts and Culture, at yukinr@cfgb.org.

For Monroe County arts organizations:

For general questions about the Arts & Culture Initiative, please reach out to Yuki Numata Resnick, Director of Arts and Culture, at yukinr@cfgb.org.

For specific inquiries about the application and application logistics, please reach out to Annette Jiménez Gleason at ajimenezgleason@racf.org.

• Virtual grant training sessions will be held June 3 and June 4, 2025. Click here to learn more.

Click here for general guidelines.

Click here for more about capacity-building.

Click here for the evaluation rubric.

Click here for the Micro Grant Application.

Click here for the Capacity Building Application.

For Monroe County applicants, the order of the questions may be different, however, the questions themselves are all the same.

Applications will be reviewed by experienced external evaluators who are artists, arts practitioners and arts administrators representing all nine Western New York counties. Each county will be awarded a minimum of two Capacity-Building + General Operating grants and two Micro Grants, assuming eligible applications have been received in each county.