Overview
The Kenan Trust honors Mr. Kenan’s belief in the value of the arts as a field of study, practice, or simply for pleasure through our work in the arts in higher education and in supporting new artists entering their first careers.
Eligible Project Types
The Trust will fund projects that:
- Provide scholarships for students interested in pursuing arts education at a college or university; or
- Offer career training and mentorship, fellowships, or financial support for basic needs for newly graduated students beginning their career as an artist.
The Trust does not offer funding for art events or for the production of visual or performing arts experiences.
Eligible Organizations
The Trust will consider proposals for the types of projects listed above from:
- Colleges and Universities; or
- Nonprofits offering “bridge to practice” programs for newly graduated students pursuing a career in the arts.
Size and Duration of Grants
Grants in this focus area will typically range from $250,000 – $1M plus for larger organizations demonstrating large-scale impact. Grant durations typically range from 1-3 years.
Please note, the grant size and duration listed here are meant as a general guide. A Kenan Grant Officer will work closely with organizations advancing to later stages of our grant process to tailor grant requests if needed.
Featured Grant in Arts in Higher Education: Lincoln Center
For nearly two decades, the Trust has been supporting The Kenan Fellowship at the Lincoln Center for recent graduates from University of North Carolina School of the Arts. The annual six-month Kenan Fellowship seeks to provide emerging artists with knowledge of aesthetic education that will prepare them for work as artists in the field of arts and education.
Each Kenan Fellow is paired with an individual mentor chosen from the Institute’s teaching artists and staff. Immersion in the Lincoln Center Education’s rigorous methodology prepares Fellows for careers as arts educators and performers, and alumni have gone on to build successful lives as performers, creators, teaching artists, founders and leaders of their own organizations, and everything in between. Fellows benefit from networking opportunities and enjoy the chance to prepare and perform a personal project in their chosen field as their capstone experience.
