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Through the National Book Foundation Capacity-Building Grant Program, nonprofit literary arts organizations may apply for grants to support projects that aim to create a sustainable and effective organization related to fundraising, finance, or marketing; skill-building opportunities for staff and/or Board members; strategic planning consultants; diversity and equity initiatives; leadership development and management training; sabbaticals for long-term staff members and leaders; and succession planning.
Nonprofit literary arts organizations may apply to the National Book Foundation Capacity-Building Grant Program for grants of $5,000 or $10,000 to support capacity-building initiatives. Funding from Hawthornden Foundation, originally founded in 1983 by the late Drue Heinz, makes this program possible.
Applications closed on May 10, 2024 at 5:00pm EDT. Notifications to applicants will be sent via Submittable on August 6, 2024, and grantees will be announced publicly on August 7, 2024.
The National Book Foundation and CLMP held an information session about the grants, hosted by LitNet, on April 10, 2024. You can view a recording of the session here.
The 2024 National Book Foundation Capacity-Building grant recipients, listed alphabetically, are:
826DC, $10,000
Adirondack Center for Writing, $5,000
Afghan American Artists and Writers Association (AAAWA), $5,000
Cambodian American Literary Arts Association, $5,000
Chicago Humanities, $5,000
Children’s Book Project, $5,000
City Arts and Lectures, $10,000
CityLit Project, $5,000
Cleveland Kids’ Book Bank, $10,000
Elk River Arts & Lectures, $5,000
Everybody Wins DC, $10,000
Gemini Ink, $10,000
Girls Write Now, $10,000
Inprint, $10,000
Kimbilio, $5,000
Kiwanis Literacy Club Foundation, $5,000
Lighthouse Writers Workshop, $10,000
LitArts RI, $5,000
Literary Cleveland, $10,000
Madison Reading Project, $5,000
MAKE Literary Productions, NFP, $5,000
Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop, $10,000
Mississippi Book Festival, $10,000
Nathaniel Gadsden’s Writers Wordshop, $5,000
Nebraska Writers Collective (NWC), $10,000
Northern Arizona Book Festival, $5,000
Pen Parentis, $5,000
Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute, $5,000
Podium RVA, $5,000
Poetry Society of New York, $5,000
Rhode Island Center for the Book, $5,000
Short Run Seattle, $5,000
Small Press Traffic Literary Arts Center, $5,000
Speculative Literature Foundation, $5,000
Teachers and Writers Collaborative, $10,000
Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, $5,000
Texas Book Festival, $10,000
The Flow Chart Foundation, $5,000
The Muse Writers Center, $10,000
The PEN/Faulkner Foundation, $10,000
The Porch Writers’ Collective, $10,000
The Word, A Storytelling Sanctuary, $5,000
The Writer’s Center, $10,000
Torch Literary Arts, $5,000
Tuleburg Press, $5,000
Tulsa Literary Coalition, $10,000
Woodland Pattern, $10,000
Writers & Books, $10,000
Writers in Baltimore Schools, $5,000
The Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) will also be awarding capacity-building grants to 46 nonprofit literary magazines and presses across the US through a similar program. To learn more about CLMP’s grantees, please visit their website.
Applications were reviewed by an independent grantmaking panel composed of Lilly Gonzalez, Executive Director of the San Antonio Book Festival; Michael Holtmann, Executive Director & Publisher at the Center for the Art of Translation; and Lisa Willis, Executive Director of Cave Canem. Read more about the panelists here. Final grant decisions were made by the National Book Foundation and approved by a committee of the NBF Board of Directors.
The Capacity-Building Grant Program is made possible with funding from Hawthornden Foundation, originally founded in 1983 by the late Drue Heinz.
What is this funding opportunity?
Recognizing that nonprofit literary arts organizations need to address sustainability, the National Book Foundation is pleased to offer a special Capacity-Building Grant Program that will award one-year grants of $5,000 or $10,000 to support projects that build organizational capacity.
A grant from Hawthornden Foundation, originally founded in 1983 by the late Drue Heinz, makes this program possible.
What is “capacity building?”
“Capacity building” as defined by the National Council of Nonprofits is: “Whatever is needed to bring a nonprofit to the next level of operational, programmatic, financial, or organizational maturity, so it may more effectively and efficiently advance its mission into the future.”
Examples of requests for support include projects in areas such as fundraising, finance, or marketing; skill-building opportunities for staff and/or Board members; strategic planning consultants; diversity and equity initiatives; leadership development and management training; sabbaticals for long-term staff members and leaders; and succession planning.
Who is eligible to apply?
Applicants must be nonprofit literary arts organizations* based in the United States or US Territories.
Applicants must have 501(c)3 status or have a fiscal sponsor.
*Nonprofit literary arts organizations are understood as those that have missions and programs dedicated to the literary arts and not other artistic disciplines such as dance, theatre, visual arts.
Nonprofit literary magazines and/or presses should apply to a similar program administered by the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses. More information can be found at https://www.clmp.org/capacity-building-grant-program.
The decisions of the National Book Foundation as to eligibility, both initially and throughout the grant period, are final.
Does the National Book Foundation allow indirect costs as part of grant proposals for this opportunity?
The National Book Foundation does not allow the inclusion of indirect costs in project budgets for the Capacity-Building Grant Program. 100% of awarded grant funds must go directly to the project as laid out in the grant proposal.
Where is the application?
Applications are available online-only via Submittable. If you successfully complete the initial eligibility questions on behalf of your organization in Submittable, you will then see the application.
You can view and download a preview of the application here. Only applications received through Submittable will be considered; we will not be accepting submissions sent through email.
Will there be an information session to learn more?
The National Book Foundation and CLMP held an information session about the grants, hosted by LitNet, on April 10, 2024. You can view a recording of the session here.
What are the criteria on which applications will be reviewed?
Applications will be reviewed by an independent panel based on the following criteria:
Who is serving on the independent review panel?
The National Book Foundation Capacity-Building Grant Program panelists are Lilly Gonzales, Michael Holtmann, and Lisa Willis. Read more about the panelists here.
Final award decisions will be approved by a committee of the National Book Foundation Board of Directors.
When is the application deadline?
Complete applications must be received via Submittable by May 10, 2024 at 5:00pm EDT.
The National Book Foundation assumes no responsibility for applications not received due to user error. Applicants may verify the receipt of their application by logging into Submittable.
When will grants be announced?
All applicants will be informed by August 2024, as to whether or not their project has been funded. A full list of grantees will be published on nationalbook.org.
What kind of reporting will be expected by grantees?
Grantees are required to submit a report to the National Book Foundation after the conclusion of the grant period in September 2025.
Accessibility
If you need accommodation for accessibility, please contact grants@nationalbook.org.
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