Funding. Resources. Community. For Creatives.

New look! feeling cute, won’t delete later :)

IN THIS ISSUE

🎨 Artist Feature + News
💰 Funding We're Watching
📅 Closing in the Next 30 Days
🔭 Looking Ahead: Next 90 Days
💡 Grant Tip
📣 Resources

Funder: Illinois Department of Human Services / Field Foundation
Grant Program: Healing Illinois
Maximum Grant/Opportunity: $30,000 for regional activations, $50,000 for multi-region activations
**REMINDER - Application Closes MONDAY, September 28 @5pm
Funding Area: Racial Healing (Nonprofit Organization + Partners)

Healing Illinois funds projects that bring people together to build trusted relationships, foster understanding, and strengthen the bonds of community. When residents can listen to one another, share their stories, and find common ground, communities become stronger and our democracy becomes healthier.

Through three funding priorities, Healing Illinois supports organizations leading this work across the state: 1) Healing Through Narrative, 2) Healing Through Dialogue, and 3) Healing Through Place.

Review the full RFP and contact HealingIllinois@fieldfoundation.org or DHS.Healing@Illinois.gov with questions.

Funder: Illinois Arts Council
Grant Program: Creative Accelerator Fund
Maximum Grant/Opportunity: $10,000
Application Closes: October 14, 2026
Funding Area: Multiple disciplines (Individual Artist)

The Illinois Arts Council’s (IAC) Creative Accelerator Fund (CAF) provides crucial support to artists with a goal of strengthening the creative workforce that composes a significant portion of Illinois’ economic activity.

This is a $10,000 taxable award with a randomized selection component. Additionally, IAC has transitioned to compliance-based evaluation criteria and does not evaluate the quality of artistic work or artistic accomplishments.

An information session recording is available to watch below:

- FY27 Creative Accelerator Fund Webinar

For additional assistance, attend one of the remaining drop-in sessions to speak directly with program staff by clicking on the respective links below (no registration required)

IAC Drop-In Session | Thursday, October 1st, 2:00 PM - 3:OO PM

IAC Drop-In Session | Tuesday, October 13th, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Review the full guidelines and contact your Regional Program Director with additional questions.

ALWAYS LOOKING FOR YOUR NEXT OPPORTUNITY?

You don't have to wait for the next newsletter.

Visit the Grants & Opportunities section on the Bustling Spaces website anytime to explore current grants, fellowships, residencies, open calls, and other opportunities for artists and creative organizations.

We keep the list updated, so check back regularly for new opportunities.

Grant Tip of the Week 💡-

Congratulations! Now… tell a friend.

We know we harp on this a lot at Bustling Spaces, but we cannot, CANNOT, overstate the power of the share.

One of the things we see kicking folks’ @$$ out here in the artiverse is the information gap - the often vast divide between the resources / funding you need and what you need to know to access it. This could be access to funders and funding opportunities, tools and platforms, legal information and rights, and a host of other things. What’s more, the information gap is exacerbated by systemic oppression - and those who live and work in underresourced communities are disproportionately impacted. It’s part of why we do what we do.

Changes need to be made at all levels, and especially for those most affected by this gap, things seem overwhelming. How do we zone in on the areas where we do have power? Where can we make the greatest amount of difference in the shortest amount of time?

This is where we look to the power of the share - simply passing on good information: telling someone something you’ve succeeded in, failed in, learned, etc. But this time, we’re dialing down a little more specifically — if you successfully navigated a funding opportunity - tell somebody else how to do it.

One thing that never gets old over here is when we know someone who had never gotten funding, and we hear back from them the first time they do. And when this happens, it’s not because they were a better artist, or had more connections or clout - it’s because they had new, solid information that they were able to use to access what they were awarded. Simply knowing where to look - whom to email with questions, how to find a request for proposals or an application - helped someone mentally transition from “My art will never be valued” to “I finally have the money I need to start making this project a reality.”

Beyond the power of this alone, what’s even more amazing is when we hear that those people then shared what they did with someone else, providing the exact roadmap for them to access the opportunity - and then that next person came back and and reported that they, too, were funded!

What’s happened here is a transformative practice that’s actually beyond “pay-it-forward” - now both parties not only have knowledge of a particular opportunity, but they also have a greater sense of process. Having navigated this successfully (or even unsuccessfully), now they have a better idea of how opportunities are sought, applied for, and secured than they did before. What’s more, the daunting, often paralyzing intimidation that can come from these often complicated and time-consuming processes has lessened: if you’ve done something once, and did it right - it’s easier to try again.

Lastly, sharing with someone else actually doesn’t have to mean “less for you” - most times, if you’ve gotten a grant one year, you’re not even eligible to apply the next year for the same opportunity anyway. Perfect opportunity to pass that information along with absolutely no cost to yourself or your own practice.

We’ve got much more to say on this, resource-sharing and collectivist action in the arts ecosystem overall - and you’ll be hearing more soon - but for now, while you’re celebrating your wins? See if you can pass the blueprint to a friend.