We invite you to apply for a 2026 Mini-Grant from Arts for Oakland Kids. Our application will be open from Monday, February 9th, to March 30th at 11:59pm.
Before applying, please review the guidelines and instructions carefully.
Arts for Oakland Kids (AOK), is a 501(c)(3) fund with a mission to ensure that all students in financially oppressed Oakland public schools receive a comprehensive arts education in order to improve learning and promote achievement. We envision a world in which the power of arts education is fully recognized, and every public school student – regardless of race, background, or wealth – is given equitable access to the advantages of a comprehensive arts education, enabling them to reach their intellectual, social, and emotional potential.
The Project Mini-Grant application deadline is March 30, 2026.
February 9, 2026: Applications open for AOK Mini-Grants.
March 30, 2026: All applications must be submitted by 11:59pm PST.
May 2026: Grantees notified in May 2026.
July 2026: Grant funds are sent to grantees beginning in July of 2026. All funding paperwork must be complete in order to receive funding.
ELIGIBILITY
- Eligible applicants must provide hands-on arts education programs in which students directly and actively participate in an art form.
- All forms of art are eligible (performing arts, industrial arts, multimedia, visual arts, music, dance, writing, etc.).
- Eligible applicants must provide arts education that serve students who attend eligible OUSD-run public schools. A full list of OUSD-run schools that are eligible can be found here.
- Preference is given to applicants that will reach students during the school day.
- Arts for Oakland Kids does NOT require that grant funds be paid to a 501(c)3 non-profit or fiscal sponsor. AOK funds independent teaching artists, arts organizations, and classroom teachers.
- You may use a 501(c)(3) organization as a fiscal sponsor, so long as the fiscal sponsor does not keep any AOK grant funds as fees, commissions, percentages, administrative costs, or overhead expenses.
- Eligible expenses:
- Teaching artist wages and benefits
- Materials, instruments, or specialized equipment for the express purpose of teaching the class
- 20% or less for oversight and overhead expenses
REQUIREMENTS FOR PROGRAMS SERVING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
- Serve students in an eligible OUSD school(s) with hands-on arts education.
- Instruction delivered to every student at least once per week.
- Example: one class per week for 16 weeks for each student, as opposed to 6 weeks with each student getting classes 2 times per week, or 1 class every other week.
- Minimum of 16 weeks of classes per semester for every student is strongly preferred.
- Can be delivered to individual classrooms, or to the entire grade level at once.
- In-school/school-day programs strongly preferred.
- Reaching every student in 1 full grade level is strongly preferred.
- Example: all three of the 2nd grade classrooms, not just one 2nd grade classroom.
- Self-contained classrooms (SPED, ESL, other) are an equal priority.
REQUIREMENTS FOR PROGRAMS SERVING MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
- Serve students in an eligible OUSD school(s) with hands-on arts education
- In-School programs are preferred, but AOK also welcomes upper-grade programs that are specialized, off-campus, after school, or provided on the weekend. These are programs that provide programming that wouldn’t be possible during the school day and/or on campus.
- If your program is delivered at a site other than a public school (example: a community center), please fill out the Offsite Letter instead of the Principal letter. Instructions are in the application instructions.
RESTRICTIONS
- Ineligible Expenses
- OUSD teacher or administrator pay
- Transportation costs
- Non-program-related supplies
- Fiscal sponsorship fees of any kind
- Programs that charge the students a fee are not eligible
- Programs are only eligible for funding once per school year
Fill out the Application Form to apply for funding for programs taking place during the 2026-2027 academic year.
AOK’s application form will NOT allow you to save your work and come back. Please create your application information offline and paste into the form when you are ready.
The online application with all supporting documents must be received no later than 11:59 pm March 30, 2026. Incomplete or late applications will not be reviewed. Recipients will be notified in May 2026.
The Application form has instructions included for each question.
All supporting documents will attach to the online Application form. You will be unable to submit your application unless all documents are attached and the Application Form is complete.
ATTACHMENT TEMPLATES AND INSTRUCTIONS
Upload your attachments at the end of the Application form.
- Program Narrative
- Comprehensive narrative (in 12-pt font) that includes a program description, goals, and learning objectives
- Must be attached to the Application Form as a PDF
- You may use the Narrative Template as a guide
- Name the document as follows:
- Organizations: [name of your organization]Narrative2026.pdf
- If you are an independent teaching artist or unaffiliated with an organization, please use [name of your program]Narrative2026.pdf
- Resume of Lead Artist(s)/Instructor(s) for the program (if known)
- Must be attached in PDF form to the Application Form
- Name the document as follows:
- Organizations: [name of your organization]Resume2026.pdf
- If you are an independent teaching artist or unaffiliated with an organization, please use [name of your program]Resume2026.pdf
- Principal Letter of Support or Offsite Letter
If your program will be provided at a school site, or in direct partnership with a school, you will need a Principal Letter of Support from the school principal and it must conform to AOK’s Principal Letter of Support Template (linked below). If you are working with multiple schools under this grant you will need to submit one Principal Letter of Support from each school; they need to be submitted as a single PDF. This item regularly has significant turn-around time. Please reach out to your Principal(s) as early as possible to ensure the timely return of your letter(s).
If your program will not be at a school site, is not offered in direct partnership with a school, or is a program that pulls from multiple schools sites (example: a weekend orchestra with students from across Oakland), you will need to complete the Offsite Letter using the AOK template provided below.
(i) Principal Letter of Support
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- Must be on the school’s letterhead
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- Must include a signature
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- The letter must answer all questions included in the template
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- You are required to use the AOK Letter of Support Template.
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- Must be attached as a PDF to the Application Form
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- Name the document as follows:
- Organizations: [name of your organization]SchoolName2026.pdf
- If you are an independent teaching artist or unaffiliated with an organization, please use [name of your program]SchoolName2026.pdf
- Name the document as follows:
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- Must include a Letter of Support from every school where you will teach as part of this funding.
(ii) Offsite Letter
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- Must be on your program’s/personal letterhead
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- Must include a signature
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- You are required to use the AOK Offsite Letter Template.
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- Must be attached as a PDF to the Application Form
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- Name the document as follows:
- Organizations: [name of your organization]Offsite2026.pdf
- If you are an independent teaching artist or unaffiliated with an organization, please use [name of your program]Offsite2026.pdf
- Name the document as follows:
- Project Budget
- All applicants, regardless of 501(c)3 status, must submit a completed project budget
- Must be attached as a PDF to the Application Form
- Name the document as follows:
- Organizations: [name of your organization]ProjectBudget2026.pdf
- If you are an independent teaching artist or unaffiliated with an organization, please use [name of your program]ProjectBudget2026.pdf
- Here are sample project budgets you may use as templates, depending on the size of your program.
- Organizational Budget, if applicable
- If your program is part of a larger organization, please provide your most recent annual budget and include your prior year’s actuals in a side-by-side format on one document
- Must be attached as a PDF to the Application Form
- Name the document as follows: [name of your organization]OrgBudget2026.pdf
- Tax-Exempt letter, if applicable
- If your program is part of a 501(c)3 nonprofit, please submit a copy of your IRS tax exemption letter
- Must be attached as a PDF to the Application Form
- Name the document as follows: [name of your organization]C3Letter2026.pdf
- Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement and C3 Letter
AOK does NOT require our applicants to have 501(c)3 status. However, if you use a 501(c)3 organization as a fiscal sponsor for this grant, that organization cannot keep any AOK grant funds as fees, commissions, percentages, administrative costs, or overhead expenses. If you are applying under a fiscal sponsor, please submit:
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- A copy of the fiscal sponsor’s IRS tax exemption letter, or
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- A copy of your fiscal sponsorship agreement
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- Must be attached as PDFs to the Application Form
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- Name the documents as follows:
- [name of your program]SponsorC3Letter2026.pdf
- [name of your program]SponsorAgreement2026.pdf
- Name the documents as follows:
After you complete the online application, you will receive a confirmation email that includes a copy of your entire application.
Once your application and supporting documents are submitted, we may contact you at some point with a request for additional information.
All applicants will be notified of our funding decisions in May.
Once grantees have been selected, they will be sent a Grant Agreement, which will include a request for their logo, images, and program description to announce their grant to the community. Funding will be released upon receipt of the signed Grant Agreement.
Good luck and we look forward to hearing from you!
AOK requires grantees to submit their completed Final Report Form within 30 days of the conclusion of the program period.
Final Reports should include a detailed summary of the program and 3-5 images, recordings, testimonials, or other media that show participants involved in the program.
The final report will be submitted electronically.