Grants for individuals
Fellowships, artist and research awards, emergency assistance and education grants that pay a person directly. Fewer than there are for organizations — but they are real, and most tools do not list them.
See what you can win — free, no accountWhat is open to you, and what is not
| Funding route | Status | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Federal & state grants | Conditional | Most federal grants go to organizations, not people. A minority — fellowships and individual research awards — do take individual applicants, and those are worth finding rather than assuming none exist. SAM.gov is the federal government's contractor and grantee register. Every federal grant applicant needs an active registration and a UEI number. It is free. If you have never heard of it, you almost certainly do not have one yet — check before you write anything. |
| Private foundation grants | Conditional | A small number of foundations make grants to individuals. Most cannot without extra IRS procedure, so expect a short list. |
| Corporate & small-business grants | Likely | Many corporate and entrepreneur-focused programs accept a person applying as a sole proprietor. |
| Awards open to individuals | Open | Fellowships, prizes and artist or researcher awards are the channel built for you. |
General rules with real exceptions. Always check the funder's own eligibility text before you commit time to an application.
Grants we track for individuals
Emergency Grants for Artists
For a sudden opportunity or an emergency affecting a specific, scheduled project — not general support.
Funder page →Creative Capital Award
Unrestricted project grants plus professional services. Also runs a State of the Art Prize for one artist in every state. Very competitive.
Funder page →Puffin Foundation Grants
Aimed at artists whose work engages social justice and who are often shut out of mainstream funding.
Funder page →Barbara Deming Memorial Fund (Money for Women)
For individual feminist women and nonbinary artists and writers.
Funder page →Emergency Financial Assistance
For people who work in entertainment and the performing arts, on stage or behind it. Formerly The Actors Fund.
Funder page →Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants
For a recent medical, dental or mental-health emergency. Visual arts, film/video, digital arts and choreography; income caps apply, and you can't have received one in the last five years.
Funder page →Guggenheim Fellowship
For mid-career people with a strong record of prior achievement. Not an entry-level award.
Funder page →Fulbright U.S. Programs
Study, research, or teaching abroad. Separate tracks for students and for scholars.
Funder page →NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
For early-career graduate students in STEM. Applies to you, not to a university.
Funder page →NEA Creative Writing Fellowships
Federal money that goes to a person, not an organization. Judged anonymously on the writing sample alone — fewer than 2% of applicants are funded.
Funder page →HealthWell Foundation Grants
For insured patients with a qualifying condition and income within 500% of the federal poverty level. Individual disease funds open and close as money runs out — check before applying.
Funder page →TotalAssist Patient Financial Assistance
Same model as HealthWell — disease-specific funds that open when funded, covering ~150 conditions. Worth checking both.
Funder page →How the scoring works
Every grant is scored against who has actually won that exact program before — pulled from federal award records and IRS filings — and whether those winners look anything like you. Not a keyword match, and not a polite percentage.
Score your first grant free