Live Arts Boston: Program Priorities and FAQs

LAB welcomes applications from visual and performing artists, creatives, and organizations, with the exception of those who received a grant in 2022-2023. If you have received a LAB grant for 2022-2023, you must wait 1 grant cycle before reapplying.

In this new iteration of LAB, all previous applicants regardless of funding are eligible to reapply EXCEPT 2022-2023 LAB Grantees, who must wait 1 cycle before reapplying.

LAB grants do not support stand-alone media or film projects. Each of these areas may be components of a project, but the majority of the work must align with the following performing arts disciplines: dance, theater, music (for example: Rap, Rhythm & Blues/Soul, Classical, Contemporary, Rock/Pop, Electronic/EDM, Indie, World, Fusion, Jazz, Folk, Singer-Songwriter), opera, musical theater, spoken word, visual art, performance art, circus arts, traditional and folk performing arts, literary and/or performance festivals, and any multi-disciplinary combination of these.

Projects that are focused solely on video or audio production without a public performance component are not eligible for funding.

A requirement of the LAB program is that core artistic members of the project must be professional artists over the age of 18. We define a professional artist as someone who has devoted significant time towards building of creating, interpreting, presenting, and/or producing works of art. An individual or group comprised of professional artists may perform for younger audiences, and youth can be included in grant-funded performances (for example, in the case of a children’s choir taking part in a larger production). However, projects primarily focused on teaching arts and/or youth work are not eligible for LAB funding.

Starting in 2024, LAB no longer prioritizes solely on new, original works of art. Proposals of existing work need to be open to transformational change by the end of the grant cycle. Works that have already received LAB funding are ineligible to receive a grant unless it is in a restructuring phase of its development.

• We cannot support projects that have finished before the grant period begins.
• Projects that are ready for public presentation to Greater Boston audiences must take place between December 2025 and June 2026.

A requirement of the LAB program is that grant recipients live in one of the towns or cities within the TBF Geographic Area Served.

Applicants working with artists living outside the TBF Geographic Area Served are eligible to apply. The only requirement is that the primary applicant confirms that they live within this area.

For Individual Artists: This is yourself!

For Groups of Artists: The primary applicant is the person who would receive funding if a grant were awarded, and the person who will be the primary point of contact throughout the application process. Please choose carefully who this person will be. In lieu of an individual receiving funds, your group may also choose to work with a fiscal sponsor. (See more on fiscal sponsorship below.)

For Organizations: You will provide your organization's name. Funding, if received, will be directed toward that entity.

Yes! You may get help submitting your application; the form has a field to indicate the name, email address and phone number of the person completing the application on your behalf.

There is no advantage or disadvantage to applying as an individual, group, or organization. Grantees are selected from all three categories, so pick the category that best reflects the way you are working, as long as there is a primary applicant.

The Boston Foundation welcomes LAB applications from unincorporated groups of artists, like a band or ensemble, or an artistic collaboration that isn’t formally organized as a nonprofit.

For bands and other groups or artistic collaborations, the core artistic members are the co-owners of the project, providing creative input, and sharing ownership of all intellectual property. Core members are not people hired to provide a service to the project, such as is often the case with lighting designers, stage managers, orchestra members, etc. Please choose your core artistic members carefully, as you will be working together through the 18-month cycle and will share ownership of all project development, growth, IP, funding, etc.

The Boston Foundation does not require that LAB grantees have fiscal sponsorship to receive their awards. However, all grant recipients who are not 501(c)(3) nonprofits, whether as standalone nonprofits or via their fiscal sponsors, may be taxed on the amount awarded. For more information about fiscal sponsorship, please contact the following local and national organizations:

• The Boston Dance Alliance
• Third Sector New England
• The Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston
• Fractured Atlas

Please note: Fiscal sponsorship applies only to the way you would receive your grant money, if awarded. You will APPLY as either an individual or a group of artists—in other words, you will apply in the category that best reflects who you are and how you work.

To learn more about what fiscal sponsorship is, please read here: https://www.fracturedatlas.org/fiscal-sponsorship.

Only non-profit performing arts organizations with annual budgets of under $450,000 may apply. Groups of artists who do not fit that definition are welcome to apply (see above), but should not apply as organizations. If you have questions about your organization’s eligibility, please contact program staff at LAB@tbf.org before applying.

Yes! Many artists operate as LLCs. However, the primary focus of your company must be on the creation and/or presenting/producing of performing arts work in order to receive a grant.

If you, as the primary applicant, will be enrolled as a full-time student (graduate or undergraduate) in the 2024-2025 academic year,  you are ineligible to apply for a grant.

The Boston Foundation strives to distribute grant funds equitably, and the information requested in the application will help us ensure that we are reaching a diverse applicant pool and awarding funds to a grantee pool that represents that diversity and our commitment to racial equity.

The new LAB application for both Round One and Round Two will take approximately 6 to 8 hours each to complete but may take less time on a case-by-case basis.

For a full timeline of the LAB 2024 Application Cycle, please see our main page. Applicants will be notified whether they are advancing to Round Two of the application process in mid-March 2024. Following notifications, applicants will have 2 – 3 weeks to complete their proposals, due by early April 2024. 

Please note: only applicants who move on to Round Two will receive a specific Round Two timeline and access to that application. Round Two applicants will receive notification as to whether they have received a grant by late May 2024.

Our primary means of being in touch with you will be via email. Please make sure the email address used in your application is the primary email address you can easily be reached at. Keep an eye out for emails from LAB@tbf.org.