Grant Guidelines

The Keith Haring Foundation was established in 1989 by the late American artist Keith Haring to support US-based non-profit organizations that provide opportunities for young people and those directly impacted by HIV/AIDS. The Foundation is working to break cycles of persistent disparities in healthcare, academic advancement, and employment opportunities.

The Keith Haring Foundation funds sustainable initiatives that meet its mandate, and that provide proof of need and exemplary performance.   The Foundation will not consider requests for funding that can otherwise be covered by federal, state, or city sources.

Areas of Focus

YOUTH:

The Keith Haring Foundation will consider funding requests concentrating on New York City’s most vulnerable youth and adolescents, with the aim of helping them to become self-sufficient adults. Programs that provide long-term support and mentoring to young people are particularly invited to apply.

HIV/AIDS:

The Keith Haring Foundation will consider funding requests from organizations that assist residents of NYC and the South-Eastern US who are living with HIV or at high risk of transmission. Priority will be given to serving the populations most vulnerable to HIV infection, poor health outcomes, and its attendant consequences.

ARTS & CULTURE:

The Keith Haring Foundation will consider funding requests from institutions that provide educational and cultural enrichment that directly enhances a deeper understanding of Haring’s life and work. Applicants should reflect upon the breadth of their programming and public outreach as it specifically relates to Haring’s legacy of social activism and cultural contribution, and to the historical context of his creative and philanthropic vision.

Eligibility

Please review all of the guidelines below prior to preparing materials.

Grants are awarded to nonprofit public charitable organizations, tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation does not make grants to individuals. We fund sustainable initiatives that meet our funding mandate, and that provide proof of need, clear missions, evidence-based program goals, measurable outcomes, and exemplary performance. The Foundation will not consider requests for funding that can otherwise be covered by federal, state, county, or city sources, nor will it consider funding initiatives retroactively. We rarely sponsor events, conferences, publications, or research; our funding is primarily focused on direct service delivery programming.

For first-time grantees, we will consider partial support of programs that have been in operation for three or more years. We require solid tracking and outcome data that can support and justify the impact of the program for which funding is sought.

For longstanding grantees we have established, multi-year relationships with, we will occasionally consider supporting new initiatives, multi-year awards, underwriting a full program, capital requests, capacity grants, or endowments as they pertain to projects that fulfill our funding focus.

If your organization has been awarded a grant from the Keith Haring Foundation, please wait two full years before submitting a renewal request. If your organization has not been awarded a grant, please wait one full year before resubmitting.

Grantees

A list of our past and current grantees can be viewed on our website under the Grants Section.

 

Grant Portal

The Keith Haring Foundation maintains an online application process. This is the only method by which applications may be submitted, processed, and reviewed. Through our Fluxx grants portal, applicants may register an account, submit a Letter of Inquiry, apply for new or renewed funding, and complete reporting.  Registrations to submit Letters of Inquiry will take place four times a year.  Refer to our Grant Application page to find the next available deadline.

 

Letter of Inquiry

If you meet the guidelines established above and you seek to submit a letter of inquiry, please proceed with the following instructions:

Click on the link at our Grant Application Page, and complete a Registration.  You will receive a log-in link if your Registration is deemed appropriate for our funding platform.

Once registered, you may complete the Letter of Inquiry, answering all the questions posed.  Please do not send any additional material.

The Letter of Inquiry can be saved as you work on it. You are able to go back to the Letter of Inquiry and edit it as long as you are saving it. However once you submit this form, you will no longer be able to edit it.

We recommend downloading one of these 2 pdfs to use as a guide for preparing your materials:

  1. If you are asking for funding for general operating expenses download Application-Preview-General-Operating-Expenses.
  2. If you are asking for funding for program funding, capital improvements, capacity building, or endowment support download Application-Preview-All-Other-Projects.

Application

If the proposed initiative reflected in the Letter of Inquiry is determined to be suitable for funding consideration, instructions will be provided on submitting a Full Application.

The Full Application can be saved as you work on it. You are able to go back to the Full Application and edit it as long as you are saving it. However once you submit this form, you will no longer be able to edit it.

Notification

Completed applications that meet the Keith Haring Foundation’s mandate will be reviewed. Applicants will be notified within two to three weeks following the next available quarterly review cycle.  If awarded funding, the applicant will be issued an agreement to sign.  We ask that grant recipients wait at least two full years before submitting a renewal request.  If an application was denied, we ask applicants to wait at least one full year before submitting another funding request.

Reporting

If awarded funding, you will be guided through our portal to perform Interim and/or Final Reports as per the guidelines of the mutually agreed upon award and timeline.

Additional Notes

For any questions, please contact us via our contact form.