NYFA / Uncategorized / New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Award $1,760,000 to Inaugural Reserve Fund Grant Recipients

A solo dancer, center stage in a bright green dress, white petticoat and green and gold headtie. She is turning with her arms and skirt upraised. She is surrounded by female dancers in hot pink costumes.

Image Detail: Image: Soloist (Danielle Casimir) as the Bele (bell-eh) Queen outdoors in Prospect Park for a community organization to celebrate Caribbean American Heritage Month, Courtesy of Something Positive, Inc. (NYSCA Reserve Fund Grants ’25), Image Credit: Bill Farrington, Choreography: Cathy Ann Diamond

New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Award $1,760,000 to Inaugural Reserve Fund Grant Recipients

October 31, 2025

by Amy Aronoff

60 organizations across New York State recognized with grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000.

The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) today announced 60 NYSCA Reserve Fund Grant recipients who received grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000, totaling $1,760,000 in support. The NYSCA Reserve Fund Grant program was established to help New York State-based nonprofit arts organizations to establish a reserve fund or build on an existing reserve fund.

In its inaugural year, the 60 recipients were selected from 1,255 eligible applications. They represent all regions of New York State as well as artistic disciplines. Eighty-five percent of the organizations will be establishing a reserve fund for the first time.

A teaching artist gives a trumpet lesson to a group of young students at the Louis Armstrong House Museum — Image Detail: Young students receiving a trumpet lesson from a teaching artist at the Louis Armstrong House Museum (NYSCA Reserve Fund Grants ’25), Courtesy of Louis Armstrong House Museum

The fund recognizes and attempts to mitigate the volatility of the industry, including increased costs, decreased philanthropy, and unpredictable income. The benefits of establishing or adding to a reserve fund include, but are not limited to: the ability to weather new challenges, cover unexpected expenses, strengthen balance sheets to leverage new funders, and can be a key factor in strategic planning and capacity building.

“Using our expertise, leadership in the field, and boots on the ground outreach across the state, NYSCA identified the crucial need for reserve funds for arts and cultural organizations to find ways to build resiliency and adapt to grow in a changing sector,” said Erika Mallin, NYSCA Executive Director. “This reserve funding underscores the unwavering support of the Governor and Legislature for this industry at this critical time. We also thank NYFA for their work in administering this vital program.”

Five fourth-grade students smile with delight as one pulls a sheet of handmade paper from a vat of water. Their instructor, Hannah O'Hare Bennet, stands to the side supervising. — Image Detail: Artist-in-residence Hannah O’Hare Bennet (R) works with students from Kingston City Schools in Women’s Studio Workshop’s (NYSCA Reserve Fund Grants ’25) papermaking studio, Image Courtesy of Women’s Studio Workshop

This program was open to nonprofit arts organizations based in New York State who received direct funding from NYSCA in the last three years with operating budgets of less than $3 million. Individual grant amounts range from $5,000 to $50,000 in accordance with the organization’s operating budget. Guidelines for the next NYSCA Reserve Fund Grants are expected to be released in Spring 2026.

“Arts organizations have always faced challenges in fulfilling their missions with limited resources, and now, more than ever, we are seeing an urgent and growing need for support and long-term stabilization. We are grateful for Governor Hochul’s leadership in the arts, and are thrilled to partner with NYSCA on the Reserve Fund Grants,” said Michael Royce, CEO, NYFA.

In addition to providing support through direct funds, the RFG includes assistance provided by Advance NYC to offer one year of supplementary services focused on organizational sustainability and financial prudence. Advance NYC provides business solutions to non profits in and around New York and New Jersey. Their services will include a virtual workshop dedicated to organizational reserve funding, one-on-one consulting sessions, and monthly office hours.

This is a picture from the 2025 Shakespeare performance of "As You Like It" outside on ALCA's property by Blue Mountain Lake. You can see the mountains and lake, with the blue sky and clouds in the background, with the audience and production in the front of the picture. — Image Detail: From the 2025 ADK LAKES Theatre Festival, Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” at the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts (NYSCA Reserve Fund Grants ’25), Courtesy of Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts

Said Justine McLaughlin, General Manager, Piper Theatre Productions: “We are deeply grateful to NYSCA and the New York Foundation for the Arts for this reserve honorarium. Your generosity allows us to keep faith with our mission—the Piper promise to gather people in a room, train young artists, champion fresh voices, and welcome audiences who don’t always see themselves invited in. A reserve doesn’t underwrite the day-to-day; it underwrites our continuity. It tells our artists, students, and neighbors: if the worst comes, we will still be here tomorrow. When NYSCA and NYFA commit to a true emergency reserve, you protect risk and rigor across the whole theatre ecosystem. On behalf of our board, staff, artists, and audience: thank you for the calm that lets us do the brave work.”

Added Shawn Rawls, Founder, Emotions Physical Theatre: “Receiving the NYSCA Reserve Fund Grant represents a transformative investment in our long-term stability and vision. For a small, mission-driven company like Emotions Physical Theatre, this funding allows us to move beyond survival mode and into strategic growth. It means we can continue paying artists fairly, expand programming in schools and correctional facilities, and build a financial cushion that protects our work from disruption. Most importantly, it affirms that our model—rooted in healing, narrative, and justice for Black and Brown communities—deserves not just applause, but also the necessary infrastructure.”

Group of dancers posing — Image Detail: Emotions Physical Theatre Inc. (NYSCA Reserve Fund Grants ’25), Image Credit: Jaqlin Medlock

2025 Recipients:

Actionplay, Kings County
Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts, Hamilton County
American Modern Opera Company (AMOC), New York County
Art Beyond Sight, New York County
ArtBridge Projects , New York County
Arts & Minds , New York County
Arts For All , New York County
Arts Project of Cherry Grove , Suffolk County
Breadcrumbs Productions , Onondaga County
Brewster Theater Company , Putnam County
BronxArtSpace Inc., Bronx County
Brooklyn Book Festival, Inc., Kings County
Buffalo Center for Arts & Technology , Erie County
Calpulli Mexican Dance Company , Queens County
Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education , Bronx County
Culture for One , New York County
Denniston Hill , Sullivan County
Emotions Physical Theatre.inc , Rockland County
EPIC PLAYERS INC , Kings County
Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana , New York County
Franklin Stage Company , Delaware County
JOSEPH AVENUE ARTS AND CULTURE ALLIANCE , Monroe County
Josephine Herrick Project , New York County
LayeRhythm Productions, Inc., New York County
Local Learning , New York County
Los Pleneros de la 21 , New York County
Louis Armstrong House Museum , Queens County
Making Books Sing dba New York City Children’s Theater , New York County
Maysles Documentary Center , New York County
MODArts Dance Collective , New York County
Movement Research, Inc., New York County
Music on the Inside, Inc., New York County
Musicambia , Kings County
North Country Children’s Museum , St. Lawrence County
NYLaughs.org , New York County
O Positive (O+) Festival , Ulster County
Philipstown Depot Theatre , Putnam County
Piper Theatre Productions , Kings County
Prattsville Art Project Inc., Greene County
Roosevelt Island Visual Art Association (RIVAA), New York County
Sculpture Space Inc., Oneida County
Something Positive, Inc., Kings County
Stockade Works , Ulster County
Sunset Park School of Music, Inc., Kings County
Tamizdat , Kings County
TATTER , Kings County
The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Education Centre, Inc., New York County
The Movement Theatre Company , New York County
The People’s Theatre , New York County
THE POINT Community Development Corporation , Bronx County
The School of Making Thinking , New York County
Treehouse Shakers , Kings County
UpBeat NYC , Bronx County
Wassaic Project , Dutchess County
West Falls Center for the Arts , Erie County
Westchester Children’s Chorus , Westchester County
WhiteBox Art Space , New York County
Women’s Studio Workshop , Ulster County
Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre , Kings County
Young New Yorkers’ Chorus , New York County

Sculpture Space resident artist working on monumental welded sculpture — Image Detail: Laetitia Hussain Resident artist working on monumental welded sculpture at Sculpture Space (NYSCA Reserve Fund Grant ’25), Image Credit: Marc-Anthony Polizzi

2025 Panelists:

Jessica Bien, Director of Learning & Engagement, Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Joni Blackman
Rebecca Brickman, Director of Development, The Drawing Center
Nancy Bulalacao
Joanna Castro
Yaling Chen, Deputy Director, MTA Arts & Design
Stanley Delva, Development & External Affairs Manager, Brooklyn Arts Council
Kristina Hoge, Senior Director of Development, The Public Theater / New York Shakespeare Festival
Nanaho Kamei, Director of Institutional Giving, The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum
Lux Krueger, Senior Development Manager, Art Omi
Clemente Luna, Director of Institutional Giving, Brooklyn Academy of Music
Kim Luangpakdy, Assistant Director of Development, Burchfield Penney Art Center
Nisa Mackie, Deputy Director, Learning and Engagement, The Museum of Modern Art
Kirsten Munro, Senior Director of Development, The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc.
Lauren Nordvig, Artist Services, The Field
Yasemin Ozumerzifon, Senior Director of Community Action, Gibney
Niki Reiner
Johanna Ring, Institutional Giving Manager, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, Inc.
Michelle V Wilder, Deputy Director & Chief Financial Officer, Dia Art Foundation
Jon Wilson, Senior Finance Manager, CNY Arts
Evan Wright, Community and Academic Engagement Manager, Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University
Fatima Zaidi, Director of Development, The Kitchen

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