ACTA's Programs

The Living Cultures Grants Program funds nonprofit organizations, as well as other organizations who work with fiscal sponsors, to support impactful projects in the traditional arts in California.  Grant awards are limited to $7,500 or less.

The Apprenticeship Program encourages the continuation of the state’s traditional arts and cultures by contracting master artists to offer intensive, one-on-one training to qualified apprentices.

Each $3,000 contract supports a period of concentrated learning for apprentices who have shown a commitment to and a talent for a specific artistic tradition.

 The Development Program makes contracts up to $1,500 to support consultancies, mentorships, and travel opportunities that foster a new level of growth for individual folk & traditional artists and organizations in California. Requested services may be focused on organizational, program, and/or artistic development goals. Individual artists and cultural practitioners, as well as organizations, whether incorporated or not, may apply.

With generous support from The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation and the San Francisco Arts Commission, ACTA presents its free Roundtable Series at various Bay Area venues with sessions for traditional artists, organizations, and community groups.

The Community Leadership Project is supported by a joint partnership between the David & Lucile Packard, James Irvine, and William & Flora Hewlett Foundations. It supports financial stability and leadership development for small and midsize organizations serving low-income people and communities of color in the San Joaquin Valley, San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Coast.