U.S. Documentary Film Nonprofits Adjust Amid Drastic Changes to NEA Funding Criteria

The National Endowment for the Arts announced radical updates to its parameters for Fiscal Year 2026 funding via press release on Thursday, February 6. Under these new guidelines, funding in the main Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) program will be distributed to “​​projects that celebrate the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity by honoring the semiquincentennial of the United States of America.” In the past, the NEA has not required applicants to adhere to topic-related proposals. 

This news arrives just one week after Trump signed an executive order establishing a task force to organize the 250th anniversary celebrations. Among its members are the chair of the NEA and the chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

Organizations that have already applied for FY26 funding must re-submit their applications with these new initiatives in mind; interestingly, a stipulation exists for prospective fundees to include “an America250-related component or focus within a larger project.” 

The original February 13 GAP deadline has been pushed to March 11, with a July 10 deadline for the second round of GAP funding. Both rounds are for projects that will be presented in 2026 or 2027. Another change in the GAP guidelines is the return of the “requirement for applicants to have completed a five-year history of arts programming prior to the application deadline,” which was previously suspended during the pandemic. 

“When an email went out from the NEA updating its FY 2026 grant guidelines, I was nervous,” shares Ken Jacobson, executive director of Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute, which hosts the annual Arkansas-based Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, a recipient of an NEA GAP grant for FY25. “These grants have not only been a financial shot in the arm for our small but mighty organization, but have supported filmmakers and their work throughout the American South, a region that, for years, has been lacking in support overall.” 

Additionally, the NEA’s Challenge America program—which awarded grants to small organizations that reached underserved and/or marginalized communities—has been cancelled, at least for FY26. This is undoubtedly a consequence of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives at the federal level. 

Rural and heartland communities may be most affected by the cuts to Challenge America. “The Challenge grant program has been an important entry point for small arts and culture organizations who serve underserved communities around the country to access NEA funding,” explains Paula Arrigoni, the executive director of BAVC Media, a Bay Area media nonprofit currently administering the quarterly Indie Media Arts Group meetings for film and media arts organizations across the U.S. “They used these funds to support an array of local arts events and productions, and to leverage other funding support. Especially in small towns without a significant donor base, these funds will be hard to replace.” 

An NEA spokesperson recently told Hyperallergic that “new guidelines will not affect the $36.8 million in grants to 1,474 individual artists, organizations, and museums across the United States in the first round of its Fiscal Year 2025 awards announced in January.” Per the publication, the same spokesperson attests that this is also true of the even higher funds typically awarded during the second FY25 grantee announcement, which will be unveiled sometime this spring. 

When Documentary reached out to NEA Media Arts staff for comment, an NEA spokesperson replied via email with a link to the aforementioned press release and notes that “projects funded through the Challenge America program are also eligible in Grants for Arts Projects.” 

Even so, with the elimination of Challenge America, there exists no incentive to distribute federal funds to arts organizations that serve underrepresented communities at this time. 

One such Challenge America grantee based in Marietta, Georgia, Lift2Enrich, received $10,000 in funds “to support an immersive filmmaking program for underserved youth” for FY25. 

"To dismiss the arts as unnecessary is to create a world where innovation is suppressed, creativity is stifled, and the voices of future generations are silenced,” shares Terri Whitmire, Lift2Enrich’s executive director. “We believe learning through the arts is not a luxury—it is an essential foundation for innovation in our ever-evolving, competitive landscape."

This sentiment is echoed by GAP grantees. “At FilmScene, [NEA] funding supports series and festivals that attract regional visitors and build local community,” says Andrew Sherburne, the executive director of the Iowa-based non-profit cinema. “These grants are a worthwhile investment that has documented multiplying effects. If funding grows scarce, the effects will be felt across every community.” 

Yet even as anxiety and uncertainty befall the nonfiction film community and beyond, there remains an air of cautious optimism that these organizations will persevere—hopefully with the future aid of NEA funding. 

Jacobson says the phrasing of how 250th anniversary-themed funding priorities will be considered as part of a whole may provide a road map. “I believe that the inclusion of those four words: ‘within a larger project’ is significant. In other words, it is critical that the Grants for Arts [Projects] will continue to support the infrastructure, overall film program, and artist travel that is the vital to the lifeblood of film festivals.”

Sherburne echoes Jacobson’s determined spirit. “It’s bleak to consider, but artists are among the most scrappy and resourceful people I know—so the work will never be stopped, I'm sure of that.”

Natalia Keogan is a critic and journalist based in NYC. Her bylines include Filmmaker Magazine, A.V. Club, Reverse Shot, and Paste, amongst others.