NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre

The NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre provided grants to encourage and support the creation of digital, film, music, and live or online theatre content that reflects the voices and perspectives of all who identify as women.

The NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre (“Women’s Fund”), administered by the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) in partnership with the City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME), was a signature initiative that targeted the underrepresentation and equity challenges that women have historically faced in the media and entertainment industries.

In 2024, $1.3 million was awarded in the fifth cycle of the program, bringing the grand total of Women’s Fund grants to  $8.8 million, allocated to a total of 415 projects (72 in 2024, 97 in 2023, 89 in 2022, 94 in 2020, and 63 in 2019). Cycle 5 marks the final round of grants for the NYC Women’s Fund.

2024 NYC WOMEN’S FUND FOR MEDIA, MUSIC AND THEATRE RECIPIENTS

THE PROGRAM PROVIDED:

  • Finishing grants* for film and digital projects
  • Funds for the creation of music recordings or videos
  • Production funds for live or online theatre

In addition to being made by, for, or about all who identify as women, projects were eligible if they featured a prominent woman perspective; and/or included a woman-identified director and/or producer and/or writer/songwriter and/or engineer (for recordings) and/or woman-indentified protagonist(s) or lead musical role. 

*To be eligible, projects needed to have completed principal photography.

GRANTS WERE GIVEN IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:

  • Fiction Feature (running time of 60 minutes or more) – up to $50,000
  • Fiction Short (running time of 59 minutes or less) – up to $25,000
  • Fiction Webisode/Webseries (all forms) – up to $20,000
  • Documentary Feature (running time of 60 minutes or more) – up to $50,000
  • Documentary Short (running time of 59 minutes or less) – up to $25,000
  • Documentary Webisodes/Webseries (all lengths and forms) – up to $20,000
  • Music (all categories) – up to $20,000
  • Theatre Production – up to $50,000

Anyone can apply and be awarded a grant regardless of actual or perceived sex, gender, gender identity or gender expression, sexual orientation, age, religion, creed, partnership status, marital status, disability (including use of a service animal), race, color, national origin, alienage, citizenship status, military status, or any other class protected by City, State, or Federal law.

Image Credit: Courtesy the City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment