DGF Grants
The history of DGF is rooted in knowing that there is a community that will support you when you are facing hard times. We are proud to be a part of that community and to support writers in times of need so that you can get back to doing what you do best.
DGF provides emergency financial assistance to individual playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists in dire need of funds due to severe hardship or unexpected illness. By supporting and nurturing the creators of today, we protect the stories of tomorrow.
Applications for DGF’s 2024 grants will close on December 20th at 5:00PM EST.
2025 applications will open on January 6th, 2025
Crisis Relief Grants
The Dramatists Guild Foundation’s Crisis Relief Grants are designed to assist writers experiencing unexpected financial, personal, or medical crises. Financial assistance is available to support housing and utilities costs, medical bills, groceries, legal fees, and other essential expenses.
While we hope our Crisis Relief Grants will be one time awards, we understand that hardship can occur unexpectedly and at different times during a writer’s career. With that in mind, dramatists may be eligible to receive multiple Crisis Relief Grants. First time applicants will be prioritized and multi-time recipients may experience longer processing times.
Eligibility:
• You hold less than $15,000 in your combined bank accounts.
• You are a professional dramatist meeting at least two of the following requirements:
– You have written two or more completed works for the American theater within the past 10 years and I was at least 18 years old at the time the work was written.
– You are currently enrolled in or have graduated from a degree program in dramatic writing or musical theater (creative or nonfiction writing programs are not eligible).
– You are a member or have participated in one or more writer’s associations (e.g. Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights, the Dramatists Guild, the Playwright’s Center).
– Your work has been professionally developed, workshopped, or produced.
– Your work has been presented for paying audience
– You have been commissioned or paid to write a play.
Apply for a Crisis Relief Grant
Bridge Grants
The Dramatists Guild Foundation’s Bridge Grants are one time need-based awards of $500 to support dramatists with non-emergency and essential daily life expenses including:
• Housing costs
• Utilities
• Groceries
• Accessibility support
• Transportation
• Dependent care
• Medications
• Holistic health care
• Mental health care
• Reproductive care
Eligibility:
• You have not previously received a DGF Bridge Grant.
• You hold less than $15,000 in your combined bank accounts.
• You are a professional dramatist meeting at least two of the following requirements:
– You have written two or more completed works for the American theater within the past 10 years and I was at least 18 years old at the time the work was written.
– You are currently enrolled in or have graduated from a degree program in dramatic writing or musical theater (creative or nonfiction writing programs are not eligible).
– You are a member or have participated in one or more writer’s associations (e.g. Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights, the Dramatists Guild, the Playwright’s Center).
– Your work has been professionally developed, workshopped, or produced.
– Your work has been presented for paying audience
– You have been commissioned or paid to write a play.
Additional Information
Please note, it may take up to four weeks for a decision on your application to be made, as well as for your payment to be processed once approved. Please keep this in mind as you plan your application.
Applications from dramatists who have received support from DGF in the past may take longer to process. First time applicants will be prioritized.
As a reminder, incomplete applications or documentation will delay the grant process and distribution, and we may require you to resubmit your application. Please be sure to double check your application before you submit to make sure all required documentation has been included. For questions please contact: grants@dgf.org
Additional Resources
The DGF Grants program serves playwrights, composers, lyricists and librettists in the theatrical genre. DGF is part of a community of organizations supporting writers and artists at this time. If you are not eligible for this grant, please see the following links to find the organization that can best assist you.
If you are primarily:
a musician/composer (other than musical theater), please click here and here
a novelist/nonfiction/fiction writer, please click here
a screenwriter, please click here
an actor or performance artist, please click here
a journalist, please click here
a director, please click here or here
For more resources, please click here.
