Tamizdat Announced as a Recipient of NYFA & NYSCA’s Reserve Fund Grant Program for Inaugural Year 2026
We are proud to announce that Tamizdat is one of 60 organizations across New York State to be recognized with a NYSCA Reserve Fund Grant from New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA).
The NYSCA Reserve Fund Grants 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 2025, the program’s inaugural year Tamizdat was awarded $10,000.
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.
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.
Tamizdat will be using these funds to create an operational reserve that will help us guard against increasing volatility in our sector, building up the financial resiliency to ensure we are able to continue serving our communities for years to come.
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.
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.
About The New York Foundation for the Arts
The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) was established in 1971 to empower artists at critical stages in their creative lives. Today, the nonprofit organization’s programs and services are far-reaching and are rooted in a wealth of physical and online resources. Each year, NYFA awards more than $4 million in cash grants to individual visual, performing, and literary artists throughout the United States. NYFA’s Fiscal Sponsorship program, one of the oldest and most reputable in the country, helps national artists and arts organizations raise and manage an average of $4 million annually. NYFA’s Learning programs, including its Artist as Entrepreneur and Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program, provide thousands of artists, creatives, and arts administrators with professional development training and support. NYFA’s website, NYFA.org, is used by more than 1 million people and features more than 20,000 opportunities and resources available to artists in all disciplines.
About the New York State Council on the Arts
The mission of the New York State Council on the Arts is to foster and advance the full breadth of New York State’s arts, culture and creativity for all. For FY 2026, the Council on the Arts will award over $161 million, serving organizations and artists across all 10 of the state’s regions. The Council on the Arts further advances New York’s creative culture by convening leaders in the field and providing organizational and professional development opportunities and informational resources. Created by Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1960 and continued with the support of Governor Hochul and the New York State Legislature, the Council is an agency that is part of the Executive Branch. For more information on NYSCA, please visit arts.ny.gov/SOAfellow, and follow NYSCA’s Facebook page, on X @NYSCArts and Instagram @NYSCouncilontheArts.