Overview
The NYC Women's Fund for Media, Music and Theatre was a signature initiative of the City of New York, administered by the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) in partnership with the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME). The fund was established to directly address the underrepresentation of women in the entertainment industry by providing project grants to works made by, for, or about women across film, scripted and unscripted media, music recording and performance, and theatre.
First announced in 2018 as a $5 million investment by the City of New York, the fund expanded twice (in 2022 and 2023) for a grand total investment of $10 million. The program concluded after its fifth and final cycle in 2024, having awarded grants to 415 projects across 5 rounds:
- Cycle 1 (2019): 63 recipients
- Cycle 2 (2020): 94 recipients
- Cycle 3 (2022): 89 recipients
- Cycle 4 (2023): 97 recipients
- Cycle 5 (2024): 72 recipients, selected from 1,105 applications
The fifth cycle awarded $1.3 million in grants. Projects funded through the Women's Fund have gone on to theatrical release, broadcast, festival recognition, and commercial distribution.
What It Funded
The fund provided finishing grants for film and digital projects, funds for the creation of music recordings or videos, and production funds for live or online theatre. For film and digital projects, the grants were finishing grants - meaning projects needed to have completed principal photography to be eligible.
Grant Categories and Amounts
| Category | Max Grant Amount |
|---|---|
| Fiction Feature (60+ minutes) | $50,000 |
| Fiction Short (59 minutes or less) | $25,000 |
| Fiction Webisode/Webseries | $20,000 |
| Documentary Feature (60+ minutes) | $50,000 |
| Documentary Short (59 minutes or less) | $25,000 |
| Documentary Webisodes/Webseries | $20,000 |
| Music (all categories) | $20,000 |
| Theatre Production | $50,000 |
Fifth Cycle (2024) Award Distribution
The 72 grants in the final cycle were distributed across categories:
- 15 Fiction Shorts (up to $25,000 each)
- 14 Theatre Productions (up to $50,000 each)
- 12 General Music (up to $20,000 each)
- 9 Classical/Jazz/Experimental Music (up to $20,000 each)
- 9 Documentary Features (up to $50,000 each)
- 4 Documentary Shorts (up to $25,000 each)
- 3 Documentary Webisodes/Webseries (up to $20,000 each)
- 3 Fiction Webisodes/Webseries (up to $20,000 each)
- 3 Fiction Features (up to $50,000 each)
Eligibility
Project Eligibility
Projects were eligible if they were made by, for, or about all who identify as women. Specifically, projects qualified if they featured:
- A prominent woman perspective, and/or
- A woman-identified director, and/or
- A meaningful woman producer credit, and/or
- A woman writer/songwriter, and/or
- A woman engineer (for recordings), and/or
- A woman-identified protagonist or lead musical role
For film and digital projects, the fund required that principal photography be completed. This was a finishing grant, not a development or pre-production grant.
Music Project Eligibility
Music projects eligible for grants included new EPs, albums, and videos for yet-to-be-released works from all genres. Projects had to significantly include a woman as a writing credit, producer credit, engineering credit, and/or musical lead. NYC-based producers, composers, engineers, solo musicians, ensemble bands, and orchestras that were not currently signed to a major label could apply. Applicants also needed to show evidence of a growing fan base and have played multiple live shows.
Residency Requirement
All recipients had to be current residents of New York City at the time of application and award.
Non-Discrimination Policy
Anyone could 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.
Application Process
Applications were submitted through Submittable, an online application platform. The application form automatically closed and stopped accepting applications at the stated deadline time.
Past Timeline (Fifth Cycle, for reference)
- August 22, 2023: Application period opened
- November 1, 2023: Application deadline
- March 2024: Recipients notified
- March 31, 2025: Funded project completion deadline
Program Status
The NYC Women's Fund for Media, Music and Theatre has concluded. The fifth cycle (2024) was the final round. NYFA's grant history page now uses past tense, stating that the fund "provided grants to encourage and support the creation of content that reflects the voices and perspectives of all who identify as women."
No sixth cycle has been announced. Filmmakers seeking similar support should monitor the MOME website and NYFA for any future initiatives. City-administered grant programs are subject to budget cycles and may be restructured or replaced with new initiatives.
Impact and Track Record
Over 5 cycles, the fund awarded $10 million to 415 projects. The program demonstrated that the gap in production support for women-led work is a supply problem rather than a demand or quality problem. Funded projects have achieved theatrical release, broadcast distribution, festival recognition, and commercial distribution.
The fund's structure as a finishing grant rather than a development grant meant it targeted a specific gap in the funding ecosystem: the final stage where projects need capital to complete post-production, music scoring, color grading, or other finishing work before they can enter the distribution marketplace.
Alternative NYC Funding Sources
With the Women's Fund concluded, NYC-based women filmmakers should consider:
- NYFA Fiscal Sponsorship: NYFA continues to offer fiscal sponsorship, which allows individual artists to receive tax-deductible donations and apply for grants that require 501(c)(3) status
- NYC Department of Cultural Affairs grants: Various grant programs for NYC-based artists
- New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA): State-level grants for media and theatre projects
- IFP/Emergencymedia: Independent filmmaker support programs
Who Should Have Applied
New York City-based women filmmakers, producers, and media creators working on projects with a clear women's perspective or women's leadership - particularly those at the post-production or finishing stage who needed targeted support to complete work. The fund was specifically designed for projects that had completed principal photography and needed finishing funds.
The fund was open to all applicants regardless of gender identity, but projects had to meet the women's perspective criteria. This meant a male director could apply if the project featured a meaningful woman producer credit, woman writer, or woman protagonist.
See Also
For building a film financing strategy that layers city arts funding with other sources, see Documentary Financing: Building Your Stack. For understanding how distribution deals affect women-led projects, see Distribution Deals: What Filmmakers Need to Know. For calculating the budget needed to finish a film in post-production, use the Indie Film Budget Calculator.
Grant Writing Resources
The Art of the Grant Proposal
A step-by-step guide to writing compelling grant proposals, with examples from successful film and arts funding applications.
Winning Grants
Tori O'Neal's practical workbook covering grant research, narrative development, and budget preparation for film and media projects.
Documentary Filmmaking Books
Browse books on documentary production, storytelling, and post-production for grant-funded nonfiction projects.
Some links in this post are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, Tools for Film earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. This support helps us keep our calculators and tools free.
