New England Foundation for the Arts

What New England Foundation for the Arts does

The New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts foundation founded in 1976 and headquartered at 321 Harrison Ave, Suite 420, Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of six Regional Arts Organizations funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, and operates as a grantmaking platform that supports artists and nonprofit cultural organizations across New England, the broader United States, and internationally. Its primary customers are individual artists and arts organizations that receive grants, and its primary funders are the NEA, the six New England state arts agencies, and major private foundations including the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and Boston Foundation.

NEFA's core programs include the National Dance Project (NDP, since 1996), the National Theater Project (NTP), the New England States Touring (NEST) grant, the New England Dance Fund, Center Stage (international exchange), and Boston-focused initiatives such as Creative City and the Public Art Learning Fund. Its principal technology asset is CreativeGround, an online directory spotlighting artists, cultural nonprofits, and creative businesses across New England, supplemented by a new online Grants Application and Reporting Portal launched in January 2025. Since 1996, NDP has supported the creation and touring of 225+ new dance works reaching audiences in all 50 U.S. states, and in 2025 alone NEFA awarded 50 New England Dance Fund grants and 11 National Theater Project awards.

NEFA generates revenue through foundation grants, federal and state arts appropriations, and individual donations rather than product sales or licensing fees. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors and led by Executive Director Harold Steward, with a 2025-2030 Strategic Plan repositioning it as a social impact organization and a new inaugural Chief Impact Officer (Sara Nash) joining the executive team. NEFA holds a four-star Charity Navigator rating and the Candid Platinum Transparency 2025 seal, and its National Dance Project received the 2025 Dance/USA Trustees Award.

Name

New England Foundation for the Arts

Legal name

New England Foundation for the Arts

Website

https://nefa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The New England Foundation for the Arts is a Boston-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts foundation, one of six NEA-funded Regional Arts Organizations, that administers grantmaking programs and platforms including the National Dance Project, National Theater Project, Center Stage, and CreativeGround directory to support artists and cultural organizations across New England, nationally, and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts Foundation Grantmaking Services

NAICS

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71), Other Performing Arts Companies (71119)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Performing Arts Organizations (Theater, Dance, Opera, Music) (BPAGAHAB), Public Art, Arts Councils & Grantmaking Programs (BPAGAHAH), Cultural Centers & Community Cultural Organizations (BPAGAHAD)

Keywords

• Arts grantmaking foundation
• Nonprofit arts funding
• Performing arts grants
• Creative economy support
• Public art programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grants & Donations: NEFA operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation that generates revenue through grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, New England state arts agencies, private foundations (including Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation), and individual donations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

NEFA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts foundation that distributes grants and provides programming to individual artists, arts organizations, and creative businesses across New England, the U.S., and internationally. It administers regional, national, and international grant programs supporting dance, theater, music, public art, Native American arts, and folklife traditions, while operating CreativeGround — an online directory of New England creatives — and Center Stage, an international performing arts exchange program.

Product overview

NEFA operates as a platform organization offering grant programs, public art initiatives, and regional arts networking services. The core offerings include CreativeGround (directory of New England creatives), Center Stage (international performing arts exchange), National Dance Project, and National Theater Project (national touring support). Regional programs include New England States Touring (NEST), Expeditions, and state-specific funds like New England Dance Fund. Boston-focused initiatives include Creative City grants and public art programs. All programs are supported by an online grants management system.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CreativeGround: Directory spotlighting creative people and places at work in New England, including cultural nonprofits, creative businesses, and artists.
• Center Stage

Products and services

• CreativeGround
• Center Stage Program bringing contemporary international performing artists into direct contact with people across U.S. communities and sharing experiences globally.
• National Dance Project (NDP) Provides support for the production and touring of contemporary dance, funding the creation of new dance works and partnering with U.S. presenters to reach audiences nationwide. Has supported creation of 225+ new dance works and reached audiences in all 50 states.
• National Theater Project (NTP) Supports the creation and U.S. touring of artist-led, ensemble, devised theater projects through Creation & Touring Grants and Transition Grants. Eleven theater ensembles received NTP awards in 2025.
• New England States Touring (NEST) Grant Funds nonprofit organizations to present touring artists in venues across all six New England states. Next application deadline listed as August 3, 2026 on NEFA's site.
• New England Dance Fund Awards grants to New England-based choreographers of all genres and backgrounds to advance their careers in dance. Awarded 50 grants to dance makers in 2025.
• Expeditions Supports New England arts presenters and cultural organizers to present touring artists and build regional touring networks.
• Creative City Grant program supporting Boston-based artists creating public art projects with community partnerships.
• Public Art Learning Fund Strengthens the field of public art in New England by providing professional development support directly to artists.
• Walking Together: Investing in Folklife in Communities of Color Supports folklife and traditional arts rooted in communities of color by investing in artists/practitioners and the community.
• Jazz Road Artist-centric touring and residency grants program promoting deeper engagement between jazz musicians, presenters, and communities. Led by South Arts.
• Collective Imagination for Spatial Justice Strengthens collaborations to collectively imagine creative, impactful, accountable public artmaking in Massachusetts.
• Public Art for Spatial Justice Supports public art that creatively expresses and embodies a more just version of what's possible in public spaces.
• Idea Swap Annual networking event for New England performing arts presenters, curators, and touring artists to share projects and build partnerships.
• Online Grants Application and Reporting Portal Digital platform for submitting grant applications and managing reports online, used by artists and organizations applying to NEFA's grant programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 225+ new dance works created and toured nationally since 1996
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Western Arts Alliance (WAA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Advancing Indigenous Performance (AIP) Touring Fund provides matching fee support for presenters engaging Indigenous performing artists through NEFA's NEST program in New England.
• Cultural Services of the French EmbassysecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerFUSED (French-U.S. Exchange in Dance) partnership established in 2004 supporting international residencies and performances of French and U.S. artists, awarding $120,000 in grants for 2011-2012 season.
• FACE (French American Cultural Exchange)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with NEFA and Cultural Services of the French Embassy on FUSED program supporting cultural exchange in dance between France and the U.S.
• HowlRoundsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerTheatre journal and platform partnered with NEFA for convenings including Art in the Service of Understanding and HowlRound-curated content during National Theater Project weeks.
• Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerThree-part Art and Culture Discussion Series collaboration exploring how art contributes to planning work, community building, and economic development in the Boston region.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Arts Midwest: One of NEFA's five sibling Regional Arts Organizations (RAOs), also funded by the NEA. Arts Midwest covers a different geography but operates the same grantmaking-through-federal-pass-through model, making it the closest structural peer.
• Mid-America Arts Alliance: Another NEA-designated Regional Arts Organization serving the central U.S. Operates parallel regional grantmaking, touring support, and artist development programs, making it directly comparable to NEFA's structure.
• Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation: Sister Regional Arts Organization serving the Mid-Atlantic states. Comparable in scale, federal pass-through role, and program mix (dance, theater, touring, community arts), making it a strong direct peer.
• South Arts: Regional Arts Organization covering the Southern U.S. Notably leads the Jazz Road touring program that NEFA administers in New England, giving the two organizations an operational partnership that highlights their parallel roles.
• WESTAF (Western States Arts Federation): The Western U.S. Regional Arts Organization and a long-time peer in the six-RAO federal structure. WESTAF also operates technology-forward services for the creative economy, comparable to NEFA's CreativeGround directory.
• Native Arts and Cultures Foundation: National arts grantmaker focused on Indigenous artists and communities. Co-supports NEFA's Advancing Indigenous Performance Touring Fund, making it a programmatic peer in the Indigenous arts funding space.

Broad incumbents

• Dance/USA: National service organization for the professional dance field. Granted NEFA's National Dance Project the 2025 Trustees Award; comparable in mission scope (dance advocacy, research, convening) though not a direct regional grantmaker.
• Theatre Communications Group (TCG): National organization for the American theater field that supports creation, publishing, and advocacy. Comparable to NEFA's National Theater Project mission in promoting theater touring and artist development nationally.
• Americans for the Arts: National nonprofit advocating for the arts and providing research, tools, and convenings. Broadly comparable to NEFA's arts-advocacy and creative-economy analysis functions, though operating at national rather than regional scale.

Regional players

• The Boston Foundation: Greater Boston's community foundation and a documented NEFA funder. Operates a comparable grantmaking model in the same geographic region, making it a peer in arts and community philanthropy within New England.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/nefapage
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/new-england-foundation-for-the-arts
• Instagraminstagram.com/nefa_1976
• Xx.com/nefa_boston

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about New England Foundation for the Arts