Community Care Fund (CCF)
The Community Care Fund (CCF) provides financial assistance of up to $1,250 to Leeway grant and award recipients experiencing immediate and essential emergency needs.
Overview + Eligibility
In April 2020, Leeway established a COVID-19 Relief Fund* with the goal of distributing unrestricted grants to Leeway grant and award recipients experiencing financial hardship as a direct result of the pandemic. Since then, the fund has evolved to focus on immediate and essential emergency need funding. As of December 2024, $679,020 had been re-distributed in 453 grants.
Over the last five years, we’ve learned a lot about the importance of emergency funding, particularly for many artists who have been historically marginalized, many of whom Leeway serves (e.g. – people of color; immigrants; queer people; trans* and/or gender nonconforming folks; poor and working-class people; people with disabilities; etc.). If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that many individual artists don’t have safety-nets of resources to fall back on in hard times.
Because of this, we’re continuing the Community Care Fund in 2025 with funds awarded to eligible applicants in the order in which applications are received.
* We would like to credit local + national initiatives and organizations in the field for providing relief and other fund models we used as resources that helped Leeway create and launch the Community Care Fund, particularly Alternate ROOTS’ Solidarity Fund. In past years, Leeway has been able to support this stream of funding thanks to generous support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Independence Public Media Foundation, the Samuel S. Fels Fund, Sundance Institute, Surdna Foundation, and The William Penn Foundation.
Defining "Emergency and Essential" Need
Leeway defines “emergency and essential need” as the imminent endangerment of essentials such as housing, utilities, medicine, food, caregiving, and/or other essential needs.
Applicants will need to demonstrate a pressing and critical need foR emergency support in order to receive funding. Due to an unprecedented amount of need in the communities Leeway serves and limited funds, Leeway unfortunately will not be able to fund every request.
Cycles of Funding
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, from February through November 30, or until funds are depleted.
In order to not exhaust all CCF funding in the beginning of the year, there will be a maximum amount of funding available per cycle. Once the maximum amount is reached per cycle, the fund will close until the beginning of the next cycle. See cycles below:
- Cycle 1: February 3 – March 31
- Cycle 2: April 1 – June 30
- Cycle 3: July 1 – September 30
- Cycle 4: October 1 – November 30
Applications are accepted at the online application below. If this presents difficulty for you or you have access needs, please contact Melissa Hamilton at mhamilton@leeway.org or call 215.728.9274 to set up a quick and easy phone application.
Eligibility
You are eligible to apply if you are:
- A Leeway Foundation grantee
- A current resident of Bucks, Camden, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia County
- An artist who is experiencing financial hardship and has immediate, emergency need around housing, utilities, medical, food, caregiving, and/or other essential needs.
You are not eligible to apply if you:
- Have received a Transformation Award in 2024
- Have received Community Care Fund grants totaling $1,250 in the current calendar year (2025)
Read more about eligibility for applicants in the CCF Guidelines.
FAQs
Click here to visit the Frequently Asked Questions for the Community Care Fund (CCF) .
Apply in English
Guidelines
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Guidelines
Apply Online
FAQs
What grants are only open to past Leeway grantees?
In addition to the three funding streams listed above, Leeway grantees are eligible to apply for the following funding opportunities:
Window of Opportunity Grant (WOO) provides financial assistance of up to $1,500 to Leeway grant and award recipients to help them take advantage of imminent, time-sensitive opportunities to support their art for social change practice. Deadline: The 15th of every month (February-November)
Community Care Fund (CCF) provides financial assistance of up to $2,500 to Leeway grant and award recipients to support with immediate and essential emergency needs, including but not limited to the pandemic's impact. Deadline: Rolling – or until the maximum amount of funding per quarterly cycle is reached.
Leeway x Fleisher Visual Artist Residency offers a residency to a past Leeway grantee at Fleisher from January 2025 through December 2025. Residents receive a $2,500 stipend and access to Fleisher facilities, equipment, and classes. Deadline: April 22.
- Leeway x NextFab Art + Technology Residency offers a residency to a past Leeway grantee at NextFab from January 2025 through September 2025. Residents receive a $2,500 stipend and a Standard Membership to NextFab’s facilities, equipment, and classes. Deadline: October 14.
How does Leeway define Art for Social Change?
Art with a vision and an intentional analysis. Find out more here.
Who decides who receives funding?
An independent review panel – consisting of community-based artists from different ranges, breadths, and depths of art for social change work – decides who gets funded. Leeway staff does not make these decisions.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis in the order that they are received twice per month, from February through November, or until funds are depleted each cycle.
How long does it take to hear back from the panel?
The Fund will aim to send grant notifications within 2-3 weeks of submission, or less.
How much can I request?
Our hope is that the fund will support as many previous Leeway grantees as possible; to that end, we have set a sliding scale request range up to $1,250.
The Community Care Fund is operating from trust and assuming good intent, knowing very few people apply for emergency funding unless they need it. CCF funds may not be able to cover the entirety of your need – but instead, can be a way to meet urgent expenses. We know these are challenging times for many people and appreciate your willingness to think about other members of the community.
Can I complete an application online and by phone?
Yes, applications can be submitted through an online application, which we have kept as simple as possible. Applications can also be completed by phone with Leeway staff in 15 minutes or less. If you would like to do a phone application, cannot use a computer to complete the application, or have access needs that make this process inaccessible to you, please contact mhamilton@leeway.org or call 215-728-9274.
How are applications evaluated?
This purpose of this application is to verify that the request meets the Community Care Fund guidelines and that we have the information needed to process the request. In this way, this fund is unlike Leeway’s other grant programs where artists have to “make the best case” for funding. We are checking to see whether the request meets CCF emergency resource guidelines or not. The simpler, the clearer, the better!
Can I apply if I received Community Care Fund ing in a past year?
Yes, definitely! If you received CCF funding in a past year, you are eligible to re-apply in 2025. However, since funds are limited, please deeply consider how your request falls under emergency and essential need.
Will my information be confidential?
Yes. All individual requests and personal information will be kept confidential. The cumulative data may be shared anonymously to help us advocate for more resources for the fund, or as data to help fight for stronger support of artists and gig economy workers.
Are there any reporting requirements?
No. Community Care Fund s are unrestricted, no-strings attached grants with no reporting requirements.