PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Zoo Labs supports music creators whose work is rooted in bold innovation, lived experience, and community expression – empowering them to fully own and expand their creative paths. It bridges the worlds of music and business by providing artist-tailored entrepreneurial training. It also supports Bay Area creatives through unrestricted funding and a strong professional network, investing in their power to build lasting legacies that drive cultural vibrancy and economic growth. In 2025, Zoo Labs: FUND will make available $230,000 in unrestricted grants to Bay Area culturally-rooted artist teams with a music business.

Zoo Labs: FUND is a grant and investment program designed to support Bay Area entrepreneurs who are building businesses that center music. By providing funding, mentorship, and educational resources, the FUND helps creative business owners in the Bay Area begin or scale their ventures in ways that contribute to cultural enrichment, economic empowerment, and community benefit.

The FUND prioritizes culturally-rooted artists (i.e., artists whose work is deeply influenced by their cultural heritage, traditions, and community experiences, and who draw upon the stories, symbols, practices, and values of their cultural background to inform their art) who face challenges or structural hurdles to accessing capital, and aims to create more opportunities in the local creative economy. Investing in these businesses fosters innovation, preserves cultural and artistic expression, and generates jobs. It also works against displacement by creating stable economic opportunities that enable individuals to thrive in the Bay Area. Through this support, Zoo Labs: FUND advances a fair and sustainable creative ecosystem for the public good.

We encourage you to review the Zoo Labs: FUND Guidelines, Application Preview, and Frequently Asked Questions before applying. For help preparing your Pitch Video and Business Matrix, visit Zoo Labs: LEARN for in-depth guidance, and watch this 3-minute video on Pitching to Zoo Labs for tips and techniques.

ELIGIBILITY 

To be considered for funding, applicants:

• Must be teams of two or more people, with at least one culturally-rooted artist member; 
• Must be launching or have an already established business with a focus on music;
• Must reside full-time in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, or Sonoma County (this criterion applies to ALL team members);
• Can be any age; however, if any member of the team is 18 years old or younger, CCI staff must be contacted to discuss the team’s eligibility; 
• Can be a previous grantee; however, first-time award recipients may be prioritized; and
• Cannot have a conflict of interest (family or financial relationship) with the board, staff, or directors of Center for Cultural Innovation, Zoo Labs, or Intersection for the Arts.

HOW TO APPLY 

Applications will be accepted online from May 19 - July 7, 2025, and all applicants will be notified about their funding status on September 8, 2025, by 5:00 p.m. PT. Complete applications must be submitted by the deadline—no exceptions will be made. In addition, applications with missing or inaccessible content (e.g., corrupted or password-protected files) will not be reviewed.

Only one application will be accepted per team (i.e., individual team members cannot submit separate applications). Teams will identify a lead applicant, who will serve as the primary contact for the application. Information about the other team members will be collected in the application. Additionally, teams that operate multiple businesses may request funding for only one business.  

QUESTIONS & SUPPORT

CCI staff are here to help and listen. Please email us at grants@cciarts.org (include Zoo Labs: FUND in the subject line) or call 415.288.0530 for assistance. You may also schedule a time to speak here. For Deaf applicants and those with hearing loss, contact CCI using the California Relay Service—our staff is trained in making and receiving these calls.

If you need technical assistance (e.g., password or upload issues), request support at: https://www.submittable.com/help/submitter. Submittable’s business hours are 9 am – 5 pm MT. They aim to respond within 24 business hours.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The Creative Economy Fund (fka Creative Industries Incentive Fund) awards project grants to arts, cultural, and creative-based commercial businesses that are located in the City of San José and involved in the production or distribution of the arts, including manufacturers, service providers, presenters, and designers, among others. Funding supports projects and activities aimed at building successful arts, cultural, and creative-based small businesses in San José. For the 2025 grantmaking round, a total of $40,000 is available.

Grants of up to $8,000 will be awarded through a competitive grant application process. Competitive applicants will contribute to the city’s cultural vibrancy, demonstrate readiness for project implementation, grow and achieve greater financial resilience, and demonstrate economic impact(e.g., attracting visitors, generating sales tax, creating jobs) in the City of San José. Competitive applicants will also reflect the City’s diverse cultural communities and creative-based commercial landscape.

The Creative Economy Fund is an initiative of the City of San José Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs (OEDCA). The Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI), a nonprofit intermediary focused on the economic security of individuals in the arts, is partnering with OEDCA to administer it. 

Please visit the San José Creative Economy Fund webpage here to view an application preview (.doc and .pdf versions), grant guidelines, and frequently asked questions.

ELIGIBILITY 

To be eligible for Creative Economy Fund consideration, businesses must meet the following criteria: 

• Be a commercial enterprise, including small businesses (defined by the City of San José as businesses with 35 employees or less) and sole proprietorships (Note: businesses do not have to be brick and mortar; they can be online storefronts or nomadic enterprises);
• Be based in San José;
• Primarily provides a cultural, creative, or arts-related service or product; 
• Be in good standing with the City of San José, evidenced through possession of an active San José business tax certificate (aka business license, business permit)* and fulfillment of OEDCA or any other City department’s funding requirements, if applicable; and
• Cannot have a conflict of interest (family or financial relationships) with the boards, staff, and directors of CCI or OEDCA.

Past CIIF grantees, along with past and current Creative Economy Fund grantees, are eligible to apply if a final report has been submitted to and approved by CCI prior to the deadline of June 20, 2025. Please note that first-time applicants may be prioritized.

HOW TO APPLY 

Applications will be accepted from April 28, 2025, at 9 a.m. PT through June 20, 2025, at 11:59 a.m. (morning) PT. Complete applications must be submitted by the deadline—no exceptions will be made. In addition, applications with missing or inaccessible content (e.g., corrupted or password-protected files) will not be reviewed.

Businesses with more than one owner, principal, et al., will select a single representative (i.e., a lead applicant) to create a Submittable account and apply. If funding is approved, this individual will be responsible for fulfilling the grant requirements.

QUESTIONS & SUPPORT

CCI staff are here to help and listen. For assistance, please email us at grants@cciarts.org (include Creative Economy Fund in the subject line) or call 415.288.0530. You may also schedule a time to speak here. For Deaf applicants and those with hearing loss, contact CCI using the California Relay Service—our staff is trained in making and receiving these calls.

For technical assistance (e.g., upload issues), request support at: https://www.submittable.com/help/submitter/. Submittable’s business hours are 9 am – 5 pm MT. They aim to respond within 24 business hours.

Notifications for this cycle will be shared via Submittable on July 15, 2025, by 5:00 pm PT. 

We encourage you to add Submittable to your Safe Senders list so that you don't miss any communications from CCI—see instructions here.

The Quick Grant program supports artists and arts organizations' financial resilience through professional development support.

The Quick Grant program provides grants of up to $600 to California artists, creatives, cultural practitioners, and cultural producers, and San Francisco/San Jose nonprofit arts administrators to participate in professional development activities that build administrative capacity, hone business skills, and strengthen the financial resilience of the grantee’s practice, area of cultural production, or arts organization.

WHO CAN APPLY

• California artists, creatives, cultural practitioners, and cultural producers; and
• San Francisco and San José nonprofit arts organization staff

ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES

• Professional development activities that build administrative capacity, hone business skills, and/or strengthen the financial resilience of the grantee’s practice, area of cultural production, or arts organization.
•  Activities must begin after application notification. For example, for the May 15 deadline, the proposed activity must start on or after June 16.

INELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES

• Activities focused primarily on creative or artistic skill development, art teaching/teaching artist methods and techniques, or artistic presentation/production.
• Activities that support an applicant’s adjacent enterprise.
• Requests to support overhead, general operating expenses, or lost income.
• Funding to purchase art supplies, materials, or advance inventory. 
• Activities proposed by artists, creatives, cultural practitioners, or cultural producers to support the operations of a nonprofit organization or a role in arts administration.
• Activities that have already taken place or that will occur before application notifications are sent.

To view an Application Preview (.doc and .pdf versions), Grant Guidelines, and Frequently Asked Questions, please visit the Quick Grant webpage here.

For technical assistance (e.g., upload issues), request support at: https://www.submittable.com/help/submitter/. Submittable’s business hours are 9 am – 5 pm MT. They aim to respond within 24 business hours.