About the Program

The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) awards grants annually to outstanding grant proposals that support its mission to promote Italian American heritage and culture.

NIAF has four grant category designations in which it awards monies to applicants:

• Italian Language Grants
  As a part of promoting Italian heritage, the NIAF supports grants to organizations, individuals, and schools that foster the development and implementation of programs in schools, communities, and organizations that encourage the teaching and practice of the Italian language.
  
  
• Culture and Heritage Grants
  As in the past, the NIAF will continue to support grants to organizations and individuals in the fields of the Performing Arts, the Fine Arts, History, Archeology, other Humanities and related heritage and cultural endeavors.
  
  
• Fellowship Grants
  The NIAF supports grants to organizations, individuals, schools, and communities that provide opportunities to encourage collaboration among students and academics in the United States and Italy and improve the quality of Italian language teaching in the US. This includes NIAF’s existing Teacher Fellowship Program, The Fulbright Fellowship at Georgetown University, The Mastrobuono Academic Fellowship and any other academic fellowship program either in the U.S. or Italy.
  
  
• Youth Program Grants
  To ensure that Italian American heritage and traditions are kept alive, the NIAF is accepting grant proposals that are focused specifically on youth (under 18). This category includes camps or programs that focus on language, music, sports, or the arts for young people.

NIAF has three monetary categories for its grant program:

• Category I: $1,000 to $2,500
• Category II: $2,501 to $10,000
• Category III: $10,001 and up