Research

• Research available grants on the Internet, at websites such as musicscholarships.us/composer-music-scholarships.html, which lists important music scholarship and grant programs. Your local library also should have a comprehensive directory of educational grants available in the reference department. If there is a music school or university music department in your town, call for information on grant programs that its students may be using.
  
  

Organize

• Draw up a list of grants that are available to composers in your area, of your age and educational level, and for your musical genre. Many grants are specialized, such as the Peermusic Latin Scholarship, or localized, such as the Archibald Rutledge Scholarship, which is only available to South Carolina composers. Some demand recitals of your works or demonstration CDs of your music. Prepare your full academic credentials, such as grade transcripts and diplomas, to prove your education level.
  
  

Apply

• Write to the address listed, call or email for an application, which can usually be delivered by email or regular mail. If you are applying for a government music grant through the National Endowment for the Arts, register at grants.gov, the portal through which all federal grants are administered. Review the checklist that is provided with the application, and ensure that all of the necessary paperwork is available. Fill out the application and collect your demos and samples.
  
  

Submit

• Submit your application, along with the application fee, if any, by the deadline posted on the application paperwork. Every grant program imposes deadlines on applicants, and missing this deadline usually means your application will be rejected. Follow the status of your application by accessing your account if available online. Most grants programs allow you to track the status through an online database of current applications; this will save you the time and trouble of trying to contact someone by telephone or email.