Princess Grace Foundation

The Princess Grace Foundation-USA is a national foundation in the United States which is dedicated to identifying and assisting emerging talent in theater, dance, and film by awarding grants in the form of scholarships, apprenticeships, and fellowships.

It was named after Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco. The Foundation has awarded over $8 million to nearly 500 theater, dance, and film artists nationwide. It continues to fund its inaugural disciplines and has expanded its grants program to include playwriting and choreography grants within the theater and dance categories.

Prince Rainier of Monaco established the program to keep helping emerging artists realize their career goals as Princess Grace did during her lifetime. Prince Rainier's children continue to assist in the program in its 28th year. Notable supporters of the Foundation during its inception include Gant Gaither, Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant, John Johnson, William P. Rogers, Mary Wells Lawrence, and Lynn Wyatt.

In 1982, the Board of Trustees, under Robert Hausman, incorporated Princess Grace Foundation-USA as a not-for-profit public charity. In 1984, after the initial fund raising phase was complete, financial grants in the form of scholarships, apprenticeships, and fellowships were awarded to artists associated with schools or companies in the dance and theater disciplines. An arts advisory board composed of distinguished professionals in each of those fields was appointed to choose the most talented applicants as Awards recipients. President Reagan and his wife oversaw the first gala in Washington, D.C.; a tradition now continued annually in the Awards Gala in New York City.

In 2008, the AAB formed a partnership with Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) to provide further support for Princess Grace Awards winners. The Works in Progress Residency provides a cash award of around $25,000 and residence at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, in support of the multimedia and interdisciplinary artistic pursuits of Princess Grace Awards winners. The Residency enables these artists to explore, experiment, and push the boundaries of their work in an environment that focuses on process over product. In 2010, three artists received BAC Residencies: two in Theater and one in Dance.

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