The Trust for Mutual Understanding awards grants to American nonprofit organizations to support direct exchange in the arts and the environment between professionals from the United States and TMU’s geographic region: the Baltic States; Central Asia; Central, East, Southeast Europe; Mongolia; and Russia.
Priority consideration is given to projects that involve direct, in-depth professional interaction, with the potential for sustained collaboration; that show evidence of professional accomplishment and innovation; and/or that respond to social contexts and engage local communities.
The Trust for Mutual Understanding was established in 1984 by an anonymous American philanthropist as a private, grantmaking organization dedicated to promoting improved communication, closer cooperation, and greater respect between the people of the United States, the Soviet Union, and other countries in Eastern and Central Europe. TMU’s program reflects her conviction that grantmaking can make a contribution to that process by supporting international face-to-face contact and professional interaction. TMU’s mission has been shaped by the belief that creative international collaboration encourages global harmony.
TMU continues to support East-West exchanges in the arts and environment, reflecting the founder’s appreciation of the importance of culture and ecology in people’s lives. Before 1985, there was relatively little American funding for such activities, and what support there was—mainly governmental—was often restricted by political considerations. It remains TMU’s goal to enable talented people to come together from different countries to freely share ideas and stimulate creativity in a nonpolitical context.
Total Grants
in 2019
Cultural Grants
in 2019
Cultural Grants
in 2019
Boston, MA
$8,000
Jenner, CA
$2,500
Chandler, AZ
$14,000
Baltimore, MD
$22,000
Brooklyn, NY
$7,000
TMU reviews applications two times a year. To make the experience more user friendly, the application process is broken down into two parts:
The deadlines are as follows:
This round is for projects happening January 1 or later.
This round is for projects happening July 1 or later.
Please note that Initial Inquiries and Full Applications are due at 5:00pm, EST. Should the due dates of either the Inquiry or Full Application fall on a Saturday or Sunday, they are due on Monday, the next business day. Supporting materials for the Full Application should be received no more than two weeks following the respective deadline. When submitting a letter of recommendation, please clearly indicate the organization that is applying. We do not guarantee a notification of receipt of any supporting materials or letters. Grant tracking and/or application ID numbers are for grantee reference only and cannot be used for our purposes.
Please contact us if any questions arise during this process.
Russian Far East. Photo by Jon Slaght. From the April 2018 edition of Grantee Voices David Gordon: Jon, thank you for taking the time to share your great knowledge and experience with the TMU community. For starters, why don’t you introduce yourself? Tell us who you are. Jonthan Slaght: Sure! My name is Jonathan Slaght. I’m a US-based wildlife biologist. I work for a group called the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which is based in
From an interview conducted November 29, 2017 at Glassyard Gallery, Budapest András Török: I am sitting in the brand new Glassyard Gallery in Budapest with Barnabás Bencsik, who is the curator and co-owner of the gallery, launched at the end of September 2017. Barnabás, you are a well-known curator—you have had a long career. I’m interested in the international aspects of your career. Actually, have there been aspects other than international ones? Glassyard Gallery Barnabás
Trust for Mutual Understanding
1 Rockefeller Plaza
Room 2500
New York, New York 10020
212 649 5776
212 649 5777