Nonprofit Arts and Culture Stabilization Grants

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The deadline to apply was Friday, July 30, 2021, at 11:59 p.m.

As part of the ARPA funding, Nonprofit Arts and Culture Stabilization Grants will help Phoenix’s arts and culture organizations of all sizes manage their operations, personnel, and programming as they welcome back audiences, guests, and patrons to their services to demonstrate intent, commitment, and strategies to sustain well beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

​Nonprofit Arts and Culture Stabilization Grants will provide one-time emergency recovery grants to Phoenix-based nonprofit arts and cultural organizations. 

Organizations that applied for and were recommended a FY22 Community Arts Grant from the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture are immediately eligible to apply for relief funding and will receive a simple, supplemental application to complete. Nonprofit arts and cultural organizations that did not apply or were not recommended for a FY22 Community Arts Grant may be considered for recovery funding on a case-by-case basis.​

Eligible organizations are vetted per the Community Arts Grants program application they applied for and were recommended for funding. Eligible organizations that applied for a General Support Grant may be eligible for the maximum award per their budget size. Eligible organizations that applied to the Project Support Grant are eligible to apply for up to $7,500. No match is required. Grant awards may fluctuate depending on the amount of submissions received.

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• ​Organizations that completed a Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture FY22 Community Arts Grant application AND were recommended for support will receive an invitation to apply on July 12, 2021. Organizations not based in Phoenix nor schools are not eligible to apply to this funding program.
• Arts and cultural organizations that did not apply or were not recommended for a FY22 Community Arts Grant may be considered for recovery funding on a case-by-case basis. Learn more about organizational requirements.​ Potential applicants must contact the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture for an eligibility review and to learn how to apply. Contact Sarah León Moreno, grants and community engagement director at sarah.leon@phoenix.gov​.
• Applicants claiming lost revenue must submit documentation of the canceled programs and the financial impact on the organization because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Lost revenue must have occurred between Jan 1, 2021 and July 30, 2021.
• Organizations that do not have documented loss in the amount of their eligible award may also propose how their organization specifically stands to benefit from the full amount of eligible funding. Proposals can include items/services such as professional development and capacity building for staff, the purchase of software/supplies, the hiring of contract staff or consultants, and other proposals that contribute to the sustainability of the organization.
• Awarded organizations will be required to submit a short final report in summer of 2022.​
  

Nonprofit Arts and Culture Stabilization Grants guidelines and supplemental application will be open though MARGO​, the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture’s online grants portal, from Monday, July 12, 2021, through Friday, July 30, 2021, at 11:59pm. Immediately eligible organizations will be contacted on Monday, July 12, about their eligibility to apply. 

An applicant may apply for recovery funding by either showing revenue loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic and/or making a proposal to spend the grant award on items and services that will sustain the organization beyond the pandemic. Like the Phoenix Arts and Culture Coronavirus Relief Program for Organizations, Nonprofit Arts and Culture Stabilization Grants are unlike other grant programs where applicants are asked to “make the best case” for funding. An applicant’s merit will already have been verified through the annual review process for the Community Arts Grants program. ​

Applicants can apply for the total amount of their eligible award by:

1. Describing and providing documentation of lost revenue

AND/OR

2. Proposing items and/or services to sustain organization beyond pandemic​

For example: If an organization is eligible to receive up to a $35,000 award but can’t show that amount in lost revenue, they can show a combination (e.g. $10,000 in lost revenue + $25,000 in proposed items/services). Alternatively, an applicant can choose to show a total amount of lost revenue or a total amount of proposed items/services.

Please note, an applicant may not be required to answer all of them.

• Brief narrative (350 words) describing how the organization experienced financial hardship on earned and contributed revenue because of COVID-19 from January 1 through July 30, 2021.
  
• Uploaded documentation of the financial impact on the organization because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Documentation can include budgets, copies of emails, contracts, invoices, etc. Contact the Office of Arts and Culture if you have questions regarding appropriate documentation. Up to ten attachments can be uploaded.
• Amount of total documented loss between January 1 and July 30, 2021.
• Brief narrative (500 words) describing what items and/or services the organization would seek to sustain themselves beyond the pandemic (if organization cannot show lost revenue between January and July 30, 2021 totaling the eligible grant award). Be specific about what the grant funds would be spent on and how those purchases will strengthen the organization in a practical and sustainable way.
• If readily available, documentation (links and attachments) that further explain the proposed expenditures. Documentation (contracts, purchase orders, invoices, etc.) may be required for disbursement of funds.
• Amount of total proposed items and/or services.
  

The Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture has an equity strategy that aims to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented marginalized groups' full participation from the agency’s programs and to strengthen equity, diversity, and inclusion in the arts and culture sector for all Phoenix residents.

The program is committed to a just and equitable distribution of the Coronavirus Relief Funding. To that commitment, the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture considers racial and geographic equity as part of our outreach strategies and work in expanding the reach of grant opportunities to a broad, diverse community of nonprofit arts and culture organizations.

Through the agency’s equity strategy, the Office of Arts and Culture ensures outreach to all areas of the city and target applicants from all disciplines, budget sizes, underrepresented populations, and ensure all City Council districts are represented. Ninety-four organizations applied for funding, and eighty-eight were recommended for funding. Applicants are up by 18% from the previous year.

To expedite disbursement of these relief grants, the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture will use its annual Community Arts Grants process now already underway. Applications for that program closed this April.

In May, applications were reviewed by panels made up of local artists and arts professionals, community laypersons, and experts to ensure a thorough and unbiased review. Panel recommendations were then forwarded to the Phoenix Arts and Culture Commission to review and recommend for funding, ensuring these organizations are good stewards of public funding.

Organizations that applied and recommended for FY22 community arts grants support are immediately eligible to apply for emergency relief funding and will receive a simple, supplemental application to complete. Nonprofit arts and cultural organizations that did not apply or were not recommended for a FY22 Community Arts Grant may be considered for emergency relief funding on a case-by-case basis. These organizations deemed eligible to apply for relief funding must submit a complete FY22 Community Arts Grant General Support application that will be provided after staff consultation. Once that application has been submitted, the organization will be invited to apply for a relief program grant.

All applications will be reviewed by the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture for eligibility, completeness, and funding recommendations will be approved by the Phoenix Arts and Culture Commission.​

A short final report will be due in summer of 2022. The City of Phoenix, or any duly authorized representatives, shall have access to any books, documents, papers, and records maintained to account for funds expended under the terms and conditions of this grant for the purpose of making audit, examination, excerpts and transcripts. All financial records must be maintained by Grantee for three years following completion of the grant period.​