FY27 Grant timeline TBD

FY27 Eligibility TBD

General

• You are encouraged to register for office hours and/or contact Nur Abdalla in advance of the deadline with any questions.

• All grant applications must be submitted using the online grant application platform.

• This grant provides unrestricted funding, and therefore, the application process includes a comprehensive and thorough review of information about your organization’s operations.

• Data and information provided by organizations during grant application processes is utilized by ARTSmemphis to advocate and secure funding for the local arts sector, including this grant program.

• Grant award decisions are competitive, and awards are based on an organization’s documentation of progress and success against the stated criteria.

• Submission of an application for funding does not guarantee that funding will be awarded. Award of funding one year does not guarantee funding the following year. If not awarded funding, this does not exclude organizations from the opportunity to apply for funding in following years.

• Grant awards may not be used for regranting funds to other organizations.

• In fairness to others, no deadline extensions are granted, and we will not accept incomplete applications. An application may be deemed incomplete and ineligible if information is not provided in the appropriate format by the deadline.

Suggestions

• ARTSmemphis encourages applicant organizations to be organizational partners of Tennessee Nonprofit Network to take advantage of their resources, forums, and learning opportunities to ensure utilization of best practices and implementation of current trends in nonprofit administration.

• ARTSmemphis encourages applicant organizations to be members of Tennesseans for the Arts to advocate for state arts funding.

• ARTSmemphis encourages all applicant and grantee organizations maintain an up-to-date profile on LIVEGIVEmidsouth.org. If you need to create or update your profile, contact Randy Truong, Community Impact Program Associate, randy@cfgm.org

  • If you do not have a profile, you may still apply for this grant

Review and Selection Process

• Review panels are comprised of ARTSmemphis staff and board members and community volunteers, with attention to ensuring a variety of experience and representation on each panel.

• An organization’s review may include a site visit, interview, or meeting with staff and/or review panel members.

  • Not all applicants will be visited or have an interview or meeting. Therefore, all critical information must be included in the grant application.

  • If your organization is scheduled for a site visit, it is recommended you have a board member present for the meeting.

  • Approximately half of applicant organizations will be scheduled for a site visit with review panelists. 

  • Organizations not scheduled for a site visit will be reviewed through an administrative process conducted by ARTSmemphis staff. ARTSmemphis staff will schedule a check-in meeting with these organizations.

• A dedicated committee will review and evaluate the financial information submitted by all applicants.

  • This committee may identify questions to be clarified during the site visit or check in meeting scheduled with applicant organizations.

• Grant awards are determined through an administrative process following the review by panelists, staff and board members.

  • Award amounts are determined by assigning a base award related to budget size and performance against evaluation criteria.

  • Our budget for FY26 is based on our fundraising and will be determined in June 2025. We anticipate a minimum of $1.2M and are working towards an increase.

  • These grants should supplement other revenue, both earned and contributed, generated by the organization.

  • Our goal is for the minimum grant award to be no less than $5000.

  • New grant recipients may expect a grant of no less than $5000 and no more than $10,000.

  • ARTSmemphis strives to increase funds distributed to organizations whose leadership and audiences are representative of our community.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The following criteria will be considered in reviewing application data and information. Organizations receiving an average score of 24 or less will not be recommended for funding.

Mission, Capacity, and Impact (60%)

Mission (10 points)

• Does the organization demonstrate progress against their stated mission and goals?

• Do the organization’s goals align with ARTSmemphis’ mission and vision?

• Does the organization demonstrate artistic excellence and artistic merit?

Capacity (10 points)

• Is there stability within the organization and its leadership? Does the organization have the administrative capacity to carry out its goals today and plan for tomorrow?

• Does the organization have the artistic capacity to carry out its goals?

Impact (10 points)

• Does a program(s) or initiative noted in the application engage underserved populations?

• Does the organization currently collaborate with other organizations to expand impact, access and sustainability of programming?

• Does the organization present programs that increase relevance and/or representation of all members of the community or use art to tell stories that are representative of all members of the community?

• Does the organization have leadership and audiences that are representative of our community?

  • ARTSmemphis strives to support organizations that are reflective of and serving our community.

Governance and Fiscal Accountability (40%)

Governance (10 points)

• Does the Board financially (including in-kind) support the organization and is it actively involved in the organization?

Fiscal Health & Accountability (10 points)

• Organization demonstrates responsible financial stewardship, diverse revenue streams, and efforts to improve efficiency of operations and control expenses.

• If the organization is operating at a deficit, does it have a reasonable plan for reversing this trend?

• Does the organization have reserve funds available? Are there controls in place to maintain a reserve?

ARTSmemphis also collects data about the leadership and audiences of organizations, requesting information if an organization is Black, Indigenous or Person of Color (BIPOC)-led and/or BIPOC-serving:

• BIPOC-led = CEO and majority of board members are BIPOC individuals.

• BIPOC-serving = majority of participants are BIPOC individuals.

• BIPOC-led and -serving = CEO and majority of board members are BIPOC individuals, and majority of participants are BIPOC individuals.

APPLICATION

To Apply, please visit the ARTSmemphis Grant Platform.

• If you are new to your organization, contact ARTSmemphis staff to set up an account. 

• If your organization is a new applicant, you may set up your own account.

The FY26 Operating Support grant application is in two parts:

1.     LOI - serves as an organization profile. PDF or Word

2.     Application - available after completing and submitting the LOI. PDF or Word

We recommend using a PDF or Word version of each form to compile your information/responses, and then transferring this information into the online application.

Please be aware that you must first submit the LOI form to access the online Application. BOTH parts are required for a complete application.

Application Requirements

• Organization Profile (referred to as LOI in the online grant system)

  • This step in the application process is used to collect basic organization information and data.

• Financial Report

  • Submit your financial data into the table in the online application.

  • Line items conform to the Tennessee Arts Commission grant applications for consistency and efficiency. 

  • Information requested includes:

    • FY24 Revenue & Expense Actuals

    • FY25 Budget

    • FY25 Year-to-Date (YTD) Actuals.

List of top 10 donors (by total giving amounts) for your most recently completed fiscal year (FY24). Submit this information into the table in the online application. 

• If known, list name, amounts and if the gift was for a specific purpose.  This includes individuals, corporations, foundations, grants, and other contributors. Anonymous donations or donors what wish to remain anonymous should be listed as such.

  • We ask for this information to understand the diversity of your support and understand which corporations/foundations are or are not providing significant support for the arts.

  • Please organize this list by donation amount in descending order.

  • For ARTmemphis' administered grants with corporate partners list ArtsFirst as First Horizon Foundation, ArtsZone as AutoZone, FedEx Arts Program as FedEx and ABC as Tennessee Arts Commission.

• Staff and Board list.

  • If you do not have a current LIVEGIVEmidsouth profile, you may provide a link to your lists on your website or upload a list.  Please ensure that any linked  or uploaded list notes names, office or title, board member affiliation.

  • Submit this information into the table in the online application.

• Form 990s, last three completed fiscal years, or total expenses for last three fiscal years if you file 990-N Postcard.

  • Required only if you do not have a current LIVEGIVEmidsouth profile.

• Organizations with budgets over $500K:

  • Balance sheet and Income Statement for last fiscal year (FY24).

• Application

  • This is the narrative section of the application.

AngelStreet Memphis

Arkwings

Ballet Memphis

Blues City Cultural Center

Cazateatro Bilingual Theatre

Circuit Playhouse, Inc.

Collage Dance

Contemporary Arts Memphis

Creative Aging Memphis

Crosstown Arts

Everystory

Germantown Community Theatre

GPAC

Hattiloo Theatre

Iris Collective

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art

Memphis ChoralArts

Memphis Jazz Workshop

Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum

Memphis Symphony Orchestra

Memphis Youth Symphony Program

Metal Museum

Music Export Memphis

New Ballet Ensemble & School

New Day Children's Theatre

On Location: MEMPHIS

Opera Memphis

Orpheum Theatre Group

Overton Park Shell

Perfecting Gifts

Princeton James Project

PRIZM Ensemble

RiverArtsFest, Inc.

Soulsville Foundation

Tennessee Shakespeare Company

Theatre Memphis

TheatreWorks

UrbanArt Commission

WYXR

Young Actors Guild

• Kimberly Bennett

• Beth Brock

• Kerri Campbell

• Nykesha Cole

• Haydn Corrodus

• Marcus Cox

• Katyana Dandridge

• Keegan Jones

• Tsitsi (Tee) Jones

• Ellie Lawrence

• Maggie Lovell

• Taylor Maury

• Naseera Mays

• Karla Miller

• Kimberly Moore

• Kimberly Perry

• Joelle Rogin

• Katherine Russell

• Margarita Sandino

• Mike Schmidt

• DeMarcus Suggs

• Philip Thompson

• Mary Trotz

• Jill VanGorden