FY27 Grant Panel Meetings Begin March 16

By Ann Brown, Associate Director of Grants –

TN Arts Commission Annual Grant panels are held March 16-April 16, 2026. All panel meetings are held virtually via Microsoft Teams. Grant application categories are reviewed by artistic discipline, service area or category.

TN Arts staff notify applicants with the date and approximate time of the scheduled panel review. Detailed schedules for each grant panel meeting are also available on the TN Arts Commission Review webpage here.

It is strongly encouraged, but not mandatory, for a representative of the organization to be present at the time of review. TN Arts staff send a link with a video and phone-in option to all FY27 Annual Grant applicants. Applicants should follow the meeting invitation sent by assigned program directors to access the meeting. Members of the public interested in attending a panel meeting should send an email with their name, organization, and panel meeting they wish to attend to mike.chambers@tn.gov.

Tips for grant applicants attending a panel meeting:

• • Arrive approximately 10 minutes prior to the start time listed for your panel. Staff make every effort to maintain the schedule, but please connect to the virtual meeting early in case the meeting is ahead of schedule.
  • Please mute your computer/phone after being connected to the meeting; no need to announce yourself to the group.
  • Limit representatives of the organization speaking to 1-2 individuals. You may unmute at the time of your application’s review if prompted for a question and leave the meeting when finished. Video is optional.
  • Applicants may not make a presentation or pass out additional information at the panel meeting but are allowed to respond if a panelist questions them.
  • Panelists are asked to assign ratings for each evaluation criteria. They may discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the application and give constructive comments.

Following the panel meetings, funding recommendations will be based on the final ratings and rankings of all applications and available funds. Applications rarely receive total funding requests in this competitive process. Those with the lowest rankings may receive no funding. All funding recommendations are presented to the Commission board for final approval in May. Applicants will be notified of awards or denials by July.