Tennessee Arts Commission Awards over $10m in Annual Grants Across Tennessee
From Anne B. Pope, Executive Director –
The Tennessee Arts Commission has awarded over 400 Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Grants totaling over $10 million to help fund arts and cultural activities for arts organizations, schools, local governments, nonprofits, and artists across Tennessee.
This past year, agency grants impacted hundreds of nonprofits to benefit communities; schools to pay for arts and culture experiences for students; and local and regional governments carrying out arts activities.
Annual Grants provide funds for operating support for small to large arts organizations; project support for arts projects in rural and urban counties; and a variety of arts learning projects, such as professional development for teachers, arts education in communities, and programming for children in grades PK-12.
“The Tennessee Arts Commission is honored to award these Annual Grants to support Tennessee’s communities and organizations through the arts. These investments help cultivate the arts for the benefit of all Tennesseans and offer a better quality of life, stimulate economic development, and attract tourists to our state,” said Tennessee Arts Executive Director, Anne B. Pope.
Annual Grant review panels were held throughout the months of March and April, providing ratings and rankings of grant applications. Panels were divided into different categories including Arts Education, Arts Access, Community Arts, Folk Arts, Literary Arts, Visual Arts, Music, Dance, Theater, Inter-Arts, Arts Pathways for Youth Success, Creative Placemaking, and Rural Arts. Panel members are appointed to two-year terms and generally consist of professional artists, arts administrators, patrons, sponsors, educators, and community leaders.
The Tennessee Arts Commission approved the Annual Grant awards on May 25, 2023 at the Commission quarterly board meeting. The meeting was the last quarterly meeting of FY23 in which the full board historically votes on allocations and budget for the next fiscal year.
The Annual Grants are the first in a series of grants that the Tennessee Arts Commission will make. The Commission expects to award approximately 1,000 grants during FY2024, totaling about $13 million dollars, through a combination of Annual Grants, Rolling Grants, and special initiatives. These funds directly impact communities across Tennessee, in both urban and rural areas.
Of the total annual grant awards made by the Tennessee Arts Commission, approximately 75% of grants are funded through the sale of specialty license plates. Other Commission revenues include one-time funds from the federal American Rescue Plan, a state appropriation, and regional and federal funding, primarily from the National Endowment for the Arts and South Arts.
