Item 09 - Arts Commission_April2026_Funding Update — original pdf
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Funding Programs Update Arts, Culture, Music, and Entertainment | April 20, 2026 Updated Awards ▪ 717 Awards (1,606 applications submitted) ▪ $24 million in grant awards ($67+ million in requests) Austin Live Music Fund Creative Space Assistance Program • 395 awards • $7.03 million • 22 awards • $1.32 million Elevate • 278 awards • $12.6 million Heritage Preservation Grant • 22 awards • $3 million 2 Awardee Status (as of noon on 4/20/26) Program Total Awardees Pre-Contract Phase I Pre-Contract Phase II Finance Form Phase Contracting Phase Ready for Payment Have already attended Pre- Contract Meeting/ received link to watch recording. Pre-Agreement Form not Submitted yet. Pre-Agreement Form submitted and needs COA review/approval; OR need updates from awardee; OR previous contract needs to be closed out. Approved to receive Finance Form; OR Waiting on awardee to verify Test Payment Ready to sign Agreement when available! ALMF Elevate CSAP HPG TOTAL 395 278 22 22 717 13 25 2 1 41 44 142 10 16 212 267 86 7 4 364 71 25 3 1 100 18% 9%2 14% 5% 14% 3 Appeals Process ▪ Funding Appeals Request Form Deadline: March 30th ▪ Only three reasons for an eligible appeal (Appendix C of Guidelines) ▪ Panel Administration error; Conflict of Interest; Reviewer or staff error ▪ 88 Appeals Submitted (4 in Spanish) ▪ Staff Role: ▪ Compiled information/ completed a preliminary analysis ▪ Sent analysis to Appeals Working Group ▪ 6 deemed Eligible to move forward to Appeals Working Group ▪ 1 Austin Live Music Fund; 1 Heritage Preservation Grant; 4 Elevate ▪ Appeals Working Group (2 Arts Commissioners, 2 Music Commissioners): ▪ Met on Friday, April 17th ▪ Action for approval: April 20th Arts Commission meeting 4 Nexus Program Updates ▪ Nexus Program ▪ Application: March 10th - April 16th ▪ 452 applications submitted (8 in Spanish) ▪ $500k available for 75 awards (17% of applications) ▪ $5k and $10k level ▪ Outreach: ~20,242 people reached through multi-lingual postcards, newsletters, community events, and radio placements ▪ 84 people received direct Application Assistance: ▪ 166.5 staff hours of assistance through workshops, office hours, and 1:1 meetings ▪ Next steps: ▪ 15 reviews will be trained next week. Assignments begin May 4th. No panel meeting – it is an independent review of at least 2 reviewers per application, and scores are averaged. ▪ Award announcements mid-June! 5 Next Steps: Process Improvements ▪ Retrospective Meetings – City Staff/Leadership, The Long Center, Community ▪ Language Access: Translated Agreements (preferred language as a reference); Community Navigator(s) for July launches; shared word bank; secondary translation reviews ▪ Wrap Around Services: financial literacy, tax help, IP protection, permitting guidance, marketing support, business skills, space access, and collaboration opportunities ▪ Reviewing survey data ▪ Panelist Reviewer Experience (68 responses) ▪ Application Experience Survey (152 responses) ▪ Commissioner Perspectives Survey ▪ 4 responses (Music Commission only) ▪ Identify areas for enhancement leading up to the July launch ▪ Will share updates in May before build out for July launch 6 Questions? www.austintexas.gov/acme/grants-funding