Item 5 Supporting Document — original pdf

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Funding Programs Update Arts, Culture, Music, and Entertainment | February 2, 2026 REVISED Funding Program Timeline December 19, 2025 February 2026 April 2026 REVISED Application Deadline REVISED Panel Meetings Occur 6:59 PM REVISED Funding distribution begins (Activities are still for calendar year 2026) REVISED Austin Live Music Fund and Creative Space Assistance Program scored REVISED Panelists trained and assigned (Elevate and Heritage Preservation Grant) REVISED Funding Decisions announced Nexus Application Opens Thrive, Elevate, Austin Live Music Fund, and Heritage Preservation Grant application cycle begins January 2026 March 2026 July 2026 2 Funding Programs: Funds Available Austin Live Music Fund • $5,000 - $70,000 • Music Industry (musicians, independent promoters, venues) $7 Million ~380 awards Creative Space Assistance Program • $60,000 • Commercial creative spaces $1.6 Million ~25 awards Elevate • Up to $30,000 - $80,000 • Arts organizations, individual artists, creative businesses $13 Million ~250 awards Heritage Preservation Grant • $50,000 - $250,000 • Preservation projects and activities $3 Million ~25 awards 3 Eligible (Application sent) Ineligible (No Application sent) Applications Submitted Funding Programs: Application Status • 2,085 Intake Forms Submitted (2,065 EN; 20 SP) Austin Live Music Fund Creative Space Assistance Elevate Heritage Preservation EN SP EN SP EN SP EN SP Eligibility Forms Sent Eligibility Forms Submitted 1,377 1,111 16 299 10 6 138 0 1,399 1,060 25 247 8 14 125 1 991 4 72 0 855 9 67 1 ALL PROGRAMS TOTAL 3,381 2,455 1,999 120 2 66 0 205 5 58 0 456 806 3 64 0 680 7 46 0 1,607 4 Funding Programs: Ineligibility Reasons Detailed Breakdown for Austin Live Music Fund Applicants Does Not Qualify By Definition Live Music Venue Does Not Qualify By Definition Indepedent Promoter Independent Promoter tied to venue Insufficient evidence (Live music venue) Insufficient evidence (Independent Promoter) Insufficient evidence (Professional Musician) Operating budget under $60k (LMV) Lives outside MSA Full time City of Austin employee Under age 18 2% 6% 4% 8% 24% 24% 5% 6% 3% 3% Yes nonprofit 13% On Non-Complaint List 1% 5 Funding Programs: Austin Live Music Fund Detailed Applicant Breakdown ▪ $70,000 Live Music Venue Applicants – 46 ~22 Awards anticipated ▪ $20,000 Applicants – 590 ▪ 49 Independent Promoters ▪ 541 Professional Musicians (3 Spanish) ▪ $5,000 Applicants – 173 ▪ 9 Independent Promoters ▪ 164 Professional Musicians ~242 Awards anticipated ~120 Awards anticipated 6 Funding Programs: Feedback Loop ▪ Internal Retrospective Meetings – City Staff/Leadership, The Long Center ▪ 1:1 Meetings / Focus Groups ▪ Application Experience Survey ▪ January 30th – message to everyone in the AACME Funding Pipeline in English/Spanish (2.000+) ▪ Reiterating timeline (evaluation/scoring January-February; award announcement in March) ▪ Inviting them to take the Application Experience Survey 7 Funding Programs: 36 Panel Meetings in Feb! 8 FY26 Cultural Funding Marketing Campaign Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment Goals Objectives ▪ Target new potential applicants ▪ Prioritize long-standing AACME community and constituents ▪ Drive higher application point of entry (interest) ▪ Communicate application timeline and process clearly and effectively ▪ Navigate and combat roadblocks with strategic planning and implementation 11 Timeline & Approach Creative Reset Phase I: Awareness Campaign May-September 2025 ▪ May 2025: Community feedback gathered through Creative Reset Phase I, informing updates to funding structure and application requirements. ▪ City of Austin briefings to promote awareness of the upcoming grant cycle, including: ▪ Arts Commission ▪ Music Commission ▪ African American Quality of Life Commission ▪ Historic Landmark Commission ▪ Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center Advisory Board ▪ Economic Prosperity Commission ▪ City Council ▪ June-August: Application refined and amended in response to stakeholder input with ongoing awareness and communication via commission monthly updates. ▪ September: Final updates and timeline shared with briefings to Arts and Music Commissions and City Council ahead of the Fall 2025 portal opening. 13 Campaign Expands: Oct. 10 ▪ Initial social media engagement launched October 10, aligned with wider, early awareness- building. ▪ City Manager’s Office memo issued citywide, signaling the upcoming grant cycle and supporting coordinated outreach. ▪ Full campaign materials finalized for circulation citywide. ▪ Promotional toolkit developed and shared with community members to legitimize and encourage community-based, offline promotion, including: ▪ City Manager’s Office memo ▪ AACME-prepared documents and presentations ▪ Promotional collateral and copy ▪ Grant updates 14 Print/Email Outreach: Oct. 14-Nov.4 • Multilingual print outreach launched, announcing application opening and Intake & Eligibility Form availability. • 500 posters printed (English & Spanish) • 2,500 postcards printed (English, Spanish & Chinese) • Citywide print distribution across all AACME facilities and 150+ creative spaces, venues, and college campuses. 300 posters and 2,000 postcards distributed via Motorblade • Department-wide and partner amplification supporting outreach efforts with 10,000+ direct emails to creative community and partners 15,000+ newsletter subscribers reached • Campaign governance and quality control • In-person promotion and staff presence at key community events. 15 Paid & Earned Media: Nov. 5 – Dec. 4 ▪ Waterloo Media distributes paid digital and radio ads Nov. 5 ▪ Continued organic digital, print and earned media amplification through partner and stakeholder outreach, including: ▪ KAZI; KOOP; ATX Musicians; Museum of Human Achievement; DAWA; Rock N’ Roll Rentals; TALA; Austin In Color; Commissioners and representatives from the Arts, Music, and County Commissions ▪ Paid media placements: ▪ Meta targeted ads ▪ VIBE 93.3 FM (Throwback R&B / Hip-Hop) ▪ KLBJ 93.7 FM (Classic Rock) ▪ LATINO 97.1 FM (Spanish Pop) ▪ 101X 101.5 FM (Alternative) ▪ Univision ▪ Programmatic display ads ▪ Streaming TV (audience-targeted) 16 Performance Impact Campaign Engagement ▪ Radio ▪ VIBE 93.3 FM (Throwback R&B / Hip-Hop): 152,700 impressions ▪ KLBJ 93.7 FM (Classic Rock): 324,600 impressions ▪ LATINO 97.1 FM (Spanish Pop): 96,300 impressions ▪ 101X 101.5 FM (Alternative): 277,500 impressions ▪ Banner Ads ▪ Programmatic display ads with retargeting to grants landing page: 70,417 impressions ▪ Streaming TV (audience-targeted): ▪ 50,000 impressions ▪ Meta Ads ▪ 150,000+ impressions Overall paid media impact: ≈ 1.12 million impressions 18 Google Analytics Insight (Website Traffic) ▪ Grants & Funding landing page generated 17,590 total views ▪ Instagram + Facebook paid = ~20% of all traffic ▪ Banner ads achieved a 2% CTR, which is significantly above typical display ad benchmarks of ~0.5–1% ▪ 10,236 mobile views (58%) - Paid digital effectively reached creatives through mobile-first access points ▪ Traffic surged once digital campaign began 19 Driving Outcomes: Measuring Interest In Comparison 20 Questions? www.austintexas.gov/acme/grants-funding