Cultural Arts Commission Background
The Cultural Arts Commission serves as the advisory board to the City Council and city management in matters involving the promotion of close cooperation between the city and private citizens, institutions, and agencies interested in or conducting activities relating to the arts. The Commission shall be responsible for:
- Making recommendations to the city council relative to expenditures of city funds for the purposes of promoting and sustaining the arts in the city.
- Serving as a review board for the funding of proposed programs within the community that are to be funded from allocations made by the City Council from hotel/motel occupancy tax.
- Making recommendations on the allocation of funding for historical preservation and/or restoration that are to be funded by the allocation of funds from the hotel/motel occupancy tax.
- Providing and assisting in the development of the arts in the city by providing a biannual “state of the arts” assessment to the City Council.
Cultural Arts Commission Mission
To help create a vibrant and viable arts community in which diverse, high-quality arts opportunities are available to Richardson residents and visitors.
Cultural Arts Commission Goals
The Cultural Arts Commission Goals are:
- Increase the impact of existing cultural assets through increased accessibility, effective delivery of services, preservation of local heritage resources, examination of public and private support, and improved visibility.
- Realize the potential for broad civic impact through contributions to the overall well-being of Richardson’s community, cultural tourism, and coordination between stakeholders and the community at large.
- Ensure that the needs and aspirations of Richardson’s community into the future are met through a variety of cultural activities, opportunities, and facilities; growth of citizen participation; partnership development; and value for all age groups.
Arts Funding Available
The City of Richardson Cultural Arts Commission offers financial assistance for the costs associated with a full season of projects, performances, or events within a twelve-month period, as well as costs associated with a single project. Funding assistance is limited to no more than 50% of the applicant’s annual or project expenses in Richardson. Funding will be provided to arts organizations on a schedule recommended by the Cultural Arts Commission and as approved by the City Council.
Funding from the City of Richardson is available for the encouragement, promotion, improvement, and application of the arts, including music (instrumental and vocal), dance, drama, folk art, creative writing, architecture, design and allied fields, painting, sculpture, photography, graphic and craft arts, motion pictures, television, radio, sound recording, and the arts related to the presentation, performance, execution, and exhibition of these major art forms.
Criteria
The Cultural Arts Commission evaluates grant applications using the following guiding criteria. These criteria are considered holistically and are not weighted through a formal scoring rubric:
- Focus on Richardson
- Community impact and engagement
- Alignment with the Cultural Arts Master Plan
- Financial stability and organizational capacity
- Quality and completeness of application materials
- Participation in Cultural Arts Commission workshops and engagement opportunities
The Cultural Arts Commission will complete a preliminary review of all applications received to determine which organizations will move forward and be scheduled for an interview.
Grantee Responsibilities
The [xxxx] of the Richardson Cultural Arts Commission will appoint a member of the Commission to serve as a liaison to the Grantee.
The Cultural Arts Commission reserves the right to make periodic checks on grant projects and grant finances during the period covering the actual project as part of the evaluation process.
Arts Organizations must comply with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Grantee must maintain financial books and records of the funded project and of their operations as a whole for at least two years after the conclusion of the funded project should the City of Richardson require an audit. These books and records must create a clear audit trail for the revenues and expenses of the funded project upon request.
Grantee will be expected to attend Cultural Arts Commission workshops, including Fall and Spring sessions. Workshop participation is considered part of ongoing engagement with the Commission and may be taken into account in future funding considerations.
At the conclusion of any funded project, the Grantee shall submit to the City a detailed and comprehensive financial report covering all receipts and expenditures for the funded project using a final project form provided upon receipt of the grant award. A narrative report of the project should be submitted; where appropriate, the grantee should also include visuals of the project.
Grantee shall include in all promotion, publicity, and advertising, whether written or verbal, the following credit line: “This organization is funded in part by the City of Richardson through the City of Richardson Cultural Arts Commission.”
Grantees may use the City of Richardson Logo in lieu of the credit line. The City of Richardson will provide approved logo assets after grant award. Grantees may use the City of Richardson logo in lieu of the required credit line only with prior written approval from the City’s Communications Department. Approved logo assets will be provided to grantees following grant award
Grantees are encouraged to create an account and submit their performances and events to the Arts in Richardson website: https://www.artsinrichardson.com. Submissions are reviewed weekly by the City's Communication team and published upon approval.
Grantee shall be willing to submit changes to its proposed project/season schedule when necessary.
Application Procedures
Grant applications are considered on an annual basis. Applications will be made available online beginning June 1, 2026. The deadline to submit applications is Thursday, July 31, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Late applications will not be accepted.
Prior to June 30, 2026, applicants may submit a preliminary application packet for staff review for completeness and accuracy. Applicants should clearly mark submissions as “preliminary application packet.” After staff review, applicants may refine and submit a final application by the deadline.
Narrative questions within the application are scaled based on organizational size. Smaller organizations respond to a reduced number of focused questions, while larger organizations provide expanded responses addressing community impact, organizational growth, sustainability, and artistic excellence.
Review Process
The City of Richardson Cultural Arts Commission is responsible for making recommendations to the City Council relative to expenditures from the hotel/motel occupancy tax for proposed programs promoting and sustaining the cultural arts in the City. The Commission consists of seven members appointed by the Richardson City Council. Following are the steps of the grant review process:
- Staff receives applications and reviews them for completeness and accuracy.
- Complete applications proceed to Cultural Arts Commission review. Incomplete applications will not proceed to Commission review or interview consideration.
- The Cultural Arts Commission determines which organizations will receive an interview. Not all applicants may be interviewed.
- Arts organizations may submit audio/visual materials in advance of interviews for Commission review. These must be submitted by the stated deadline. Audio/visual materials may not be used during interviews. PowerPoint presentations are permitted.
- The Cultural Arts Commission evaluates applications and interviews and makes funding recommendations.
- Recommendations are forwarded to the City Council for final approval.
- Funding is disbursed following City Council approval.
- Final project reports are due by [xxxx], or [xxxx], if the project season extends beyond [xxxx]
Evaluation Process
Cultural Arts Commission members use the following information when making funding recommendations:
- Available funding levels
- Completeness and clarity of the application
- Requested funding amount
- Guiding evaluation criteria listed above
Applications may also be informed by interviews, organizational presentations, and additional materials submitted by applicants.
Instructions: Financial Definitions
Refer to the definitions listed to complete the financial form included in the application.
Balance Sheet
Report that summarizes all of an entity’s assets, liabilities, and equity as of a given point in time.
Income Statement
Report that summarizes an entity’s revenues and expenses.
Expenditures
- Staff Salaries – funds paid to employees of the applicant organization
- Professional Services – fees paid for artistic or technical services
- Facilities Rental – rental cost of facilities used for operations or programming
- Travel & Transportation – transportation-related costs
- Rentals (other than facilities) – equipment or other rentals
- Supplies & Materials – program and operational supplies
- Publicity & Promotion – marketing and advertising expenses
- Printing – printed materials such as programs or tickets
- Postage – mailing and delivery costs
- In-Kind Services – donated goods or services
Revenues
- CAC Funds – requested funding from the Cultural Arts Commission
- Admissions – ticket or entry revenue
- Sales – merchandise or related sales
- Membership – dues or membership fees
- Individual Donations – private contributions
- Corporate Donations – business contributions
- Foundation Support – foundation grants
- State Funds – state-level arts funding
- In-Kind Services – donated goods or services
Contact Information
Kayla Johnson Placemaking Manager (972) 744-4213 kayla.johnson@cor.gov