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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Criteria
The Cultural Arts Commission uses the following criteria to evaluate grant requests:
- Focus on Richardson
- Impact on the community
- Specific efforts to further the Cultural Arts Master Plan
- Financial health of the art organization
- Attendance at art workshops
- Quality of application and materials
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.
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Grantee’s Responsibilities
- The Chairman 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 required to attend all Richardson Cultural Arts Commission hosted workshops on specific topics of interest to Grantees. Attendance at the Fall and Spring workshops is mandatory and future grant funding may be impacted by an organization’s lack of attendance.
- 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 can also use the Cultural Arts Commission logo in lieu of the credit line. After awarding of the grant, the City of Richardson will send to each Grantee several options for this funding acknowledgement. The City of Richardson will provide a high-quality logo to those Grantees that are interested in including it on print or digital materials.
- Grantees are encouraged to create an account and submit their performances and events to the Arts in Richardson website, https://www.artsinrichardson.com, as often as you like. Submissions are reviewed by the City’s Cultural Arts Coordinator at least twice a week. If approved, they are published that day.
- Grantee shall be willing to submit changes to its proposed project/season schedule.
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Application Procedures
Grant applications are considered on an annual basis. Applications will be made available online in June 2, 2025. The deadline to turn in applications is Thursday, July 31, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. Late applications will not be accepted.
Prior to July 11, 2025 , applicants may submit to city staff a preliminary application packet for city staff to preview for completeness and accuracy. Please indicate that this is a “preliminary application packet” when it is submitted. After the staff preview, applicants may refine their preliminary application packet and submit a final application packet. All final application packets are due by the stated application deadline.
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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 are forwarded to Cultural Arts Commission members for review. Incomplete applications will not be forwarded on for review by the Cultural Arts Commission. The Cultural Arts Commission will review complete applications and will determine which organizations will receive an interview. The Cultural Arts Commission reserves the right not to interview all applicants.
- Arts organizations are encouraged to send audio/visual tools in advance that help the Cultural Arts Commission better understand their organization’s offerings. These audio/visual tools must be sent prior to the interview. Please send any audio/visual tools to kayla.johnson@cor.gov by Monday, August 15, 2025, or with your application. Use of audio/visual tools will not be allowed during the interview. PowerPoint presentations are allowed to be used during interviews.
- Cultural Arts Commission members will evaluate applications and interviews and make recommendations for funding.
- Recommendations are forwarded to the City Council for final awarding.
- Funding shall be available for disbursement according to the final approval of the City Council.
- Amount awarded with the final approval of the Richardson City Council.
- A final project report will be due by July 31, 2025, or by September 26, 2025, if an organization’s season is not concluded by July 31, 2025.
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Evaluation Process
Cultural Arts Commission members will use the following information in making Arts Grants recommendations:
- Funding available
- The completed application form (adherence to submission guidelines and clarity)
- The current amount of funds requested
- The criteria shown above.
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Instructions: Financial Definitions
Refer to the definitions listed to complete the financial form included in the application on page 4.
- 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 a company’s revenues, expenses
Expenditures
- Staff Salaries – funds paid to employees of the applicant organization
- Professional Services – fees paid for artistic or technical services (i.e., directors, producers, designers, and technical crews)
- Facilities Rental – rental cost of facilities used throughout the fiscal year for such things as performances, office space, and warehouse space
- Travel & Transportation – costs for both salaried staff and contract professionals in addition to all related costs involved with transporting physical property
- Rentals (other than facilities) – any form of rental other than facilities
- Supplies & Materials – includes items such as office supplies and materials, supplies for costumes, materials for framing, displays, graphic and signage requirements, art supplies, and properties
- Publicity & Promotion – fees paid for all promotional efforts
- Printing – cost of printing programs, tickets, newsletters, catalogues, prospectuses, etc.
- Postage – postage costs for items such as stamps, bulk mailings, and delivery services
- In-Kind Services – dollar value of all services and/or goods donated to the applicant organization by members or outside interests. In-kind expenditures should only appear on the new line below the postage line. (i.e., Volunteer staff salaries and donated professional services should be included on this line only.)
Revenues
- CAC Funds – amount of funds you are seeking from the Cultural Arts Commission
- Admissions – proceeds from all ticket sales or admission fees
- Sales – proceeds received from the sale of specialty items
- Membership – funds paid by the applicant organization’s members (i.e., dues)
- Individual Donations – all funds received from individual donors
- Corporate Donations – all funds received from corporate donors
- Foundation Support – all funds received from foundations
- State Funds – all funds received from state arts grants or state organizations
- In-Kind Services – dollar value of all services and/or goods donated to the applicant organization by members or outside interests (please refer to “In-Kind Services” under the Expenditures section)
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If you have any questions, please contact:
Kayla Johnson
Placemaking Manager
(972) 744-4213
kayla.johnson@cor.gov