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.
Eligibility Requirements
Eligibility requirements to receive arts financial assistance from the City of Richardson are:
- Applicants must be non-profit corporations holding letters of determination from the IRS showing 501(c)(3) status or be entities of government.
- Applicants must have been chartered and pursuing their mission for at least one year prior to the application deadline as indicated by the date on the organization’s letter of determination from the IRS indicating 501(c)(3) status.
- Projects of the applicant should serve residents of or visitors to Richardson and should be open and accessible to the public. At least one public offering must occur within the City of Richardson. Offerings that occur in Richardson should be confirmed prior to submission of the grant application.
- Projects of the applicant must be completed between October 1 and September 30 of the current grant cycle.
- Administrative, technical, capital and project support will be considered. Projects, which are designed as fund-raising activities, will not be funded. Travel, lodging, and expense accounts of board members will not be funded.
- Applicants must develop multiple revenue streams to financially support projects.
- Incomplete applications or proposals that do not meet the guidelines will not be accepted and will not receive interviews.
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
- 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.
Grantee Responsibilities
- 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 a 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 all Richardson Cultural Arts Commission workshops, including Fall and Spring sessions. Workshop participation is considered part of the ongoing engagement with the Commission and may be taken into account for 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 Communication 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. If approved, they are published that day.
Application Procedures
- Grant applications are considered on an annual basis. Applications will be made available online June 1, 2026. The deadline for submitting applications through the online portal is Thursday, July 30, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Late applications will not be accepted.
- Prior to July 23, 2026, 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.
- Applications must be submitted using the electronic forms supplied by the Cultural Arts Commission.
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.
- For those organizations receiving an interview, applicants should be prepared to respond to questions from the Cultural Arts Commission concerning changes in their organization or the status of their organization and new programming or strategic directions for the grant period. Each applicant is limited to two representatives and will have approximately 10-20 minutes with the Cultural Arts Commission during this interview portion of the application process. Applicants should be prepared to describe the upcoming season and revenues and expenses for the upcoming season. Virtual interviews are not permitted. Interviews scheduled for Saturday, August 22, 2026.
- 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 artsgroups@cor.gov with your application. Use of audio/visual tools will not be allowed during the interview.
- Cultural Arts Commission members will evaluate applications and interviews and make recommendations for funding.
- Recommendations are forwarded to the City Council for the final award.
- 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.
- If awarded, a final season report will be due by July 30, 2027, or by September 30, 2027, if an organization’s season is not concluded by July 30, 2027.
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.