This year the City of Tempe has awarded grants to more organizations than ever before. 32 non-profit organizations will receive funding to provide quality arts programming to the city. Arts Grants funding supports a commitment to advancing Tempe as a vibrant and progressive community for cultural and artistic activity. Projects range from school residency programs to festivals to theater and music performances.

The grants were awarded to applicants in three categories:

Community Arts Grants: Quality arts projects with a primary mission of supporting a specific arts community, families and youth-centered arts programming in Tempe. The grant supports the following Public Art and Cultural Amenities Goals from the General Plan 2040 to: 1) Collaborate with community partners and educational institutions 2) Enhance art that supports, educates and enriches the community. The following organizations received funding in this category:  

• Arizona Theatre Company
• AZ Wolf Trap/Scottsdale Arts
• Broadmor PTA
• Chandler Children’s Choir
• Childsplay
• Dansense Nrtyabodha
• Downtown Tempe Foundation
• Grey Box Collective
• Musica Nova
• Musician Enrichment Foundation
• Phoenix Conservatory of Music
• Phoenix Symphony
• Rising Youth Theatre
• Tempe Artist Guild
• Tempe Community Chorus
• Tetra String Quartet
• United Sound

Festival Grants: Festivals that celebrate a community or shared cultural interest with arts and culture programming. This grant aims to fulfill the following recommendations from the Arts and Culture Plan: 1) Support community festivals celebrating cultural diversity 2) Support communitywide festivals of the arts and creativity. The following organizations received funding in this category:

• African Fest USA
• Asociacion de Peruanos en Arizona
• Arizona Apparel Foundation
• Cultural Coalition

TCA Excellence Grants: Develop artistically complex and rigorous programming, and provide impactful arts experiences to Tempe residents. The grant aims to fulfill the following recommendations from the Arts and Culture Plan: 1) Increase and promote Community-Initiated Arts projects 2) Expand rentals and collaborations at the Tempe Center for the Arts.

The following organizations received funding in this category:

• Arizona Wind Symphony
• Bridge Initiative
• CONDER/dance
• Desert Overture
• Grand Canyon Men’s Chorale
• Higher Octave Healing
• Ignite Collaborative Initiative
• Lakeshore Music
• MAC & Company
• Stray Cat Theatre
• Tempe Winds 

Tempe City Council approved $175,000 in funding for these 32 organizations on July 31, 2019. The competitive review process was conducted by three independent and objective community review panels. Each panel was comprised of representatives from the Tempe Arts and Culture Commission, Tempe residents, arts educators, business owners, students and practicing artists from various disciplines.

School Arts Grants available to Tempe teachers - Deadline: August 26, 5 p.m.

School Arts Grants are available to teachers in Tempe schools for arts programming. Funds are available to expand and enhance the services already provided by school arts curriculum, programs and clubs. Grants can be used to fund services of artists and teaching artists, arts supplies, production costs, exhibitions, tickets to an arts program, transportation and space rental. Requests are available up to a maximum of $750 and do not require matching funds.

For more information about the grants, programs and organizations that received funding, visit tempe.gov/ArtsGrants.

Media contact: Melissa Quillard, 480-350-8805, Melissa_Quillard@tempe.gov  

Program contact: Maja Aurora, 480 350-5160, Maja_Aurora@tempe.gov