ArtsKC Mission Support Grant

The ArtsKC Mission Support Grant is designed to support non-profit organizations whose primary focus is the arts in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Grants of $5,000 are available, with funding aimed at promoting artistic excellence, community impact, and inclusivity. The program supports various art forms and encourages diverse-led organizations to apply, fostering a thriving arts community. Last year, 18 grants were awarded, totaling $98,500, with a multi-year funding commitment for continued support.

NOTE: Staff will sort all applications by budget size and put them in two groups below and above the median amount. Group A – smaller to midsize budget organizations. Group B – midsize to larger budget organizations. The median will be determined after receiving applications.
ArtsKC Grants
ArtsKC Grants are investments in people, programs and projects that make the arts more accessible, that sustain a vibrant and thriving arts community, and that support traditions of excellence as well as innovation and entrepreneurship in the arts. ArtsKC Grants support visual, dance, music, theater, poetry, and interdisciplinary art.
Mission Support Grants
Mission Support Grants support non-profit organizations with the arts as their primary purpose. Funding is unrestricted. Last year, we awarded 18 Mission Support Grants totaling $98,500. The average grant amount was $5,472. 32.7% of applicants in this category received a grant of any amount. This category is a multi-year program. In 2024-2025 ArtsKC also awarded $116,500 to 22 organizations for their second year of the program.
The committee will consider:
Artistic and Programmatic ExcellenceCommunity ImpactDiversity, Equity, Inclusion, and AccessibilityFinancial Management and NeedThe application in comparison to all other applications in the competitive process.
Grant Amounts
All grants will be for $5,000. For multi-year funding, grantees will receive $5,000 this year and the second year grant amount will be contingent upon ArtsKC's fundraising (though we will aim for $5,000). Additional funding may be assigned to organizations determined to be diverse-led.

Eligibility

To be eligible for funding in the Mission Support category, an organization must:Be a registered not-for-profit arts organization whose primary purpose is the arts
Be principally located in the five-county Kansas City metropolitan area (Clay, Jackson, Johnson, Platte, Wyandotte)
Have a governing body with bylaws
Be founded before 2020 (thus, have at least two years of financial records and established history of programming)ArtsKC funding is meant to support public-facing and publicly accessible programming.Educational institutions should apply in Project Support.Organizations may submit one grant application to ArtsKC per year. For organizations that have received an ArtsKC Grant in the past, Impact Reports must be submitted and accepted before applying again.

Ineligibility

Organizations may not apply for Inspiration Grant funding, which are for individual artists.