TAC Partnership Support Grant

TAC Partnership Support Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Tennessee Arts Commission
Amount: Up to US $100,000
Last Updated: November 03, 2025

Summary

The TAC Partnership Support Grant provides crucial operating support for arts organizations chartered in Tennessee. Eligible applicants include independent arts groups and local arts agencies with a minimum budget of $75,000. Organizations can request up to $100,000, representing 20% of their total cash operating expenses. Applicants must adhere to specific eligibility criteria, including prior funding history and having a full-time administrator. This competitive grant fosters community engagement and promotes the arts across Tennessee.

Overview

NOTE: First-time applicants to this category must:contact their program director to discuss eligibility, and then submit a letter requesting entry into the category by November 30. Partnership Support Grants Partnership Support (PS) provides operating support for qualified arts organizations (see glossary here) headquartered and chartered in Tennessee. Funding will depend upon an organization’s rating in the review process, circumstances that may affect services to the community, and upon the total amount of funds available to the Tennessee Arts Commission for grant allocation. This category is competitive. Applicant organizations must have a minimum budget of $75,000. Organizations may request 20% of their total cash operating expenses in their most recently completed fiscal year at the time they submit their application, up to but not exceeding the maximum grant request amount of $100,000. The total cash operating expenses, verified by an audit submitted by the applicant, will be determined by the sum total of: Salaries, Benefits & Taxes,Professional Fee, Grant & Award,Supplies, Telephone Postage & Shipping, Occupancy, Equipment Rental & Maintenance, Printing & Publications,Travel, Conferences & Meetings, andOther Non-Personnel Applicant organizations are reviewed every other year by a peer advisory panel, although organizations must submit a complete application every year. Those organizations new to the PS category must be reviewed for two consecutive years prior to beginning the biennial review rotation process. Commission staff will contact all current PS recipients and inform them of their review status and, if appropriate, schedule. Operating support applicants (SUPS, SRPS, PS, MCI) may not submit an application for APS/RAPS in the same fiscal year. However, all operating support applicants may submit applications in the Arts Access and Arts Education categories, and SUPS and SRPS applicants may also submit an application in the Arts Build Communities category. These additional requests are based on eligibility, and applicants must provide proof that funds requested for AA, AE or ABC grants will not be used for Salaries, Benefits & Taxes and that the applicant can independently meet the cash matching requirements for each additional request without using the cash match or Commission funds requested from its operating support application.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Eligible ApplicantsApplicant must be a free-standing arts group independent of any other organization. Therefore, applicants must be an established arts organization responsible for its own programming (by producing or presenting/curating), or an arts council which serves and interacts with local arts organizations.An organization is eligible to apply for funding if the organization is legally chartered in Tennessee and has its headquarters and home season, or activities equivalent to a home season for non-producing organizations, in Tennessee, and meets either of the following qualifications: active IRS 501(c)3 status or public arts council that serves a broad population and interacts with local arts organizations. A significant amount of year-round public activity and programming must be evident that significantly impacts Tennesseans and their communities. Organization must have a board-approved long-range plan covering at least the current and next fiscal years.Government units that are local arts agencies are eligible for Partnership Support funding. Applicant must have received a minimum of three years of Commission funding during the last five years in the following grant categories: Partnership Support, Small Urban Partnership Support, Small Rural Partnership Support, Arts Access, Arts Project Support, Rural Arts Project Support, Creative Placemaking, Arts Education Community Learning, Arts Education Teacher Training or Arts Pathways for Youth Success (formerly FAY).Applicant must have at least one full time, year-round paid professional administrator at the time of application. Employees cannot be paid by a subsidiary entity. In general, “full-time” means the individual is paid for a minimum of 37.5 hours of work per week.Applicants may choose to demonstrate ongoing fiscal responsibility through a single entity audit conducted externally by a certified public accountant (CPA) for its most recently completed fiscal year at the time the application. Submitting an audit is optional.Audit costs for the applicant organization are an allowable grant expense.Note: Failure to submit a single entity audit of the most recently completed fiscal year will jeopardize eligibility and funding.All applicants are required to have a Unique Entity ID. Information and application instructions can be found here.Organizations must have a board approved long-range plan covering at least the current and next fiscal years.PLEASE NOTE: An organization should not apply in this grant category if at the time of application, it is aware they cannot meet all of the above stated requirements.

Ineligibility

The following are not allowed as operating expenses: capital expenses, endowment funds, penalties payments, in-kind expenses, bank penalties, or furniture and fixture expenditures.Arts organizations that receive revenue directly from a “New Specialty Earmarked Plate” under T.C.A 55-4-215 (a) (1) are ineligible for Commission grant funding.Colleges, universities and other government units are not eligible for funding in this category.