Expanded Access to Arts and Culture 2025 Grant Guidelines and Application Coming Soon!

General Operating Support and Project-Specific Support Grants Available

Support for Fresno’s Arts Communities:

About Measure P’s “Expanded Access to Arts and Culture Fund”

In 2018, City of Fresno residents voted to approve Measure P, also known as the FRESNO CLEAN AND SAFE NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS TRANSACTIONS AND USE TAX, a three-eighths (.0375) percent sales tax ordinance, dedicated to improving parks, arts, and recreation facilities, services, and access in the City of Fresno. Funds collected by the sales tax can be used for purposes including, but not limited to, clean and safe parks; new parks and recreation facilities; youth and senior recreation and after-school facilities and job training; improved walking and biking trails; the San Joaquin River Parkway; beautification of streets; and expanded access to arts and culture. Measure P is a renewable thirty-year initiative implemented by the City of Fresno with oversight by the Parks, Recreation, and Arts Commission (PRAC), a nine member committee established by the ordinance, with Mayoral appointments.

Twelve percent (12%) of funds collected by the sales tax are designated for improving access to arts and culture via competitive grants for cultural arts nonprofit organizations within City limits. This process is discussed in category 4 of the ordinance.

Fresno Municipal Code Section 7-1506(b)(4)  Expanded Access to Arts and Culture.

(A)  Twelve percent (12%) percent of the funds made available from Section 7-1504 shall be made available on an annual basis to invest in competitive grants for nonprofit organizations that support and expand access to arts and cultural programming.

(B)  Grants funded pursuant to this paragraph shall be implemented by the Commission in partnership with the Fresno Arts Council, or its successor local arts agency, using multiple solicitations that allow for a diverse set of programs, with different program sizes and reach, including core operating and project-support grants, to be funded. The Commission shall ensure that grant applications are reviewed in a transparent, competitive process.

(C)  Prior to the implementation of subparagraph (B), the Commission shall work in partnership with the Fresno Arts Council, and local arts and cultural stakeholders, to develop a Cultural Arts Plan for the City of Fresno that would identify needs in the arts and cultural community; prioritize outcomes and investments; and develop a vision and goals for the future of Fresno arts and cultural programs that are reflective of the cultural, demographic, and geographic diversity of Fresno. This process shall include a robust community engagement process, including multiple public meetings. The Cultural Arts Plan shall be updated every five years by the Commission.

(D)  Funding for operating support distributed pursuant to this paragraph shall support organizational stability for arts and cultural organizations that reflect the cultural, geographic and demographic diversity of the City of Fresno; and reflect the proportion of each grantee's overall operations that serves residents within, or visitors to, the City of Fresno sphere of influence.

(E) Grants funded pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall prioritize organizations and programs that support and expand diverse public or youth engagement and equity.

Cultural Arts Plan Vision

Cultural arts in Fresno will be recognized, prioritized, inclusive, accessible, and continue to reflect, celebrate, and connect the community.

City of Fresno Cultural Arts Plan

Fresno’s Cultural Arts Plan was developed through a year-long process involving robust community participation. A partnership between a consultant group, Network for Culture and Arts Policy (NCAP), the City of Fresno PARCS Department, Fresno Arts Council, and the Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission (PRAC), with multiple opportunities for public surveys, meetings, and draft comments, individual interviews with community arts stakeholders, and research into Fresno’s cultural arts assets and needs, ultimately led to the approval and adoption of Fresno’s Cultural Arts Plan, which must be reassessed and updated every five years, according to requirements set forth in the ordinance. The Cultural Arts Plan was adopted by the Fresno City Council on August 10, 2023.

Fresno’s Cultural Arts Plan identifies the following goals, with associated strategies, in addition to defining funding priorities. These goals and funding priorities informed the development of Cultural Arts Grant Programs, managed by the Fresno Arts Council with stakeholder input and PRAC involvement and oversight.

  • See Cultural Plan for recommendations, strategies, and funding priorities:

  • Desired Outcome: Establish a strong foundation to support and expand access to arts and culture through grant-making and community engagement.

  • Desired Outcome: Cultural arts organizations and assets will be stabilized, restored and activated to expand access to arts and culture.

  • Desired Outcome: Expand access to a variety of arts and cultural education programs to provide educational opportunities for people of all ages.

    Desired Outcome: Equip artists, cultural practitioners and organizations with the skills and organizational resources to stabilize and expand operations.

  • Desired Outcome: Elevate and celebrate arts and culture to strengthen a sense of community.

  • Desired Outcome: Expand access to arts and culture by eliminating barriers and investing in innovation.

  • Desired Outcome: Establish a strong foundation to support and expand access to arts and culture through policy planning and municipal investment.