The Dubuque City Council recently approved recommendations from the City’s Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission to award $250,000 in Operating Support Grant funds to 18 of Dubuque’s 501(c)(3) arts and culture organizations and $35,000 to fund six Capacity Building grants to support initiatives that aim to create a more sustainable and effective arts and culture organization.

Operating Support for Arts and Culture Nonprofits

The City’s Arts and Culture Operating Support Grant Program allows established 501(c)(3) arts and culture organizations located within the city of Dubuque to request 6% or up to $30,000 of their most recently completed fiscal year operating budget. Eighteen eligible organizations, with operating expenses ranging from $18,575 to $7.67 million, applied for this year’s funding cycle, collectively requesting $316,918 in support.

The Operating Support Grant Program is designed to support nonprofit organizations contributing to cultural vibrancy and community resiliency by focusing on publicly accessible arts, arts education, and cultural heritage programming. Applicants must demonstrate a record of financial and management stability and show evidence of a commitment to excellence as an arts and culture leader.

Competitive scoring of the applications was utilized to determine awards totaling $250,000. Arts and cultural organizations to receive funding, listed in alphabetical order by organization name, are:

• Bell Tower Productions – $20,096
• Bluff Strokes Art Center- $14,108
• Colts Youth Organization – $21,806
• Creative Adventure Lab, Inc. – $21,806
• Dubuque Arts Council – $7,399
• Dubuque Chapter of SPEBSQSA / Music Men Barbershop Chorus – $780
• Dubuque Chorale -$3,620
• Dubuque County Fine Arts Society – $2,545
• Dubuque County Historical Society – $26,168
• Dubuque Museum of Art – $25,077
• Dubuque Symphony Orchestra – $25,350
• Fly-By-Night Productions – $1,659
• Julien Dubuque International Film Festival – $16,808
• Key City Creative Center – $5,512
• Northeast Iowa School of Music – $13,900
• Rising Star Theatre Company – $10,747
• The Grand Opera House – $23,987
• Voices Productions – $5,138

Arts and Culture Capacity Building

Through the Arts and Culture Capacity Building grant program, the City of Dubuque provides funding to Dubuque-based nonprofit organizations and groups to support initiatives that aim to create a more sustainable and effective arts and culture organization.

The Capacity Building grant program received seven eligible applications collectively requesting $40,744. Based on the results of competitive scoring, six applications were selected to receive support, with awards ranging from $1,974 to the maximum funding level of $8,000, totaling $37,744 in Capacity Building grants.

Arts and cultural organizations to receive funding, listed in order of award amount, are:

• $8,000 – Bluff Strokes Art Center
• $8,000 – Dubuque Museum of Art
• $8,000 – Dubuque Symphony Orchestra
• $6,170 – Northeast Iowa School of Music
• $5,600 – Dubuque County Fine Arts Society
• $1,974 – Dubuque Arts Council

In total, 25 eligible applications were submitted across both grant programs, with each program’s applications reviewed and scored by a selected three-person panel comprised of individuals independent of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission. Volunteer reviewers are knowledgeable of the arts, actively participate in the arts, and possess professional experience in fields such as nonprofit, business, education, or government. The Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission reviewed application scores and submitted funding-level recommendations to the Dubuque City Council for approval.

For additional information on the City’s Arts and Culture grant programs, contact the Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs at 563-690-6059 or ar*********@***********ue.org.