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 20 of Dubuque’s 501(c)(3) arts and culture organizations and $35,000 to fund six Special Projects Grants to cultivate unique and innovative creative arts and culture experiences that prioritize community engagement.

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. Twenty eligible organizations, with operating expenses ranging from $20,607 to $1.93 million, applied for this year’s funding cycle, collectively requesting $331,244 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 – $17,805
• Colts Youth Organization – $21,942
• Creative Adventure Lab, Inc. – $22,260
• Dubuque Area Arts Collective – $5,775
• Dubuque Arts Council – $3,551
• Dubuque Chapter of SPEBSQSA / Music Men Barbershop Chorus – $708
• Dubuque Chorale – $2,745
• Dubuque County Fine Arts Society – $4,335
• Dubuque County Historical Society – $23,850
• Dubuque Museum of Art – $23,850
• Dubuque Symphony Orchestra – $22,896
• Fly-By-Night Productions – $1,541
• Heritage Works – $10,570
• Julien Dubuque International Film Festival – $18,845
• Key City Creative Center – $5,108
• Northeast Iowa School of Music – $11,589
• Pigeon Art Center, Inc. – $13,320
• Rising Star Theatre Company – $9,106
• The Grand Opera House – $23,214
• Voices Productions – $5,668

Arts and Culture Special Projects

Through the Arts and Culture Special Projects Grant Program, the City of Dubuque provides funding to Dubuque-based nonprofit organizations and partnership groups to cultivate unique and innovative creative arts and culture experiences that prioritize community engagement.

The Special Projects Grant Program received 12 eligible applications collectively requesting $80,050. Based on the results of competitive scoring, six applications were selected to receive support, with awards ranging from $4,000 to $8,000 and totaling $35,000 in Capacity Building grants.

The organizations and projects to receive funding, listed in order of award amount, are:

• Dubuque Museum of Art – $8,000
• Dubuque Forward – $8,000
• Voices Productions – $8,000
• $Northeast Iowa School of Music – $4,500
• The Grand Opera House – $4,000
• St. Mark’s Enrichment – $3,700

In total, 32 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.