County’s Cultural Development Grant Program Opens For Local Nonprofits

The Hillsborough County Art Council’s Cultural Development Grant Program is accepting applications for the 2027 fiscal year. Applications will remain open until Friday, January 30, at 5 p.m., and the grant offers $25,000 maximum.

“This program offers general support to local cultural organizations that have as their primary mission the delivery of cultural programs serving a specific cultural discipline,” said Kathy Collins of the Hillsborough County Art Council.

The Cultural Development Grant Program provides general program support to local cultural organizations with programming that not only serves diverse audiences but also reaches geographically diverse communities. It is the intent of the program to encourage the development of both cultural and administrative operations of these organizations.

“Funds provided through this grant program are also intended to enhance the organization’s ability to attract new audiences and increase funding from other sources,” Collins said.

An organization applying for a grant must have as its primary mission the delivery of cultural programs. Cultural disciplines encompass, but are not limited to, architecture, crafts, creative writing, dance, history, literature, media arts, music, photography, theater, traditional arts and visual arts, as well as the execution, exhibition or presentation of such allied cultural forms.

The Arts Council of Hillsborough County is committed to facilitating the participation in cultural programs by all individuals in Hillsborough County. The Arts Council encourages funding requests from cultural organizations with programming that not only serves diverse audiences but also reaches geographically diverse communities.

Cultural Development Grants are awarded on a competitive basis to nonprofit and tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) Florida corporations that meet the eligibility requirements and provide cultural programming in Hillsborough County. Funding is awarded for general program support based on overall quality of three categories: Access & Community Engagement, Artistic & Cultural Vitality and Organizational Capacity. The council anticipates total grant requests will exceed funds available; consequently, requests are generally not fully funded.

“All applications must be submitted in the online grant system by the January due date,” Collins said. “Deadlines will not be extended, and partial or incomplete applications will be deemed ineligible. Board review and scoring of applications takes place on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at 11 a.m.”

For more information on the Cultural Development Grant Program, please visit the Hillsborough County Art Council’s website at www.hillsborougharts.org/organizational-grants.