The Richmond Thrives Grants Program: Arts & Culture Fund provides general operating support to awarded nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in alignment with the City of Richmond’s Arts & Culture priority area under the pillar “A City That Tells Its Stories”:
“This priority area invests in Richmond’s cultural identity and creative economy by supporting organizations that use arts, history, and storytelling to build community connections, advance racial equity and reconciliation, and ensure all residents can see themselves reflected in the city’s cultural narrative and programming.”
The City’s goals for this priority area are to champion arts and culture nonprofit organizations in their efforts to tell Richmond’s stories; to share and document Richmond’s rich cultural history; to increase participation in cross-cultural events; and to reduce disparities in access to and participation in arts education and arts programming. Its sub-focuses are public history and cultural storytelling; arts and community engagement; racial history and reconciliation projects; community development through the arts; and arts education.
For purposes of this grant, “telling Richmond’s stories” encompasses the city’s past — its foundation and its under-told histories; its present; and the city it is becoming — its future and its national and international story.
Program At a Glance
- Funding period: January 1 – December 31, 2027
Application window: August 17 – September 15, 2026 (portal closes at 4 p.m. ET; late submissions not accepted)
Awards: Maximum award: $50,000. No award will exceed 25% of the applicant’s operating expenses for its most recently completed fiscal year.
- Eligibility: 501(c)(3) organizations with an arts and culture focus (or groups applying through a fiscal sponsor) whose programming directly serves City of Richmond residents. See Grant Guidelines for additional eligibility requirements.
NOTE: Organizations applying with a fiscal sponsor (referred to throughout as the “sponsored organization”) should assume most of the questions apply to them, rather than their fiscal sponsor. The fiscal sponsor will fill out a separate form that must be completed as part of the sponsored organization’s application. Administered by CultureWorks on behalf of the City of Richmond.
Richmond Thrives Grants Program: Arts & Culture Fund
The Richmond Thrives Grants Program: Arts & Culture Fund provides general operating support to awarded nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in alignment with the City of Richmond’s Arts & Culture priority area under the pillar “A City That Tells Its Stories”:
“This priority area invests in Richmond’s cultural identity and creative economy by supporting organizations that use arts, history, and storytelling to build community connections, advance racial equity and reconciliation, and ensure all residents can see themselves reflected in the city’s cultural narrative and programming.”
The City’s goals for this priority area are to champion arts and culture nonprofit organizations in their efforts to tell Richmond’s stories; to share and document Richmond’s rich cultural history; to increase participation in cross-cultural events; and to reduce disparities in access to and participation in arts education and arts programming. Its sub-focuses are public history and cultural storytelling; arts and community engagement; racial history and reconciliation projects; community development through the arts; and arts education.
For purposes of this grant, “telling Richmond’s stories” encompasses the city’s past — its foundation and its under-told histories; its present; and the city it is becoming — its future and its national and international story.
Program At a Glance
- Funding period: January 1 – December 31, 2027
Application window: August 17 – September 15, 2026 (portal closes at 4 p.m. ET; late submissions not accepted)
Awards: Maximum award: $50,000. No award will exceed 25% of the applicant’s operating expenses for its most recently completed fiscal year.
- Eligibility: 501(c)(3) organizations with an arts and culture focus (or groups applying through a fiscal sponsor) whose programming directly serves City of Richmond residents. See Grant Guidelines for additional eligibility requirements.
NOTE: Organizations applying with a fiscal sponsor (referred to throughout as the “sponsored organization”) should assume most of the questions apply to them, rather than their fiscal sponsor. The fiscal sponsor will fill out a separate form that must be completed as part of the sponsored organization’s application. Administered by CultureWorks on behalf of the City of Richmond.