California Arts Council Approves Allocations for 2025 Grant Program Awards

 SACRAMENTO, CA - The California Arts Council voted Friday, September 26, to allocate more than $19.5 million in grant funds, supporting nearly 700 nonprofit arts and cultural organizations across the state. The Council vote distributes funding across three main grant types, including seven programs supporting general operations, regranting administration, and projects for nonprofit organizations and units of government throughout California.

The Council, which has policy oversight on the agency's local assistance annual appropriation, had previously identified three priorities for this funding cycle prior to program application openings in April:

• Organizations serving historically and systemically underserved communities located in the lower two quartiles of the Healthy Places Index (HPI), including rural and inland areas, as well as regions with a history of low investment from the CAC;

• First-time grantees who have not previously received direct CAC funding;

• Small organizations with total revenues of $250,000 or below

The agency's outreach and communications efforts aligned with these criteria and were reflected in the application data. More than half of all 2025 applicants had total operating revenues below the $250,000 threshold and serviced areas inside the lower Healthy Places Index (HPI) quartiles, and 38 percent of all applicants had received a grant from the CAC.

"On behalf of the Council, I'd like to thank Governor Newsom and the Legislature for this year's funding and thus ensuring that the arts remain a vital tool in promoting civic engagement and advancing democracy," said Council Chair Roxanne Messina Captor. "In our decision making, we made every effort to ensuring our grant programs support a California for all, where the arts are a central part of every community."

"Arts and culture are powerful tools for community connection and well-being," said California Arts Council Executive Director Danielle Brazell. "This year's grants are a direct investment in the creative spirit of our state, and they reflect our commitment to ensuring that art is accessible to everyone. We are thrilled to support these organizations and artists who work tirelessly to enrich our communities." 

Additional funding details, including organization names, award amounts, locations, project descriptions and more will be released in a further announcement in October highlighting the CAC's 2025 grantees.

Media inquiries only:Kimberly BrownPublic Affairs [email protected]

# # #

The California Arts Council is a state agency with a mission of strengthening arts, culture, and creative expression as the tools to cultivate a better California for all. It supports local arts infrastructure and programming statewide through grants, initiatives, and services. The California Arts Council envisions a California where all people flourish with universal access to and participation in the arts.

Members of the California Arts Council include: Roxanne Messina Captor, Chair; Leah Goodwin, Vice Chair; Gerald Clarke; Caleb Duarte; Vicki Estrada; Roy Hirabayashi; Alex Israel; Dorka Keehn; Phil Mercado; Nicola Miner; Rick Stein. Learn more at https://www.arts.ca.gov.

The California Arts Council is committed to increasing the accessibility of its online content. For language and accessibility assistance, visit https://arts.ca.gov/about/about-us/language-communications-assistance. To read this announcement in Spanish, please use the website's Google Translate tool by clicking the "Translate" link in the upper righthand corner of this page.

El Consejo de las Artes de California se compromete a aumentar la accesibilidad de sus contenidos en línea. Para obtener ayuda con el idioma y la accesibilidad, visite https://arts.ca.gov/about/about-us/language-communications-assistance. Para leer este anuncio en español, utilice la herramienta Google Translate del sitio web haciendo clic en el enlace "Traducir" situado en la esquina superior derecha de esta página.