Mission Support Grants

Mission Support Grants is sponsored by ArtsKC. Mission Support Grants provide unrestricted, multi-year funding to non-profit organizations with the arts as their primary purpose, principally located in the five-county Kansas City metropolitan area.

Mission Support Grants support nonprofit organizations with the arts as their primary purpose. Mission Support grants consist of two years of unrestricted funding. In 2025-2026, we awarded 16 Mission Support Grants totaling $87,000.

The average grant amount was $5,438. 24. 6% of applicants received a grant of any amount.

This category is a multi-year program. In 2025-2026 ArtsKC also awarded $98,500 to 18 organizations for their second year of the program. ArtsKC strives to be an equitable and progressive funder.

Because of these values, ArtsKC has shifted its Mission Support grant category to a multi-year model. This model allows arts organizations to apply for two years of unrestricted funding with minimal reporting and paperwork. Application opens July 15, 2026 Virtual Info Session: September 23rd, 12pm via Zoom.

More information coming soon.

Deadline to apply: October 21st at 11:59 PM Grant committees will meet in November and December, 2026 Grant announcements will be made in late December, 2026 First Impact Report Deadline: November 22, 2027 Final Impact Report Deadline: June 14, 2028 First Impact Report Deadline: November 25, 2026 Final Impact Report Deadline: June 16, 2027 If ArtsKC receives enough applications, staff will sort the applications by budget size and put them in two groups below and above the median amount.

Group A – smaller to midsize budget organizations. Group B – midsize to larger budget organizations. The median will be determined after receiving applications.

Both Groups will be evaluated on the same timeline.

To be Eligible for funding in the Mission Support category, an organization must: Be a registered not-for-profit arts organization whose primary purpose is the arts Be principally located in the five-county Kansas City metropolitan area (Clay, Jackson, Johnson, Platte, Wyandotte) Have a governing body with bylaws Have at least two years of financial records and established history of programming Organizations may submit one grant application to ArtsKC per year.

Organizations may not apply for Inspiration Grant funding, which are for individual artists. ArtsKC funding is meant to support public-facing and publicly accessible programming. Educational institutions should apply in Project Support.

For organizations that have received an ArtsKC grant in the past, Impact Reports must be submitted and accepted before applying again. Applications are submitted online using the ArtsKC Grant System . If you have not applied before, when you go to the ArtsKC Grant System, click on the “Create New Account” button, and follow the directions there.

If you are a new user but your organization has applied for ArtsKC funding before, email Grantmaking@ArtsKC. org to help set up your user profile. If you need assistance with the online application process, please see this video: Grant Applicant Tutorial.

*Note: The online grants system is compatible with screen reading systems, but does not have an in-application screen-reader. Draft applications may be submitted for review by staff. This step is strongly encouraged for new applicants.

Draft applications do not require a full set of attachments or support materials to be reviewed and should be completed via the online grants system. Once the application has been completed for a draft review, email the ArtsKC Grants staff to say that the application is ready for draft review. ArtsKC staff will review applications in the order they are submitted and will provide timely feedback to the applicant.

Applicants will be able to make changes directly in the application without having to start the application over. Draft applications must be submitted 30 days before the application deadline in order to allow time for staff to review it. A preview of the 2026-2027 Mission Support application is linked below: 2026-2027 Mission Support Application Form Mission Grants are competitive.

Grant recipients are chosen by a continually renewed and representative group of community members with a variety of expertise and diverse perspectives. Committee Members are selected for their artistic knowledge and experience, awareness of community needs and issues, and other contributing factors. An ArtsKC Board Member leads each committee.

Grants are approved by the ArtsKC Board of Directors. The committee will consider: Artistic and Programmatic Excellence Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Financial Management and Need The application in comparison to all other applications in the competitive process. Committee members will use the following Evaluation Form: 2026-2027 Mission Support Evaluation Form ArtsKC is seeking equity in our funding practices.

We will use the numbers and demographics you provide to determine how much of your organization’s staff, volunteers, and board of directors is made up of underrepresented communities such as BIPOC, LGBTQIA, and people with disabilities. To work toward equity, the organizations that are diverse-led through greater overall representation among their staff, board, and volunteers will receive added value in the evaluation process.

We acknowledge that collecting demographic data is a continually improving practice. Here’s a resource to consider: GuideStar by Candid’s DEI Survey Guide . All grants will be for $5,000.

Grantees will receive $5,000 this year and the second year grant amount will be contingent upon ArtsKC’s fundraising (though we will aim for $5,000). Additional funding may be assigned to organizations determined to be diverse-led. Due to the small amount of variation between grant amounts, ArtsKC is no longer asking you to define your Requested Amount.

Grant Acceptance & Payment To accept a grant, you must return your signed Grant Agreement Letter and W-9 within 15 business days of the notice, or you will forfeit your entire grant award. You do not have to accept grants. If you have been awarded a grant and would like to turn it down or return it because of a change in plans or for any other reason, please notify ArtsKC Grant Staff immediately.

Multi-year grants will consist of one payment per year. In order to receive the second year of funding, grantees must fill out an Impact Report. A short Impact Report must be filled out at the end of the two-year grant cycle as well in order to be eligible for future grants.

You are required to submit Impact Reports by the assigned deadlines. We understand that it may become necessary to request a reasonable extension. Please do so by contacting ArtsKC well before the deadline to ensure timely processing of your request.

ArtsKC will work with applicants in the event a project is delayed or postponed. Please contact us to discuss the circumstances. If an Impact Report is not received after the agreed upon date, you will become ineligible to apply for ArtsKC grants.

Ineligibility can be reversed by the submission of an acceptable Impact Report. Impact Reports are submitted through the ArtsKC Grant System .

Impact Report Deadlines for 2025-2026: Impact Report 1 Deadline: November 25, 2026 Impact Report 2 Deadline: June 16, 2027 Previews of these Impact Reports are available below: 2025-2026 Mission Support Grant – Impact Report 1 2025-2026 Mission Support Grant – Impact Report 2 Impact Report Deadlines for 2026-2027: Impact Report 1 Deadline: November 22, 2027 Impact Report 2 Deadline: June 14, 2028 Previews of these Impact Reports are available below: 2026-2027 Mission Support Grant – Impact Report 1 2026-2027 Mission Support Grant – Impact Report 2 During the duration of your active status as an Mission Support grant recipient, we ask that you recognize ArtsKC publicly in your promotional materials and programs in a manner consistent with your policy of acknowledging other donors.

Please recognize ArtsKC by name, and use the ArtsKC logo. As part of this agreement, ArtsKC respectfully requests to use your name and any photos you are willing to provide in our promotional materials and online. Download ArtsKC’s logos and brand guidelines here.

Please notify ArtsKC staff in writing of any major changes in leadership, programs or operations as described in your grant application. Updates to contact information are also necessary to stay in contact and to mail checks to the appropriate address.

2025-2026 Mission Support Grant Committees: Group A – Grant Committee Committee Chair: David Waters – Office Managing Partner, Spencer Fane LLP Alicia McDougal – Owner, Legacy Inspired HR Solutions Bijoy Shah – Associate at Earth Foundry Val Beachy – Museum Educator, Docents, Schools, Tours & Professional Programs at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art Kennedy Banks – Choreographer, Dancer, and Teaching Artist Chuck Wurth – Co-founder of The Gift of Troost Artist Coalition Andrew Bowden – Performing Artist Marley Kay Lowe – Executive Director of Heartland Arts KC Karla Deel – Marketing, Communications, Writing, Researching, Publishing Group B – Grant Committee Cat Mueller – Curator of Education, Mid-America Arts Alliance Danielle Anderson – Danielle Ate the Sandwich, songwriter/performer/teacher Justin Nosler – Writer/Producer Markeyta Young – Programs Coordinator for Girls Inc. of New York City Sunyoung Park – Ceramic Artist Laura Burt – MS, LPC, PMH-C, Licensed Professional Counselor Korbin Richards – Writer and educator Zetta Hamersley – Inclusion & Belonging Consultant, BJC Health Systems The 2026-2027 Committee Listing is coming soon.