Operational Funding Grant Opportunity

Operational Funding Grant Opportunity is sponsored by City of Wichita, Division of Arts and Cultural Services. Provides operational support for qualifying 501(c)(3) non-profit arts and cultural organizations that serve Wichita citizens.

Cultural Arts Funding | Wichita, KS Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more. For two decades, the City of Wichita has granted funding to local arts organizations to recognize, preserve, and celebrate Wichita's rich arts and cultural heritage - a heritage that has a tremendous impact on all residents' quality of life.

For 2026, the City has awarded operational support to 31 organizations and funding for programmatic and capacity building projects to 17 individual artists and organizations. Combined with the City's support of its Legacy Cultural Institutions, the City's arts funding in 2026 totals more than $6. 3 million.

The City's Arts and Culture Grant Opportunities The City currently offers two grant opportunities. The main opportunity is awarded through a competitive process as part of the Cultural Funding Program: Operating Grants . More information can be found in the tab below (click "Operational Funding Grants").

The second grant opportunity launched on September 5, 2025: the Activation Grants . Again, please check below for more information. On April 3, 2025, the Cultural Funding Committee approved a new structure for the Cultural Funding Operational Grants.

This new structure divides the Operational Grants into three tiers: Cultural Institutions are organizations that have served the residents of Wichita for at least 20 years, have received Cultural Funding from the City of Wichita for at least 15 consecutive years, and have budgets of at least $500,000. Consideration will be given on a case-by-case basis to organizations that have received funding for 15 nonconsecutive years.

Once accepted into the Cultural Institution program, organizations do not need to reapply for funding so long as annual performance measures are met. New Cultural Institutions will receive a set percentage of the total available cultural funding. Organizations that already receive significant public funding will be assigned a slightly smaller percentage of the total.

Funding for Legacy Cultural Institutions - those organizations with the Cultural Institution title at the beginning of 2025 - will be unaffected by this change. Cultural Anchors are organizations that have served the residents of Wichita for at least 10 years and have received funding from the City of Wichita for at least 5 of the last 10 years (relative to the current date).

Anchors will receive three-year funding contracts from the City, with consistent funding amounts for those three years, so long as annual performance measures are met. Anchors will reapply for funding after every three-year contract ends. After their third contract (9 years total), the Anchor will be evaluated for inclusion as a Cultural Institution.

If accepted, the Anchor's final contract will receive a 1-year extension, and they will move up to Institution status after that 10th year. Cultural Anchor funding is currently capped at $35,000 per year. Cultural Partners are organizations that have served the residents of Wichita for at least 2 years.

This tier works in a similar way to the previous iteration of the Operational Grant Opportunity. Partners will apply for funding annually and meet annual performance measures. After reaching ten years of history serving the residents of Wichita and receiving funding for at least five of those ten years, Partners may apply for Anchor status.

Cultural Partner funding is currently capped at $15,000 per year. Please note, applying into a specific tier does not guarantee acceptance into that tier. The Cultural Funding Committee has the ability to deny entrance into any tier if they feel the organization is not yet a fit.

The FY27 Operational Grant Opportunity opened on May 15, 2026. See the Operational Funding Grants tab below for more information. If you have questions about the grants or application process, please email Jesse Koza, Cultural Arts Administrator .

Activation Grants are a new Cultural Funding model for 2026, replacing the Artist Access and Developing Arts Grants. Activation Grants share the same intended goals as the previous programs with more flexibility and fewer restrictions.

They offer one-time operational or programmatic funding to individual artists, groups of artists, or arts and culture nonprofit organizations who serve the residents of Wichita in amounts ranging from $500 to $10,000. Activation Grant recipients were selected by the City’s 11-member Cultural Funding Committee (CFC).

The volunteer committee is charged with reviewing grant applications and making funding recommendations to the City Council on various City of Wichita cultural arts grant applications.

FY26 Activation Grant Allocations The Americans Project Portrait Series Historical Figures Mural Series Multisensory Public Art Mural Friends of the Kansas Wildlife Exhibit Jazz Concert Series at Riverside Park Portfolio Work, Professional Development Artist Economic Education Zine YouTube Series on Local Artists Exhibition of Various Fiber Art Styles Developing Skill to Improve Free Classes Best Practices Study and Development Poetry Shows and Workshops Online Ceramics Materials Workshop The Real Education Project Audio Drama Presentations, Discussions United Comedy Academy, Inc. Series of All-Female Improv Shows Wichita Library Foundation Multiple Big Read 2026 Events The 2026 Budget lists $554,160 in arts and culture competitive grant funding.

The City Council approved Operational Grant awards to 34 local nonprofit arts and culture organizations on October 21, 2025, totaling $497,500 and leaving $56,660 remaining for Activation Grant funding.

Operational Funding Grants The Operational Grant Opportunity: Guidelines The Operational Funding Grant opportunity provides operational support for qualifying 501(c)(3) non-profit arts and cultural organizations that serve Wichita citizens. Applications for the Operational Grant Opportunity can be submitted through the City's Submittable page, available here: https://wichita. submittable.

com . Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the orange "Submit" button to begin. This application for the City of Wichita’s Operational Grant Opportunity is open to all arts and cultural organizations that meet the eligibility criteria listed below.

If you are not certain whether your organization qualifies, or if you have any other questions, you can reach out to Jesse Koza, Cultural Arts Administrator, at 316. 350. 3241 or [email protected] .

An information session about the Operational Grant Opportunity was completed on Tuesday, May 26th. The virtual meeting should be uploaded to the City’s YouTube channel soon. Organizations must meet the following criteria to receive operational funding: The organization must be a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

The organization has as its primary purpose the production, presentation, advancement, or preservation of arts or culture in the City of Wichita. The organization must serve the residents of the City of Wichita. The organization, or any related support organization (“Friends of”, etc.), must receive less than 25% percent of its funding from the City of Wichita.

Organizations that do not meet this requirement may still apply to a new grant program to be announced later this year. The organization has a minimum of two (2) years of operational history serving the residents of Wichita. The organization has full-time professional management and/or cultural/artistic staff.

This service may be in-kind of volunteer in nature. The organization presents a full season of performances/exhibitions or other year-round programming (including general admission where applicable). The organization is ADA compliant.

If the organization operates its own facility, that facility is ADA compliant. If the organization utilizes other venues/facilities, they only use ADA compliant facilities. The organization is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable requirements of the City of Wichita Revised Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment/Affirmative Action Program Requirements Statement for Contracts or Agreements.

The following organizations are ineligible for the Operational Grant Opportunity due to their status as Legacy Cultural Institutions: Arts Council, Botanica, Century II, CityArts, Kansas Aviation Museum, Mid-America All-Indian Museum, Museum of World Treasures, Old Cowtown Museum, Wichita Sedgwick County Historical Museum, Wichita Art Museum. Click here to submit an application: https://wichita. submittable.

com . The Structure of the Cultural Funding Program On April 3, 2025, the Cultural Funding Committee approved a new structure for the Cultural Funding Operational Grants.

This new structure divides the Operational Grants into three tiers: Cultural Institutions are organizations that have served the residents of Wichita for at least 20 years, have received Cultural Funding from the City of Wichita for at least 15 years, and have budgets of at least $500,000. Once accepted into the Cultural Institution program, organizations do not need to reapply for funding so long as annual performance measures are met.

New Cultural Institutions will receive a set percentage of the total available cultural funding. Organizations that already receive significant public funding will be assigned a slightly smaller percentage of the total. Funding for Legacy Cultural Institutions - those organizations with the Cultural Institution title at the beginning of 2025 - will be unaffected by this change.

Cultural Anchors are organizations that have served the residents of Wichita for at least 10 years and have received funding from the City of Wichita for at least 5 of the last 10 years (relative to the current date). Anchors will receive three-year funding contracts from the City, with consistent funding amounts for those three years, so long as annual performance measures are met.

Anchors will reapply for funding after every three-year contract ends. After their third contract (9 years total), the Anchor will be evaluated for inclusion as a Cultural Institution. If accepted, the Anchor’s final contract will receive a 1-year extension, and they will move up to Institution status after that 10th year.

Cultural Anchor funding is currently capped at $35,000 per year. Cultural Partners are organizations that have served the residents of Wichita for at least 2 years. This tier works in a similar way to the previous iteration of the Operational Grant Opportunity.

Partners will apply for funding annually and meet annual performance measures. After reaching ten years of history serving the residents of Wichita and receiving funding for at least five of those ten years, Partners may apply for Anchor status. Cultural Partner funding is currently capped at $15,000 per year.

Organizations will indicate on their applications whether they are applying for Partner, Anchor, or Institution status. Funding amounts for Cultural Anchors and Cultural Partners will be based on the previous fiscal year’s total expenses, subject to each tier’s cap. Click here to submit an application: https://wichita.

submittable. com . Not everything about an organization can be captured in an application.

To make sure they have all the necessary information about your organization, the Cultural Funding Committee requires applicants to attend an in-person meeting so they can ask additional and clarifying questions. These questions follow-up on things written in the application and are not intended to put you in an uncomfortable or adversarial position.

You will begin the process of scheduling your time (15-minute slots) when you submit your application. Please do not bring anything other than yourselves or any notes you need when attending. We cannot accept additional documents, and media presentations – videos, PowerPoint, etc. – are not allowed.

Q&A sessions are open to the public for observation only. Meetings over Zoom, etc., can be accommodated, but those decisions are made on a case-by-case basis and permitted only in certain circumstances. Applicants may not lobby Cultural Funding Committee or City Council members prior to, during, or following the application process.

The Division of Arts and Cultural Services will review each application submitted by the deadline. The purpose of this review is to make sure your organization is eligible and that you have submitted everything needed. It is not an evaluation of the content or quality of the application.

A Division staff member will reach out if clarification or additional information is needed. Each application that passes this review will be submitted to the Cultural Funding Committee for evaluation. The Cultural Funding Committee uses a rubric to help score applications to the grant opportunity.

You can click here to see a copy of the rubric . Please note that the Division considers a score of 3/5 on any given question to be "Successful". Reports, Audits, and Contracts If the recommendation for funding is approved, individual contracts with organizations will be sent by the Division of Arts and Cultural Services staff and approved by the City Council for Fiscal Year 2026.

Organizations will be required to submit a final year-end report for the funding year. City funding may be audited at any time. Click here to submit an application: https://wichita.

submittable. com . Friday, May 15, 2026 – The application opens at wichita.

submittable. com. Friday, May 15, 2026 through Friday, July 31, 2026 – Division Staff are available to answer questions and review drafts of applications for completeness.

Tuesday, May 26, 2026 - Information Session on Microsoft Teams Monday, August 3, 2026, 11:59pm – Submission deadline for the FY2027 application. Thursday, September 3, 2026 – Q&A sessions; organizations will meet with the Cultural Funding Committee to answer questions regarding their organization and application. Thursday, September 10, 2026 – Deliberations - Cultural Funding Committee members meet to deliberate funding recommendations.

Thursday, October 1, 2026 – The Committee finalizes its recommendations for the Wichita City Council Funding Limitations and Uses Operational Grant funding is for an organization’s operations. Operational spending includes categories like salaries, office rent, utility payments, general website upkeep, and so on.

If you have any questions about what you can use operational funding for, please feel free to reach out to the Division of Arts and Cultural Services. The maximum amount of funding a Cultural Anchor or Cultural Partner will be awarded is based on how much the organization spent (its expenses) during its most recently completed fiscal year.

In-kind services, such as donated items, volunteer hours, free rent, etc., cannot count toward that total. You can only submit one application for Operational Grant funding each cycle. Please coordinate with members of your organization to make sure only one application is submitted.

Application Requirements and Information Applications may be accessed via the Submittable platform: https://wichita. submittable. com Applications must be completed by the application deadline.

Division staff have created a document to help provide supplemental information. You can click here to read that document . While Division of Arts and Cultural Services staff will check your application, you are ultimately responsible for making sure it is complete.

There is no guarantee that an incomplete application will be reviewed by the Cultural Funding Committee. Some information requested in the application may not apply to your organization. If this comes up, please write “N/A”, “Not Applicable”, or similar.

If the system requests a document that you do not have (e.g. it requests three years of financial information, but your organization is only two years old), please upload a document explaining that the requested document does not exist. Supplemental materials (pamphlets, advertisements, etc.) will not be accepted. No extra materials or media presentations will be allowed.

These items will be removed from your application before it is passed on to the Cultural Funding Committee. Click here to submit an application: https://wichita. submittable.

com .

Organizations chosen for funding for 2026 include: Arts Partners, Inc. - $35,000 Exploration Place - $35,000 Music Theatre Wichita - $35,000 Ulrich Museum of Art - $35,000 Wichita Symphony Orchestra - $35,000 Regina Klenjoski Dance Company - $18,000 Tallgrass Film Association - $25,000 The Kansas African American Museum - $25,000 Envision Foundation - $8,500 Forum Theatre Company - $8,000 Great Plains Transportation Museum - $3,000 Juniper Arts Academy - $10,500 Kansas Bluegrass Association - $4,500 McCormick School Museum - $5,500 Metropolitan Ballet - $8,000 Mulberry Art Gallery - $9,500 Music Youth Partnership - $7,500 Orpheum Performing Arts Center - $15,000 Storytime Village - $12,000 Wichita Chamber Chorale - $3,500 Wichita Community Children’s Choir - $2,500 Wichita Grand Opera - $15,000 Wichita Jazz Festival - $4,500 TOTAL FY2026 GRANT FUNDING - $497,500 Thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts , the City offered three, one-time Arts Thrive grants, awarded in 2024.

These three grants awarded $25,000 each for arts projects in the city of Wichita in 2025. On December 10, the City Council approved recommendations for the 2025 Arts Thrive funding program. Three projects will each receive a $25,000 grant allocation through Arts Thrive: Arts Partners’ STEMusic, Michael Davenport’s Threads of Pride, and Ballet Wichita’s Breaking Boundaries.

Arts Partners ’ “STEMusic” project will see the creation of a bilingual musical album for kids by teaching artist and aerospace engineer Roy Moye III and several community partners. The intent is to promote careers in science, technology, engineering, and math through music, making this a STEAM project.

The project will include a youth summer camp where participants will help develop and record the album, design the cover artwork, and learn about the career opportunities in aviation in Wichita. Local artist Michael Davenport will curate an exhibition celebrating the diversity of LGBTQIA+ experiences in Kansas with his “Threads of Pride” project.

The artist will work with middle and high school Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA) and Pride clubs across Kansas to create 3ft x 5ft quilt panels reflecting their experiences. Inspired by the AIDS Memorial Quilt, these panels will offer a visual narrative of what it means to grow up LGBTQIA+ today. The panels will be displayed throughout the Wichita community during Pride month in June 2025.

Ballet Wichita will confront past social bias by engaging two choreographers, Mollie Sansone and Yusha-Marie Sorzano, to produce the ballet “Breaking Boundaries. ” The ballet will be presented in a non-traditional performance location and will elevate Ballet Wichita’s commitment to equity and inclusion.

The performance will be inspired by the Dockum Sit-In and Wichita's aviation history while challenging the stereotypes of ballet and the art form’s history of body, gender, and racial bias. Legacy Cultural Institutions Legacy Cultural Institutions are arts and cultural organizations which have operations and activities in a facility that is owned and/or operated by the City of Wichita.

The organization's audited annual revenues must be in excess of $50,000 for at least two preceding years. Legacy Cultural Institutions are funded by entering into three-year Operational Partnership Agreements. For more information about the Legacy Cultural Institution Grants Program, please refer to pages 13 to 14 of the City of Wichita Cultural Plan Addendum (PDF) .

Organizations which qualify as Legacy Cultural Institutions include the following and will be funded at the following levels for FY2026: Kansas Aviation Museum: $50,641 Mid-America All-Indian Museum: $332,791 Museum of World Treasures: $35,029 Wichita Art Museum: $2,711,208 Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum: $246,594 Total Cultural Institution Funding 2026: $3,386,314 Cultural Funding Committee The Cultural Funding Committee is charged with reviewing grant applications and making funding recommendations to the City Council on various City of Wichita cultural arts grant applications.

Learn more about the Cultural Funding Committee . Government Websites by CivicPlus®