Small Grants Program

Small Grants Program is sponsored by City of Portland, Office of Arts & Culture (via partners Friends of IFCC, MusicOregon, and RACC). Provides essential funding to local artists, nonprofit organizations, and schools through partnerships. Grants support the making and sharing of artistic work and the development of the arts community in Portland.

$1. 4M awarded by Office of Arts & Culture’s Small Grant Program partners for 2025-26 | Portland. gov Heat and smoke advisories through Thursday The combination of heat and smoke can be very dangerous.

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$1. 4M awarded by Office of Arts & Culture’s Small Grant Program partners for 2025-26 of Header image (L-R): Lo Pony c/o the artist, ariella tai c/o Friends of IFCC, and Eric Griswold c/o Lyndsay Hogland via RACC 322 Portland-based artists, arts and culture organizations, and creative businesses are slated to receive funding through the City’s grantmaking partners.

The Office of Arts & Culture is pleased to announce that $1,400,000 will be awarded to 322 arts organizations and individual artists through its Small Grants Program partners in 2025-26. That funding will be granted through programs operated by Arts & Culture's contracting partners at Friends of IFCC, MusicOregon, and the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC).

"The Small Grants Program is our opportunity to invest in Portland's arts and culture-makers on an individual-level, as well as provide funding support to creative organizations and businesses," says Arts & Culture Director Chariti Montez. "We're proud to help provide funding for our partners' programs—they're vital to sustaining Portland's thriving arts ecosystem."

In this article, we take a closer look at all three of Arts & Culture's Small Grants Program grantmaking partners, the programs they manage and distribute Small Grants investments through, the amount of funding provided for each by the City, and the number of artists funded by each for 2025-26.

of 2025-26 IFCC Art Grant & Residency Program awardee LaRhonda Steele, center, performing at the swearing in of Mayor Keith Wilson and City Council in Dec. 2024. 2025-26 IFCC Art Grant & Residency Program awardee LaRhonda Steele, center, performing at the swearing in of Mayor Keith Wilson and City Council in Dec.

2024. Program name: IFCC Artist Grant & Residency Program Funding provided by Arts & Culture: $100,000 Number of artists receiving City funds 21 Total funding awarded : $400,000 Total number of artists funded: 30 Friends of IFCC is a Portland-based nonprofit that stewards the legacy of North Portland's Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center (IFCC).

As part of a larger, community-driven effort to revitalize the community center, the organization manages its Artist Grant & Residency Program, which provides funding, studio space, and professional development opportunities to local artists. In turn, those artists—representing a vast array of creative disciplines, from music and dance to theater, writing, and spoken word—activate and enliven the community center all year.

Grants of up to $10,000 are awarded through this program. For 2025-26, Friends of IFCC awarded grant and residency opportunities to 30 applicants—out of 188 submissions. Of those 30 grantees, 21 received funds from the City of Portland.

This year's grantees include: Brandt Maina | RIOA wa ROE* Kiki Ren with Charles Roy & Latroy Robinson Latoya Lovely with Elias Escafi, Kyra Watkins, Roxanne Seaton & Xavier Taylor * Denotes grantees who received funding from the City of Portland of 2025-26 Echo Fund recipient, Camp Crush. Photo courtesy of the artist. 2025-26 Echo Fund recipient, Camp Crush.

Photo courtesy of the artist. Number of artists funded: 27 Funding provided by Arts & Culture: $100,000 Total funding awarded: $117,776 MusicOregon is a nonprofit serving independent, commercial, and contemporary musical artists in Portland and across the state through direct financial support, networking, and professional development opportunities.

Through their annual Echo Fund program, MusicOregon empowers musical excellence by providing support for non-performance projects. That might look like covering costs associated with renting a recording studio, music production (tracking, engineering, etc.), the creation of promotional or marketing materials, or the printing and/or distribution of CDs or vinyl. Grants awarded through this program range from $1,000-$5,000.

For 2025-26, MusicOregon awarded Echo Fund grants to 27 local musicians and music groups —out of 240 applications.

Grantees include: Wolfgang Black: Surgery Season Andrez Borja: Gata Galáctica Supremia Bostick: Supremia Ilima Considine: The Sexbots Zachery Gerzon: Twin Bridges Andrew Krissberg: Family Worship Center Alicia Jo Rabins: Girls in Trouble Megan Tucker: Megan Cronin Tucker Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) of Documentation of Arts3C Grant funded Once in A Lifetime: Dead People’s Sheets (Risk/Reward Festival, 2024).

Photo by Eric Griswold, courtesy of Grantee Lyndsay Hogland. Documentation of Arts3C Grant funded Once in A Lifetime: Dead People’s Sheets (Risk/Reward Festival, 2024). Photo by Eric Griswold, courtesy of Grantee Lyndsay Hogland.

Program name: Portland Arts Project Grants Number of artists funded: 274 Funding provided by Arts & Culture: $1,200,000 Total funding awarded: $1,220,000 RACC strengthens Portland's creative economy through funding, professional development, and advancing a nationally recognized public art program.

The organization's Portland Arts Project Grants program, in particular, supports innovative art projects across the city, inviting Portland-based artists and organizations seeking to advance their work through programming, presentations, events, or artistic development that engages and benefits the public. Grants awarded through the Portland Arts Project Grants program range from $1,000-$5,000.

RACC's Portland Arts Project Grants are the only Small Grants Program that leverages Arts Access Fund dollars because portion of these grants are awarded to organizations—and funds raised through the Arts Tax cannot be awarded to individuals, per City Code. For 2025-26, $350,000 out of $1,200,000 provided by the City was sourced from the Arts Access Fund and distributed specifically to groups and organizations.

All remaining funds disbursed as part of this program were sourced via the City of Portland's General Fund. For 2025-26, RACC awarded grants to 274 local artists, arts and culture organizations, and creative businesses—out of 625 applications. This year's funding will support 179 individual artists and 95 arts and culture organizations, with 107 recipients indicating that this is their first time receiving a grant from RACC.

A full list of grantees can be found on RACC's website . Mark your calendars: 2026-27 Small Grants Program Header image (L-R): Echo Fund recipients in Lo Pony c/o the artist, ariella tai c/o Friends of IFCC, and Eric Griswold c/o Lyndsay Hogland via RACC Arts & Culture YouTube playlist See something we could improve on this page? Give website feedback .