The Richardson City Council budgeted $220,000 for grants to artist organizations at its Sept. 20 meeting.
The allotment of funds came after the Richardson Cultural Arts Commission recommended that 21 arts organizations receive $220,000 in grants from the city during the 2021-22 fiscal year.
The commission, which includes seven members, serves as the advisory board to the city council and city management for matters relating to the arts, according to a Sept. 20 city council work session handout. One of its tasks is to make recommendations to the city council regarding expenditures of city funds for the purpose of promoting and sustaining the arts in Richardson, the handout said.
Arts grants are funded through taxes levied on the city’s hotel properties, which have experienced high revenue declines during the pandemic, according to the session handout.
In the few years prior to the pandemic, the city awarded about $360,000 annually, according to a graph in the session handout. Last year, the city awarded $180,000 in grants.
For the upcoming fiscal year, 25 arts organizations applied for $469,079 in total grants, the handout stated. The commission recommended that 21 of those groups be given grants ranging from $1,000 to $55,000.
Although eligible arts organizations are not required to be located in Richardson, they must have a presence in the city, assistant city manager Shanna Sims-Bradish said at the city council meeting.
The cultural arts commission also determines whether each organization is fiscally sound and whether it has demonstrated agility during the pandemic, Sims-Bradish said at the meeting.
“Undoubtedly, the pandemic has been hard on all arts organizations, but many have found ways to keep going by modifying their season, modifying their offerings and working through financial challenges that enabled them to be in a good position,” Sims-Bradish told city council.
Grant applications from arts organizations were accepted until July 31, and the organizations presented their applications to the cultural arts commission on Aug. 28, according to the session handout. The commission then deliberated on the recommended funds allocation before giving the recommendation at the Sept. 20 meeting.
The city council will vote on the recommendations at the Sept. 27 meeting. If approved, the grants will be doled out after the fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
Here are the commission’s grant recommendations, according to the session handout.
Chamber Music International: $15,000
Chamberlain Ballet: $4,000
Contemporary Chorale: $3,000
Core Theatre: $6,500
Dallas Chinese Community Center: $9,000
DTX Dandiya: $1,000
Friends of the Richardson Public Library: $4,000
Lone Star Wind Orchestra: $4,000
Pegasus Theatre Incorporated: $6,500
Plano Symphony Orchestra: $5,000
Raas All-Stars: $5,000
Repertory Company Theatre Inc.: $39,000
Richardson Civic Arts Society: $5,800
Richardson Community Band: $7,000
Richardson Community Chorale: $3,500
Richardson Reads One Book: $3,700
Richardson Symphony Inc.: $55,000
Richardson Theatre Centre Inc.: $28,000
Rich-Tone Chorus: $4,000
Texas Winds Musical Outreach Inc.: $7,000
Tuzer Ballet: $4,000
