Richmond Thrives Grant Program

Arts & Culture Fund 

CultureWorks has been named as the intermediary grant-maker for the City of Richmond’s Arts & Culture priority area.

The application portal for the Richmond Thrives Grants Program: Arts and Culture Fund is LIVE! For more information, eligibility requirements, guidelines,  and FAQs, scroll down.

Apply

Got Questions?

Email your inquiries about the application for this grant to info@richmondcultureworks.org.

Prefer to ask face to face? Jeff Ashworth, CultureWorks’ Development and Grants Program Specialist, will be available via Microsoft Teams to field questions throughout the application process. Book time to meet virtually with Jeff by clicking here.

Can’t find a time that works for you or prefer to meet in person? Email info@richmondcultureworks.org with the subject line: “Meeting Request.” 

View the Virtual Information Session Recording

Recording
 


Grant Guidelines & Application Information

Guidelines for the 2027 Richmond Thrives Grants Program: Arts and Culture Fund are available to download by clicking the button below.

A PDF of the entire application is also available below. NOTE: This document is a preview of the full application for planning purposes only and cannot be used to apply for the grant. Your application must be completed using the online application portal, which we anticipate opening on August 17. While we do not anticipate changes to the application at this stage, some of the questions may have slightly different wording in the online form, and are therefore subject to change.

You can also learn more about the Richmond Thrives Grants Program and the City of Richmond’s other priority areas by clicking here.

2027 Grant Guidelines
2027 Application Preview


Program at a Glance

Grant type
Unrestricted operating support 

Grant period
January 1 – December 31, 2027 

Administrator
CultureWorks, on behalf of the City of Richmond 

Awards Levels
Up to $50,000 / up to $25,000 / up to $10,000* 

Award Cap
*No more than 25% of the applicant’s annual operating budget 

Application Window
Targeting August 17 – September 15, 2026, via online portal available at RichmondCultureWorks.org/grants (where you are now)

Awardees Alerted
Targeting the week of November 21, 2026; targeting fund disbursement by December 31, 2026 

Who Can Apply?

To be eligible, organizations must meet all of the following at the time of application: 

  • Legal status. Tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and in good standing with the IRS and the Virginia State Corporation Commission. 

  • Primary mission. Arts, culture, or humanities are the organization’s primary mission, or a clear focus of its mission or strategic plan. 

  • Operating history. Two completed fiscal years of arts and cultural programming prior to the application deadline, with a minimum of 2 years of tax-exempt non-profit status (evidenced by two filings of IRS form 990) for the past 2 years. 

  • Budget minimum. Total budget operating expense of at least $25,000 for the current fiscal year. 

  • Location and benefit to residents. The organization is located in the greater Richmond region* and its work directly benefits City of Richmond residents.  

  • Standing on prior grants. In good standing, and current on all reporting for prior City of Richmond and/or CultureWorks-administered grants, and proactive in communicating changes to funded work. 

  • Fiscal Sponsorship. A fiscal sponsor is an eligible organization that collaborates on an application with another organization (the "sponsored organization") and, if awarded, receives and administers grant funds for work carried out in whole or in part by the sponsored organization. To serve as a fiscal sponsor, an organization must independently meet all eligibility requirements set forth in the application guidelines, and must assume full legal, financial, and programmatic responsibility for the grant, including compliance, reporting, and performance. Though the sponsored organization is the primary applicant for the grant, the fiscal sponsor must submit a separate portion of the application unique to fiscal sponsors. The Grantmaker will contract solely with the fiscal sponsor, which remains accountable for all obligations regardless of any division of labor with the sponsored organization. 


Ineligible applicants: individual artists; for-profit entities; K-12 schools, colleges, and universities and their departments; units of government; religious congregations (auxiliary 501(c)(3) organizations may apply for secular arts programming); and organizations debarred or suspended from federal funding; organizations that have applied for funding in one of the other priority areas in the Richmond Thrives Grants Program for FY 27.