Alabama arts council awards $3.9 million to 201 organizations and schools for the year starting Oct. 1
The Alabama State Council on the Arts announced 247 grants on Sept. 16, paid for by the Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts. Applications for its arts facilities grants, of up to $100,000, open Oct. 1.
Montgomery. The Alabama State Council on the Arts is awarding $3,909,400 in grants to 201 organizations and educational institutions for arts programs in the state's 2027 fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2027. The council announced the awards on Sept. 16.
The money comes from the Alabama Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. The council's 15-member board approved the round at a quarterly meeting in Florence and Sheffield. The applications, due June 2, were reviewed by council staff, a panel of peers from the arts, the council's Grants Review Committee and the full board.
Where the money goes
The council's lists name 247 grants, as some recipients hold more than one. Forty-two, worth $2,316,500, are for operating support and statewide work. The largest, $125,000, goes to Amp Up Arts, a Montgomery nonprofit that promotes arts education from prekindergarten through 12th grade, for statewide coordination, and four local arts groups receive $50,000 to $70,000 each as its regional collaborative sites. The Birmingham Museum of Art receives $120,000 in operating support, Red Mountain Theatre in Birmingham $110,000 and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts $95,000. The Alabama Dance Council and the Alabama Writers' Forum receive $110,000 each as statewide partners.
The other 205 grants, worth $1,592,900, range from $1,100 to $13,000. They pay for theater seasons, festivals, concert series, exhibitions, after-school classes and school residencies, and 26 are for salary support. School systems and universities are among the recipients. By the Herald's count, the recipients are based in 38 counties, and 64 of the grants go to Jefferson County, home of Birmingham.
Who may apply
Operating support is open only to arts-focused 501(c)(3) nonprofits based in Alabama that have completed a council grant since 2020 and average at least $400,000 a year in expenses over three years, as reported on line 18 of the IRS Form 990, the council's guidelines say. Most grants must be matched dollar for dollar by the grantee's own spending, in cash or in goods and services given in kind. A nonprofit that seeks or receives a line-item appropriation from the Legislature for its arts programs or operating costs may not apply for any council grant.
The next round is for Creative Places Arts Facilities grants, with applications open from Oct. 1 to Dec. 1. They pay up to $40,000 for equipment such as sound and lighting, up to $75,000 for design and up to $100,000 for construction or major repairs, for work between April 1, 2027, and April 1, 2028. Alabama-chartered 501(c)(3) nonprofits and municipalities with arts facilities may apply, and the council will favor rural communities and organizations that did not receive a facilities grant for fiscal 2026.
About this story
501c3.help wrote this story from the sources listed with it, not from material an organization sent. Our editors approved it on Sept. 29, 2026. Stories in The Nonprofit Herald are free, and nothing is asked in return. Editorial rules.
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