Elevate

Elevate Guidelines

Grants awarded in the following categories:

Eligibility

Eligible Applicants

• 501(c)(3) Arts Nonprofit Organizations
• State of Texas Arts Nonprofit, with annual expenses of $500,000 or less  
• Arts Group, with annual expenses of $500,000 or less
• Individual Artists*, with annual expenses of $500,000 or less 
  *Applicants may apply directly or with a Fiscal Sponsor 

Eligibility Requirements - All Applicants

• Budget Limits:
  • 501(c)(3) Arts Nonprofits: No budget restrictions
  • Arts Groups and Individual Artists: $500,000 max annual operating budget
• Creative mission or artistic goals are the production of arts and culture activities, which includes arts service providers that offer professional support to creatives
• Have evidence of at least two years of creative production history in Austin
• Produce events and/or activities that are open and advertised to Austin residents, visitors, and tourists
• Headquartered in Austin MSA, with over half of creative production is within the Austin City Council Districts or Extraterritorial Jurisdiction  

Ineligible Applicants

• Applicants whose primary mission or vision is NOT rooted in producing arts and culture activities
• Other 501 (c) Nonprofit organizations
• Arts Group or Individual Artist applicants with annual operating budgets above $500,000.
• Applicants headquartered outside of Austin MSA
• Applicants with less than two years of production history in Austin (prior to application deadline)
• Applicants producing work outside of the Austin Council Districts or Extra Territorial Jurisdiction
• Full-time City of Austin Employees
• Full and part-time Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment Employees

Expenses

Eligible Expenses

Includes, but not limited to, the following categories related to the grant-funded activities:

• Artist and administrator compensation
• Marketing & outreach
• Insurance
• Supplies
• Permits
• Venue or equipment rentals
• Production, performance and service fees
• Capital expenditures over $2,000 must seek prior written approval from AACME Staff 

Ineligible Expenses

• Awardees are prohibited from “double dipping” (see definition in Appendix A of Guidelines) with their grant funds to cover the same expenses or activities. Each Grant Agreement will dictate what expenses are allowed during the grant agreement term. For example, “rent” can only be paid by one grant award
• Awardee travel costs, including gas, flights, hotels, tolls, parking, and ferries, however limited travel costs for participating artists brought to Austin by the
• Curriculum development or programming, scholarly or academic research, and any related activities
• Food & hospitality
• Fundraisers, capital campaigns, and benefits, including entertainment and receptions
• Start-up costs of a new organization, for example, expenses associated with filing for an LLC, or nonprofit status
• Consultants who are also employees of the applicant
• Payments to students or interns whose employment is tied to class credit
• Purchase of gifts, awards, cash prizes, scholarships, contributions, donations, or re-granting of funds
• Existing debts, fines, contingencies, penalties, interest, litigation costs or taxes, excluding sales tax and payroll taxes
• Any programming that is advertised as a program of an educational institution such as Austin Independent School District or a university
• Religious and/or sectarian programming or any programming and/or services that are solely for the promotion of or consumption by a specific religious order and/or a particular sect
• Fiscal sponsor fee, if applicable (cannot exceed 10% of award)

Evaluation Review and Scoring

Evaluation Review

Panels will be organized based on applicant type, artistic discipline and budget size. Narrative questions are evaluated by independent reviewers that represent a broad range of artistic and cultural viewpoints, professions, and backgrounds. Reviewers score applications within their area of professional and artistic expertise. All reviewers are trained in the application review process and evaluate applications based on defined grant criteria. Panels are facilitated by staff, and all final scoring decisions are carefully reviewed ahead of final award decisions by ACME staff.  See Appendix B to learn about reviewer nomination, selection, and process. 
 

Apply to be a Reviewer

Scoring

Review the Elevate Detailed Scoring Rubric: English, Spanish

Category	Criteria	Available Points
Creative Work	Clarity and Alignment of Artistic Vision    Community Impact and Cultural Relevance   Artistic Authenticity and Meaningful Cultural Expression	Up to 50
Capacity	Leadership or team demonstrates understanding of and connection to the communities served Budget and staffing are suited to the project’s scope and goals	Up to 30
Public Connection	Marketing Plan to reach residents, visitors and tourists   Programs are welcoming and accessible to a wide public	Up to 20
Tie Breakers	Applicants who have the highest score in for the question “What is your proposed public event and how does it reflect the people, places, or cultures of Austin?”   Applicants who have applied in Elevate and has never been awarded   Applicants who have been producing work in Austin the longest   Applicants whose artistic discipline is least represented in the pool of applicants	N/A

Awardee Commitments 

If selected for an Elevate Award, awardees will be expected to complete the following per terms of their agreement:

• Pre-Agreement Report – Must be completed before the Grant Agreement and first payment are processed:
  • Completion of Agreement Kick-Off Meeting and Quiz
  • Provide proposed activity and budget
• Grant Agreement Requirements
  • Completion of a public activity
  • Post public activity to VisitAustin
  • Marketing compliance (use of required logo and publicity statement)
• Final Report – Due within 30 days of all funded activities:
  • Proof of funds spent (e.g., receipts, financial statements)
  • Audience and participant data
  • Documentation that funded activities occurred
  • Proof of marketing compliance (use of required logo and publicity statement)
  • Completion of two (2) Miles Partnership Tourism Marketing Trainings

Elevate Application Preview

Application Questions

Review the Elevate Detailed Scoring Rubric: English, Spanish

Each answer allows for a maximum of 3,000 characters:

Creative Work (50 pts)

1. What is your mission or artistic vision, and what do you do to support it? Answer must include responses to the three statements below:

• State your mission and describe the creative work that support it.
• Identify who your work impacts and how they take part in it.
• Describe the artistic values, traditions, or focus that guide your mission.
   

2. What is your proposed public event and how does it reflect the people, places, or cultures of Austin?  Answer must include responses to the two statements below:

• Describe your proposed event (When, Where, What, How)
• Describe how it reflects Austin’s people, places, and/or cultures
• Explain how your event shows an authentic perspective and meaningful cultural expression. 

Capacity (30 pts)

3. Describe your experience producing creative public events in Austin: Answer must include responses to the three statements below:

• Introduce your key team members, their skills and their roles.
• Describe your team’s connection to the community served.
• Highlight one or two similar projects you have completed successfully in Austin. 

4. Budget Table and Narrative: Complete the budget table with the proposed budget needed to produce your proposed activities. Use the budget template to make a draft to copy/paste into the table in the application. Answer must address:

• Payment to artists and/or administrators
• Clear explanation of all expenses to produce your activities
• Budget should be reflective of the proposed activities outlined in the application narrative
   

Expense Categories	Total Proposed Budget	Description of Proposed Budget Expenses (number of people/items paid for and payment rate)
Payments to Artists
Payments to Admin Support
Marketing
Venue/ Office rental
Production Fees
Supplies/materials
Accessibility Services
Equipment Rental
Fiscal sponsor Fees
Capital Expenses
TOTAL

What is your proposed project budget? Answer must include: 

• Explain how your budget supports your project.  
• Describe other resources that will help you complete your event, such as in-kind support or other funding sources.  

Public Connection (20 pts)
 

5. How will you market your proposed event? Your marketing plan must include:    

• How you reach residents, visitors and tourists.  
• How you are promoting Austin as a cultural and creative destination.  
• How people will feel connected and encouraged to join your event.  

Elevate History 

The Elevate grant was originally developed with community support during the Cultural Funding Review from 2019-2022. Read the Cultural Funding Report (English, Spanish). The program was originally launched in 2023 under the purview of the Economic Development Department. Across two funding cycles, 429 awards were made spanning multiple disciplines. Through the Elevate program, $15.5 million in funding commitments supported individual artists, creative businesses and arts groups, and arts and culture nonprofits.

Past Awardees

• 2026 - See the full list of FY26 Elevate grant recipients
• 2025 - No awards made
• 2024 - See the Nonprofit grant recipient list and the Individual and Creative Business grant recipient list.
• 2023 - See the Elevate Grant Awardee list (PDF, 182 KB)