City of Austin Launches $23 Million in Grants for the Local Creative Community

Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment (ACME) has launched $23 million in grants, supported by the City’s Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) revenue, continuing a multi‑year commitment to sustain a thriving and equitable creative ecosystem. This announcement follows $24 million in grants awarded in March, $3.8 million to Year Two FY ’25 Thrive recipients, $500K awarded in June, and precedes a final $500K launch in September, closing the calendar year with an historic $51 million dollars invested.

“Today’s launch reflects how deeply the City values both the creative community and the voices that continue to help shape these programs,” said Angela Means, ACME Director. “These HOT-funded grants are not just awards, they are a reinvestment of visitor dollars back into the artists, musicians, cultural organizations and heritage stewards who make Austin a sought-out destination.” 

The Creative Reset, a multi-phase community engagement initiative launched in 2025, was an opportunity for City staff to gather feedback from community and translate the programs’ strengths and opportunities into themes that would directly shape future grant cycles.

“Our team listened closely to community members’ feedback and the enhancements we have rolled out this year are a direct response to what we heard,” said Means. “By simplifying access, strengthening support and expanding language and community‑based assistance, we are ensuring that these funds reach more people, in more places, and with greater impact than ever before.”

This year’s previous $24 million award cycle saw record efforts that strengthened applicant success. ACME staff delivered nearly 500 hours of direct assistance, including multilingual workshops, office hours, 1:1 meetings and community events reaching more than 2,500 individuals; more than 17,000 direct messages helped applicants navigate eligibility and technical questions. Historically underrepresented groups saw record increase and support. Black artists, who represented 12.5% of the applicant pool, and Asian artists, who represented 6.2%, received grants at higher rates than their representation within the applicant pool. LGBTQIA creatives also experienced consistently strong acceptance rates, highlighting the impact of a continuous inclusive evaluation process and greater access to technical assistance. 

A FY26 Awardee Highlights and Demographic Snapshot is available on ACME's Funding Programs webpage.

ACME has also added a Spanish language Community Navigator, expanded technical assistance and partnered with more than 10 culturally competent community ambassadors to help share the opportunity more widely. These enhancements build on applicants’ direct input and reflect the ongoing commitment to transparency, predictable timelines and award structures and access across all programs. Artists and applicants can also participate in the process by serving as paid community reviewers.

ACME’s current $23 million funding launch is made up of four distinct grant programs: the Austin Live Music Fund, Elevate, Heritage Preservation Grant, and Thrive. These programs support a wide range of creative and cultural work, offering grants from $5,000 to $250,000 for individual artists, musicians, nonprofit arts organizations, creative businesses, cultural producers and heritage practitioners. Funding may be used for creative production, public programming, operational and administrative needs, cultural events, media and digital arts projects, dance and movement‑based work, literary arts, and more, ensuring that both emerging and established creatives across disciplines can participate. All funded projects through this launch will begin contracting in January 2027, with awards issued as either one‑ or two‑year agreements, depending on the specific program. These multi‑year options ensure organizations and individual creatives have the stability and runway needed to plan, produce and sustain public‑facing cultural work throughout the contract period.

Applications open Tuesday, July 7 at 10 a.m. and close Tuesday, August 18 at 6:59 p.m. and can be found by visiting austintexas.gov/acme.

Applicants can receive additional application support by:

• Attending a workshop. Options include open question and answer opportunities with City staff, as well as application trainings, and will be available online and in-person.
• Attending virtual open office hours Tuesdays from 10 a.m. - noon through August 18.
• Booking a 1:1 meeting with ACME staff.
• Watching online informational in English or Spanish.

About Austin Arts, Culture, Music, and Entertainment 
Austin Arts, Culture, Music, and Entertainment (ACME) is committed to fostering a vibrant, creative ecosystem that celebrates and supports Austin's artists, musicians, entertainment venues, and cultural institutions. ACME is a centralized hub offering resources, funding opportunities, and strategic programs that promote local talent and drive economic growth.