Before you begin the application, review the Frequently Asked Questions and Guidelines. 

Note: City agencies, employees, or volunteers (defined as any agency under the direct control of an elected official, or which reports directly to the City Manager), MAY NOT apply for an Arts Grant; they may only play a supportive role in a program proposed by an organization or group.  

The Office of the Arts will conduct a series of grant webinars to assist interested applicants navigate the Foundant online grant management program and to prepare their grant applications. 

All new applicants - arts organizations and artist(s) - along with applicants who have not applied using the Foundant online grant program ARE REQUIRED to attend one of the grant webinars. If they did not attend, they are considered as ineligible. If applicants are not able to attend a webinar, they MUST set up an appointment to receive a one-on-one training. Appointments can be made by emailing arts@alexandriava.gov. Due to changes in the granting process, other applicants were urged to attend these free workshops and webinars.  

Grant webinars are held on the following dates/times:  

• Thursday, February 5, 2026 at 7 p.m.          
• Tuesday, February 10, 2026 at 5 p.m.    
• Thursday, February 12, 2026 at 10 a.m.    
• Thursday, February 19, 2026 at 1 p.m.  
• Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at 4 p.m.    

Webinars are held virtually on Microsoft Teams. To request a webinar link, email arts@alexandriava.gov. With the request, state the date and time of the webinar you wish to attend along with the name and email address for the person who will be attending.  

If you have any further questions about the Arts Program Grant or any other programs and services of the Office of the Arts, email: arts@alexandriava.gov. 

Monday, January 26: Online Grant Opens

Friday, March 27 at 5 p.m.: Submission Deadline

Monday, March 30 through Thursday, April 2: Staff Review

Friday, April 3 through Monday, May 4: Grant Task Force Meeting Review of Fiscal Year 2027 Annual Arts Program Grants

Week of May 11: Grant Task Force meeting held for Fiscal Year 2027 Annual Arts Program Grants

Tuesday, May 19: Arts Commissioners review of staff recommendations Fiscal Year 2027 Annual Arts Program

The online grants portal will be live on Monday, January 26, 2026. Online applications will be due by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 27, 2026. MAILED OR HAND-DELIVERED APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to this policy. 

• Applications are accepted from 501(c) 3 nonprofit arts organizations.
• Grants made through this category are up to $12,500 and shall not exceed 50% of total program budget; a cash match 1:1 is required.
• Organizations may apply for only one arts program grant per grant cycle. 
  Program grants support an ongoing or short-term arts program performed or presented in the City of Alexandria to substantially engage or benefit the residents of the City of Alexandria.

NOTE: To save time and minimize errors, applicants are urged to review the preview application and budget forms before completing the online submission form. Applicants should consider using a WORD document to compose their responses to grant questions and when ready, cut and paste the drafted responses into the online application form. 

To assist with writing your grant please review the Fiscal Year 2027 Annual Arts Program Grant - Application Tool. 
To apply, click here: online application. 

NOTE: To save time and minimize errors, applicants are urged to review the preview application and budget forms before completing the online submission form. Applicants should consider using a Word document to compose their responses to grant questions and when ready, cut and paste the drafted responses into the online application form.   

1. Applicants must secure a cash match at a dollar-to-dollar (1:1) ratio
   1. Example: A 501(c) 3 nonprofit arts organization is awarded $5,000 from the City of Alexandria for a program that is estimated to cost $12,000. The program now has $10,000 in funding—$5,000 from the city and $5,000 that must be raised by the organization as a "match."
2. Acceptable "match" funds may include but are not limited to:
   1. Donations from individuals
   2. Ticket sales
   3. General operating budget
   4. Foundation support
3. The arts organization must indicate on the final report how it raised the "match" of $5,000 and the sources of the funds.
   1. Example: "$2,000 from ticket sales and $3,000 from donations from individuals."
4. No in-kind donations of volunteer time, goods, or services can be applied towards the match. The cash match must be met prior to submitting a Final Report, but no later than June 15, 2027. 

   1. Other funding from the City of Alexandria such as, but not limited to, the Alexandria City Public Schools, Department of Community and Human Services and other City Departments, cannot be used for the cash match.  

• THE GRANT CONTRACT: The approved application form represents an agreement between the City of Alexandria and the applicant. The applicant will comply with all conditions set forth in the application form and any other documents furnished to the applicant related to the grant. Every recipient of a grant is required to respond in a timely manner to all requests for information required by the Office. 

• ACKNOWLEDGMENT: All grant recipients are required to credit the City of Alexandria in all appropriate printed public relations materials relating to activities supported by the Arts Program Grant. 

• PARTICIPATION IN LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND NATIONAL ARTS STUDIES: During the grant period, the Office of the Arts may request grantees to participate in local, regional, or national arts studies. The studies may be related to, but are not limited to audience spending, organization management, or facility usage. Grantees are required to assist the Office of the Arts by completing these studies. 

• FINAL REPORTS: At the completion of the project a Final Report is required. Grant recipients must submit a final report 30 days after the completion of the project/activities, but no later than June 15 of each year.   

• ARTS AND CULTURE PLAN: All grantees must submit program performance information as part of their request for funding in Fiscal Year 2027, and an articulation of how they advance the goals of the Arts and Culture Plan for the City of Alexandria. 

• The grant application is the document upon which recommendations and decisions to award financial support will be made. The application consists of:
  • a completed application form, with appropriate attachments, signed by a representative of the organization/individual authorized to act on behalf of the applicant.
  • work samples and documentation of previous arts activities.

To provide clarity and assist grant applicants with completing the application, you are encouraged to review the Definitions/Terms for Grant Program document. 

Office of the Arts staff reviews each application for completeness and eligibility. The Office of the Arts staff then prepares all eligible applications for review by the Grant Taskforce.

A Grants Taskforce—comprised of Arts Commissioners, artists, community members, and patrons—review all relevant applications submitted for review by the Office of the Arts and completes a standardized scoring sheet for each application. The Grants Taskforce will meet to discuss and finalize their recommendation for funding consideration. This meeting will be held virtually and is open to the public. Applicants are invited but are not required to attend the Grants Taskforce meeting. The Office of the Arts staff facilitates the Grants Taskforce meeting.  

Check back soon for a PDF of the grant application. 
Check back soon for the online application. 

NOTE: To save time and minimize errors, applicants are urged to review the preview application and budget forms before completing the online submission form. Applicants should consider using a Word document to compose their responses to grant questions and when ready, cut and paste the drafted responses into the online application form.   

The Grants Taskforce does not provide a funding allocation, but rather scores each application utilizing the criteria rubrics.  Scores received by Grants Taskforce are considered final. Funds are awarded to applicants are based on the percentage of scores as the formula. Applications scoring  below 75% will not be recommended for funding.

Applicants are required to notify the Office of the Arts of any additional substantial changes in its program(s) and other activities in writing prior to such a change that represents a reduction or reductions in the organization's program(s), project(s), and other activities. The requested changes must be approved in advance by the Office of the Arts.

The Alexandria Office of the Arts and the Alexandria Commission for the Arts join everyone in Alexandria in congratulating the Fiscal Year 2026 Annual Arts Program grantees. Throughout the year, Alexandrians are enriched by the works of these groups and many other arts groups in the city. 

Congratulations to the Fiscal Year 2026 Annual Arts Program Grantees:

Alexandria Choral Society*

Alexandria Citizens Band*

Alexandria Film Festival*

Alexandria Harmonizers*                            

Alexandria Singers* 

Alexandria Symphony Orchestra*

American Showcase Theatre/MetroStage*

Armed Services Arts Partnership*

Chamber Dance Project*

Eclipse Chamber Orchestra*

Encore Creativity Corporation*

Encore Stage and Studio*

Ethiopian Community Support and Advocacy Center

Helping Hearts Through the Arts*

Momentum Collective, Inc.*

Monumental Theatre Company*

Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association*

Quintango*

Sound Impact*

Symphony Orchestra of Northern Virginia*

The Art League*

The Campagna Center

The Thirteen Choir*

UpCycle Creative Reuse Center*

Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic Orchestra *

Young Playwrights Theater*

*Grantees who received a portion of the Virginia Commission for the Arts’ Creative Community Partnership Grant.

The Alexandria Commission for the Arts and the Office of the Arts joins everyone in Alexandria in congratulating the Fiscal Year 2025 Annual Arts Program grantees. Throughout the year, Alexandrians are enriched by the works of these groups and many other arts groups in the city. 

Congratulations to the Fiscal Year 2025 Annual Arts Program Grantees:

Alexandria Choral Society*

Alexandria Citizens Band*

Alexandria Film Festival*

Alexandria Harmonizers*

Alexandria Singers*

Alexandria Symphony Orchestra*

American Showcase Theatre, Co. Inc. DBA MetroStage* 

Armed Services Arts Partnership

Arts Resource Foundation*

Eclipse Chamber Orchestra*

Encore Creativity for Older Adults*

Encore Stage and Studio*

Heard*

Helping Hearts Through the Arts*

Momentum Collective, Inc.*

Monumental Theatre Company*

Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association*

Quintango*

Sound Impact*

Symphony Orchestra of Northern Virginia*

The Art League*

The Campagna Center*

The Thirteen Choir*

UpCycle Creative Reuse Center*

Washington Metropolitan Gamer Symphony Orchestra*

Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic Orchestra*

Young Playwrights Theater*

*Grantees who received a portion of the Virginia Commission for the Arts’ Creative Community Partnership Grant.