To Qualify

To qualify for submission, the applicant organization must:

  • Be based in, or have a permanent office, in the city of Dallas

    • MFA is not able to award grants to individual artists nor to “fiscal sponsors”

  • Have 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, and be specifically classified as a Public Charity in the Internal Revenue Code

  • Supported by the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture:

    • Approved for OAC funding in the City's current fiscal year up to the MFA filing deadline (Oct. 1, 2024 - March 2025) - or

    • Successfully executed an OAC-funded program in the City's last fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2023 - Sept. 30, 2024) including meeting OAC reporting requirements

  • Have an annual operating budget of less than $1 million

  • Be sustainable and demonstrate effectiveness and credibility

    • Organization should have a three-year history of providing relevant work and services (this does not mean the group has to have been a 501(c)(3) or OAC supported for three years)

The limit for the individual grant awards for 2025 has yet to be determined but in 2024, it was $12,000. The total amount of the grants will become public when the individual grants are announced. In 2024, the Fund distributed $450,000.

  • A multi-year request is acceptable, but the amount to be awarded in 2025 may not exceed the yearly limit

  • Each group may submit only one request per annual award cycle

  • Previous MFA grant recipients are not eligible to file a new application if outcome reporting on the previous grant was not completed in a timely manner