Metro Atlanta has a large, diverse, and deeply interconnected nonprofit arts community. It is also an ecosystem in which most organizations operate with limited resources.

Half of Metro Atlanta arts nonprofits operate on annual budgets under $150,000. Many operate with small staffs, limited reserves, and inconsistent access to institutional philanthropy while providing performances, exhibitions, festivals, classes, public art, and other cultural experiences throughout the region.

Public investment also falls well below national levels. The national average for public arts funding is approximately $5.44 per capita, compared with approximately $1.96 per capita in Metro Atlanta from federal, state, and local sources. That $3.48 per-person difference represents roughly $18 million in unmet public arts investment across Metro Atlanta each year.

More than $1 million is an important milestone, but it is a starting point rather than an endpoint. This pilot redistribution is one way to put more resources directly into the hands of organizations creating and sharing art across our region while learning from the process and continuing to make the case for the level of investment our arts ecosystem needs.

The fund is also part of a larger effort. AC|A is building the collective knowledge, relationships, and voice needed to advocate for greater investment in the arts over the long term through public funding advocacy, sector research and benchmarking, engagement with philanthropy, and coalition-building.

The structure of the redistribution reflects the collaborative model at the heart of Arts Capital | Atlanta.

Arts nonprofits have led the process from the beginning. Participating organizations have determined the eligibility framework, shaped the application requirements, considered how funding should be distributed across organizations of dramatically different sizes, and retained decision-making authority over eligibility and redistribution.

Throughout the process, particular attention has been paid to the inequities that shape access to funding across the arts ecosystem. The distribution model is designed to recognize differences in organizational size and access to resources, while the application process is intended to be straightforward and accessible for organizations regardless of staff size or capacity.

Funders have participated as partners, providing resources, perspective, and feedback, while arts organizations have remained responsible for determining how pooled resources reach the ecosystem.

Rather than asking organizations to compete against one another for a limited number of awards, the redistribution is designed so that qualifying organizations can participate together. AC|A will not rank applicants based on artistic quality or ask a committee to determine which organizations are most deserving.

The goal is to invest broadly in the nonprofit arts ecosystem, not to identify a handful of winners.

Applications will be reviewed against the established eligibility criteria. Once the final eligible applicant pool is known, AC|A will calculate individual awards and work with our partners to distribute unrestricted funding by the end of 2026.

This pilot redistribution is about more than moving dollars. It is an opportunity to test and learn from a new model for how our arts community can work together, with nonprofit arts organizations helping define what the sector needs, advocate for greater investment, and shape the systems that affect their work.

What we learn from this first round will help inform how the redistribution process evolves over time.

We invite arts organizations, funding partners, and others who care about the future of the arts in Metro Atlanta to be part of it. Apply for funding, invest in the effort, share your perspective, and join us in building a stronger voice for the arts across our region.

[VIEW ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION] [JOIN THE AC|A NETWORK] [SUPPORT THE REDISTRIBUTION FUND]