To advance artistic expression, civic participation, and equitable economic growth of our diverse community by supporting, promoting, and advocating for arts and culture in our region.
The Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona’s recent grantmaking is built around general operating and general assistance awards of $10,000, with a larger $20,000 general support grant to Limberlost Neighborhood Association. In the latest grants list, that same pattern appears across arts organizations, ensembles, theaters, and community groups that serve Tucson and nearby Southern Arizona communities. The foundation also uses ARPA-funded regranting, including grants for artists and nonprofit arts organizations, to support recovery and paid creative work in the region. Recent recipients include Live Theatre Workshop, The Drop Dance Studio, Tucson Womens Chorus, and MOCA Tucson, showing support for both performing arts and visual arts organizations. Other named grantees such as Arizona Theatre Company, Sculpture Tucson, and Tucson Youth Music Center point to a mix of established institutions and local arts-serving groups. The foundation’s stated summary centers artistic expression, civic participation, and equitable economic growth through arts and culture, and its grant records align with that regional purpose through support for organizations, artists, and community-facing arts programs.
A clear theme is unrestricted support for arts organizations. The foundation awarded $15,000 to Live Theatre Workshop and The Drop Dance Studio, then repeated $10,000 awards to groups such as Tucson Masterworks Chorale, ZUZI Inc, and Arts Express Inc. It also backed MOCA Tucson and Arizona Theatre Company at the $10,000 level, indicating steady support for operating needs. Individual artist support appears through the ARPA artist grant portfolio, which paid artists for creative services to community groups, schools, nonprofits, and civic partners across Southern Arizona. Community arts and education also show up in grants to Literacy Connects, Tucson Youth Music Center, and The Fndt for Creative Broad. Thematic work in public art and placemaking is reflected in the Call for Artists for the Brown Avenue Parking Structure Public Art Project and in support tied to creative work and cultural heritage.
Typical awards cluster tightly around $10,000: the p25, median, and p75 are all $10,000. The recent list is dominated by one-off operating and general assistance grants, with repeat funding patterns visible across 2023 and 2025 in ARPA organization support and in recurring program pages such as stART and operating support. The foundation funds organizations rather than individuals through its general grantmaking, while separate ARPA artist grants compensate individual artists for services. Unsolicited applications are accepted for stART and for the 2026 Operating Support Grant for Organizations.
$563K
$2.9M
$3.3M
$2.1M
Most grants fall between $10K and $10K, with a median of $10K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$10K
75th Percentile
$10K
Richard Mark Ysmael
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Grantmaking is entirely local: 100% of grants go to recipients in Arizona, and the listed recipient cities are concentrated in Tucson, with additional awards in Oro Valley, Bisbee, Tubac, and Scottsdale. Tucson appears most often, including grantees such as Live Theatre Workshop, MOCA Tucson, and Tucson Youth Music Center. Southern Arizona programs extend beyond the city to Pima County and multiple cities across the region. The ARPA organization rounds also cover 16 cities across Southern Arizona.
Its typical grant size is tightly centered at $10,000. The p25, median, and p75 are all $10,000, which indicates a very consistent award pattern in the recent grants list.
The foundation supports arts organizations, public art, individual artist support through ARPA regranting, arts education and learning, creative placemaking and cultural heritage, economic development through the arts, and public health partnerships such as SaludArte.
Its grantmaking is local and all listed recipients are in Arizona. Tucson is the main city in the recent grants list, but awards also reach Oro Valley, Bisbee, Tubac, and Scottsdale, and Southern Arizona programs extend across the region.
Yes. The stART Grant accepts unsolicited applications, and the 2026 Operating Support Grant for Organizations also accepts unsolicited applications. Other listed ARPA rounds do not accept unsolicited applications.
Yes, through its ARPA Artist Grant program. Those grants are designed for individual artists and culture bearers across Southern Arizona and pay recipients in exchange for creative services provided to community clients.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Current and upcoming funding from Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Applicants may include artists, groups, collectives, co-ops, community groups, fiscally sponsored organizations, and 501(c)(3) organizations within the service area.
Deadline: Application Status: Opening in the fall
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Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borderlands Theater Teatro | Tucson, AZ | $25,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| MOCA Tucson | Tucson, AZ | $25,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Southern Arizona Arts and Cul | Tucson, AZ | $25,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| The Mulivrs Is Illuminated | Tucson, AZ | $15,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| American Literary Translators | Tucson, AZ | $15,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Esperanza Dance Project | Tucson, AZ | $15,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Groundworks Tucson | Tucson, AZ | $15,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| The Scoundrel and Scamp Th | Tucson, AZ | $15,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| The Rogue Theatre | Tucson, AZ | $15,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Live Theatre Workshop | Tucson, AZ | $15,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Intl Sonoran Desert Alliance | Ajo, AZ | $15,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation | Tucson, AZ | $15,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| The Drop Dance Studio | Tucson, AZ | $15,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Splinter Art and Community | Tucson, AZ | $15,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Saguaro City Music Theatre | Tucson, AZ | $15,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Yuma Community Theatre | Yuma, AZ | $15,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Lead Guitar | Tucson, AZ | $15,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| ArtMobile-AZ Inc | Casa Grande, AZ | $15,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Tucson Museum of Art | Tucson, AZ | $15,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Tucson Girls Chorus | Tucson, AZ | $15,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Jazz in January Inc | Tucson, AZ | $15,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Tucson Symphony Society | Tucson, AZ | $15,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Community Performing Arts Ctr | Green Valley, AZ | $15,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| The Fndt for Creative Broad | Tucson, AZ | $14,994 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| BI-National Arts Institute | Bisbee, AZ | $10,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| La Linea Art Studio | Nogales, AZ | $10,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Community Food Bank Inc | Tucson, AZ | $10,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Los Descendientes Del Pres | Tucson, AZ | $10,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Funhouse Movement Theater | Tucson, AZ | $10,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Safos Dance Theatre Inc | Tucson, AZ | $10,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Sierra Vista Community Thea | Sierra Vista, AZ | $10,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Willcox Theater and Arts Inc | Willcox, AZ | $10,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Patrons of the Arts Inc | Nogales, AZ | $10,000 | 2026 | — |
| Sierra Vista Symphony Assoc | Sierra Vista, AZ | $10,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| The Drawing Studio Inc | Tucson, AZ | $10,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Tucson Kitchen Musicians | Tucson, AZ | $10,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Central School Project Inc | Bisbee, AZ | $10,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Arizona Border Rights Found | Tucson, AZ | $10,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Tucsons Childrens Museum | Tucson, AZ | $7,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Ballet Arts Foundation | Tucson, AZ | $7,000 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Sonoran Art Foundation Inc | Tucson, AZ | $6,663 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| Tucson Botanical Gardens | Tucson, AZ | $6,250 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| True Concord Voices & Orch | Tucson, AZ | $6,250 | 2026 | General Assistance |
| The Drop Dance Studio | Tucson, AZ | $15,000 | 2025 | General Assistance |
| Live Theatre Workshop | Tucson, AZ | $15,000 | 2025 | General Assistance |
| ZUZI Inc | Tucson, AZ | $10,000 | 2025 | General Assistance |
| The Multivrs Is Illuminated | Tucson, AZ | $10,000 | 2025 | General Assistance |
| Tucson Masterworks Chorale | Tucson, AZ | $10,000 | 2025 | General Assistance |
| True Concord Voices & Orc Inc | Tucson, AZ | $10,000 | 2025 | General Assistance |
| Arts Express Inc | Tucson, AZ | $10,000 | 2025 | General Assistance |
Southern Arizona Arts and Cul
$25,000General Assistance
The Mulivrs Is Illuminated
$15,000General Assistance
American Literary Translators
$15,000General Assistance
Esperanza Dance Project
$15,000General Assistance
Groundworks Tucson
$15,000General Assistance
The Scoundrel and Scamp Th
$15,000General Assistance
The Rogue Theatre
$15,000General Assistance
Live Theatre Workshop
$15,000General Assistance
Intl Sonoran Desert Alliance
$15,000General Assistance
Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation
$15,000General Assistance
The Drop Dance Studio
$15,000General Assistance
Saguaro City Music Theatre
$15,000General Assistance
Yuma Community Theatre
$15,000General Assistance
ArtMobile-AZ Inc
$15,000General Assistance
Tucson Girls Chorus
$15,000General Assistance
Jazz in January Inc
$15,000General Assistance
Community Performing Arts Ctr
$15,000General Assistance
The Fndt for Creative Broad
$14,994General Assistance
BI-National Arts Institute
$10,000General Assistance
La Linea Art Studio
$10,000General Assistance
Community Food Bank Inc
$10,000General Assistance
Los Descendientes Del Pres
$10,000General Assistance
Funhouse Movement Theater
$10,000General Assistance
Safos Dance Theatre Inc
$10,000General Assistance
Sierra Vista Community Thea
$10,000General Assistance
Willcox Theater and Arts Inc
$10,000General Assistance
Patrons of the Arts Inc
$10,000Sierra Vista Symphony Assoc
$10,000General Assistance
Tucson Kitchen Musicians
$10,000General Assistance
Central School Project Inc
$10,000General Assistance
Arizona Border Rights Found
$10,000General Assistance
Ballet Arts Foundation
$7,000General Assistance
Sonoran Art Foundation Inc
$6,663General Assistance
True Concord Voices & Orch
$6,250General Assistance
The Drop Dance Studio
$15,000General Assistance
Live Theatre Workshop
$15,000General Assistance
ZUZI Inc
$10,000General Assistance
The Multivrs Is Illuminated
$10,000General Assistance
Tucson Masterworks Chorale
$10,000General Assistance
True Concord Voices & Orc Inc
$10,000General Assistance
Arts Express Inc
$10,000General Assistance