Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts
ActiveArts, Culture & Humanities
About Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit that serves as Baltimore City's arts council: inspiring and engaging audiences, cultivating the city's creative economy, organizing citywide events, and providing funding and support to artists, arts programs, and cultural organizations across the City.
Focus Areas
Visual artsPublic art / muralsArts educationFestivals and eventsArtist grants and prizes
Who They Fund
local artistssmall to mid-sized arts organizationscommunity residents / neighborhood audiencesyouth (participants in arts education)
Funding Style
project-based / event fundingawards & competitive grants
About Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts
A $30,000 Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize anchors Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts Inc’s recent grantmaking, signaling a strong emphasis on visual artists working in the Baltimore region. Across its active programs, the organization supports individual artists, small and mid-sized arts organizations, youth arts education, murals, and public events through project-based and operating grants. The foundation’s recent awards also show repeated support for arts groups that work across disciplines, including Baltimore Theatre Project, Citylit Project Inc, and Single Carrot Theatre, as well as visual-arts organizations such as Galerie Myrtis. Its portfolio includes prizes for artists’ travel and practice, funding for community-artist mural projects, and support for free public programming during Free Fall Baltimore. It also backs arts education projects in school, after-school, and community settings, alongside general operating support for established Baltimore City arts and cultural organizations. The result is a grantmaker that funds both individual creative work and the organizations that present art to city audiences.
What Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts Funds
In visual arts, the foundation awarded $31,590 to Galerie Myrtis through the Artscape Gallery Network Award and $7,000 to the Municipal Art Society of Baltimore City for the Artist Travel Prize. For individual artist support, the Creative Baltimore Fund — Mayor’s Individual Artist Award provides $3,000 project or practice grants to selected artists. Arts education is another recurring area. The foundation gave $9,800 to Maryland Philanthropy Network for Creative Baltimore and Arts in Action Arts Education, and $8,200 to Baltimore School for the Arts Foundation for the same combined support. Community programming appears in its support for Free Fall Baltimore, including $9,000 to Baltimore Theatre Project and $7,400 to Citylit Project Inc. Murals and neighborhood public art also appear through Create Baltimore, including funding for community-artist mural projects in underserved Baltimore City communities.
How Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts Gives
Typical grants fall around $5,800 at the 25th percentile, $7,400 at the median, and $9,250 at the 75th percentile. The recent list also includes larger awards such as $39,000, $35,000, and $31,590, showing a mix of standard awards and a few larger, program-specific grants. Recipients appear across more than one year in several cases, including Fusion Partnerships Inc, Citylit Project Inc, Muse 360 Inc, Wide Angle Youth Media, Single Carrot Theatre, Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts Inc, and Arts Every Day Inc. The organization operates as a 501(c)(3) Baltimore arts council and accepts unsolicited applications in several active programs.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$232K
Total Assets
$3.6M
Total Revenue
$4.8M
Total Expenses
$4.8M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $6K and $9K, with a median of $7K.
25th Percentile
$6K
Median
$7K
75th Percentile
$9K
Geographic Reach
Local2 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
RACHEL GRAHAM
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