About Metropolitan Regional Arts Council
The Metropolitan Regional Arts Council improves arts access for Minnesota's seven-county Twin Cities metro communities through grants, resources, and advocacy for artists and organizations.
Focus Areas
Arts access and engagementIndividual artist supportNonprofit arts organization operations and capacityArts programming and arts educationEmergency relief for artistsCapital improvements and accessibility upgrades
Who They Fund
arts organizationscommunities with limited arts accessgeneral public/audiences
Funding Style
organizational supportprogram support
About Metropolitan Regional Arts Council
Metropolitan Regional Arts Council’s recent giving is dominated by large support grants to arts organizations, including two 2024 awards of $4,597,994 and $4,262,696 for the same purpose: supporting arts organizations to improve arts access. That pattern fits the council’s broader role in the seven-county Twin Cities metro, where it funds arts access, engagement, and organizational capacity rather than individuals alone. The council’s programs also show a clear public-facing arts mandate: Flexible Support can underwrite operations, capital expenses, and programming for organizations and groups, while Creative Connections ties artists to community partners in collaborative projects. For artists working outside traditional organizational structures, Arts Impact for Individuals offers project grants, and the Emergency Relief Fund provides rapid-response aid in crisis. The council’s priorities reach into both artistic production and the infrastructure around it, with attention to accessibility, education, community engagement, and the sustainability of arts organizations. Its recent grants point to a funder that supports the systems enabling arts participation across Minnesota’s metro communities.
What Metropolitan Regional Arts Council Funds
Arts access is the central thread in the council’s grantmaking. In 2024, it gave $4,597,994 to See Schedule I1 (Various, MN) and $4,262,696 to See Schedule I1 (Various, MN), both for supporting arts organizations to improve arts access. Organizational development is another clear area of emphasis: the Next Step Fund is designed for emerging organizations or projects in the Twin Cities metro as they take next steps in development. The council also funds artist-community collaboration through Creative Connections, which supports collaborative projects connecting artists with community partners. For individual artists, Arts Impact for Individuals backs projects that create access to the arts for Minnesotans and engage Minnesota communities, with some cycles prioritizing applicants who identify as BIPOC, disabled, and/or LGBTQIA2+.
How Metropolitan Regional Arts Council Gives
Typical grant size is tightly clustered around $4.3 million, with a p25 of $4,346,520, a median of $4,430,345, and a p75 of $4,514,170. The recent grants provided here show a pattern of repeated, large operating-style support rather than one-off microgrants. The council also runs multiple application programs that accept unsolicited requests, including Arts Impact for Individuals, Flexible Support, Emergency Relief Fund, Next Step Fund, and Creative Connections. Its structure appears centered on organizational and program support, with no funding for individuals outside the specific individual-artist program.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$8.9M
Total Assets
$730K
Total Revenue
$6.1M
Total Expenses
$5.9M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $4.3M and $4.5M, with a median of $4.4M.
25th Percentile
$4.3M
Median
$4.4M
75th Percentile
$4.5M
Geographic Reach
Local1 state funded
About 100% of grants go to recipients in MN.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
KATHY MOUACHEUPAO
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