June 6, 2025
Twenty-four organizations receive $220,000 in two grant programs
The Springfield Regional Arts Council is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 Arts & Culture Grants in partnership with the Community Foundation of the Ozarks and the Jeannette L. Musgrave Foundation. A total of $220,000 will be granted to 24 organizations in Springfield and around the region on June 6 during First Friday Art Walk at The Creamery.
The Arts & Culture Program Support and Operating Support grant programs aim to aid nonprofits through program assistance, operating support and collaborative partnership opportunities. These grant programs are funded through a portion of the City of Springfield’s hotel/motel tax collection allocated to the SRAC with additional funding from the CFO and the Musgrave Foundation.
“These are all great projects. Providing these nonprofits resources to amplify their missions, while supporting Springfield as the cultural hub of southwest Missouri, is what we do at the Springfield Regional Arts Council,” said Leslie Forrester, executive director of the SRAC. “Investing funds to develop agencies and build audiences is a vital way to grow arts and culture in our region.”
“Our community thrives on collaboration, and we are grateful for our partnership with the SRAC and the Musgrave Foundation,” said Ashley Walden, vice president of community impact for the CFO, which also administers grantmaking for the Musgrave Foundation in partnership with US Bank Private Wealth Management. “By working together, we are able to support more arts agencies and bring more vibrant cultural opportunities to our region.”
The 2025 Arts & Culture Grants were presented at SRAC’s Block Party during First Friday Art Walk on June 6.
In 2024, five agencies were selected to receive $20,000 a year for three years through the Arts & Culture Operating Support program. The grant recipients, receiving their second year of funding, are:
- KSMU
- Moxie Cinema
- Ozarks Lyric Opera
- Sculpture Walk Springfield
- Springfield Art Museum
The 2025 Arts & Culture Program Support grant recipients are:
- American Indian Center of Springfield: $10,000 to provide a variety of cultural learning opportunities through the Native American Heritage Celebration, powwows and a variety of beading classes.
- Arrow Art Supply: $3,434 to support an artist traveling to the Midwest Crankie Festival.
- Child Advocacy Center: $2,000 to create a vibrant mural in downtown Springfield that brings education and awareness to the community.
- Dade County ArtConnect: $4,450 to support a series of inclusive community art programs, productions and events.
- Devising Original Theatre Springfield: $3,500 to support venue rental and stipends for the DOTS Fringe Festival.
- Living Lands Art Collective: $9,880 to support and expand current community outreach programming in Douglas County.
- Missouri Philharmonic Orchestra: $4,230 to support the performance venue.
- Plotline: $7,528 to support staffing for filmmaking programs at Sunshine Elementary School, Boyd Elementary School and Reed Fine Arts Academy.
- Queen City Chorale: $7,000 to support the orchestra for the Queen City Sings performance of Handel’s “Messiah.”
- Queen City Rock Camp: $5,000 to provide stipends and child care to camp volunteers.
- Southern Missouri Arts Connection: $4,500 to support the artist-in-residence program.
- Spiva Center for the Arts: $10,000 to launch a collaborative summer art program with Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Missouri.
- Springfield Contemporary Theatre: $6,508 to support production design and personnel for “Disaster!”
- Springfield Dance Alliance: $7,000 to launch Boundless Contemporary Dance Company’s first season.
- Springfield Little Theatre: $10,000 to support the Any Given Child Brings Literature to Life program for fourth-grade students in Springfield Public Schools.
- Springfield Sister Cities Association: $6,000 to support Gigs in the Garden.
- Springfield Symphony Orchestra: $10,000 to support and expand current outreach and engagement programs, including Seniors at the Symphony, Ensemble in Schools, Symphony on the Move and Young People’s Concerts.
- SuperStars of Point Performing Arts: $3,970 to purchase costumes and jackets for students and to support competition and recital fees.
- Taneycomo Festival Orchestra: $5,000 to provide housing for traveling musicians.
About SRAC: The Springfield Regional Arts Council, incorporated in 1978, serves as the connecting point for our community to the arts. Through advocacy, education and collaboration, it supports some of the most prominent arts organizations, events and artists within the 27 surrounding counties, the largest outreach of any in the state of Missouri. The SRAC makes the arts a vital part of the community, which is a place where the arts are essential. To learn more, visit springfieldarts.org.
