June 4, 2026
Public and private funding partnerships expand impact
The Springfield Regional Arts Council, in partnership with the Community Foundation of the Ozarks and the Jeannette L. Musgrave Foundation, is granting $220,000 to 23 nonprofits. SRAC will present the annual Arts & Culture grants at 6 p.m. June 5 during its second annual Block Party at the Creamery.
The Arts & Culture Program Support and Operating Support grant programs provide nonprofits with 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.
“Arts and Culture Grants provide critical financial support to the creative community. By leveraging public and private funding together, the collective impact is felt far and wide,” said Leslie Forrester, executive director of the SRAC. “We should never take the depth and breadth of our creative community for granted. Instead, we should do everything we can to grow public funding for arts and culture, because our community expects that of us. I'm excited to see the creativity of these organizations will take us this year.”
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 final year of funding, are:
- KSMU
- Moxie Cinema
- Ozarks Lyric Opera
- Sculpture Walk Springfield
- Springfield Art Museum
The 2026 Arts & Culture Program Support grant recipients are:
- 417 Bridge Builders: $5,000 to support the 2026 Black History Summer Academy.
- American Indian Center of SWMO: $9,000 to support the Native American Heritage Celebration Powwow, the Next Generation Powwow, a reading program and a variety of cultural classes.
- Arc of the Ozarks: $3,332 to expand adaptive dance classes and dance performance opportunities for its SOAR program participants.
- Arrow Art Supply: $3,912 to support the third annual Midwest Crankie Fest.
- Better Block SGF: $3,913 to expand its moveable mural program to activate vacant properties across Springfield.
- Dade County ArtConnect: $6,500 to purchase a kiln and support the artist-in-residence program and youth theater camp.
- Drew Lewis Foundation Inc.: $7,000 to bring a permanent, rotating public sculpture installation to Fairbanks Community Hub.
- empower: abilities: $9,500 to support Beyond the Canvas, an inclusive, artist-led program that pairs individuals with disabilities and local artists to collaboratively create and publicly exhibit original works of art.
- GLO Center: $2,194 to create a mobile exhibition program to showcase work by LGBTQIA+ artists at regional Pride events and in arts spaces across southwest Missouri.
- High Tide Theatrical Inc.: $9,000 to support core production expenses, including licensing fees, production costs and American Sign Language interpretation.
- Living Lands Art Collective: $9,000 to support outreach programs that deliver therapeutic arts for seniors and adults with special needs, recovery-based art experiences, and youth mentorship in Douglas County.
- Missouri Philharmonic Orchestra: $7,500 to provide five free concerts for the region’s low-income, elderly, neurodivergent and other underserved populations.
- Mosaic Arts Collective: $9,720 to launch the Mosaic Audition Program, a multi-tracked intensive training program to prepare aspiring performers to be employable professionals in the local entertainment industry.
- Plotline Film & Media Education: $7,603 to support filmmaking programs at Sunshine Elementary School, Boyd Elementary School and Reed Academy for the 2026–27 school year.
- Queen City Chorale: $3,913 to present “Tales, Tunes, and a Dragon,” a concert specifically for children and families.
- Springfield Chamber Chorus: $3,913 to support its expansion and youth choir growth.
- Springfield Symphony Orchestra: $9,000 to support and expand current outreach and engagement programs.
- Unite of Southwest Missouri Inc.: $10,000 to support the venue and marketing efforts for the Springfield Multicultural Festival.
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.
About the Musgrave Foundation: The Jeannette L. Musgrave Foundation is a private charitable foundation managed by U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management and administered by the CFO. Since 1983, the Musgrave Foundation has granted more than $21 million to nonprofits in Springfield and southwest Missouri.