In addition to leading the annual Collaborative Campaign for the Arts, did you know that in 2024 United Arts of Central Florida managed and awarded more than $10 million in grants using our “Arts for All” funds and funds dedicated to arts and culture from Orange County and the City of Orlando?
United Arts does grantmaking every day, mostly behind the scenes. Although we’re better known for promoting and raising funds for the arts, we also provide leadership and services that advance the investment of philanthropic and public resources to support the growth of the arts and culture in Central Florida.
Our participatory grantmaking process is considered a “best practice” by Grantmakers in the Arts, a national association of both public and private arts and culture funders. For local artists and nonprofits, it’s a collaborative process that involves stakeholders at multiple levels and provides access to public and private resources in a more equitable way.
Annually, United Arts manages 13 unique grants programs that serve individual artists and more than 120 nonprofit organizations. Nine members of our staff are dedicated to the important work of grants management, financial stewardship, and measuring community impact daily. Eighty volunteers serve on grants panels for United Arts and Orange County Arts & Cultural Affairs to add another layer of accountability.
Each grants program involves a 10- to 12-step process that includes advertising the grant, providing technical support to help organizations or artists complete the application, and then, prior to submission, reviewing the application for correctness.
We conduct site visits, prepare electronic documents for grants review panels (which consist of volunteers who we recruit and train), and host those same panels as they score each application. We summarize the reviews and provide applicant feedback, then prepare recommendations for board approval by United Arts or Orange County Arts & Cultural Affairs Advisory Council.
Once a grant is approved, we execute contracts for each award—thereby ensuring grantee compliance—then collect and monitor impact data to demonstrate measurable outcomes. The fiscal management of each contract includes two to four payables each and the review of all grant reports to confirm accountability.
We take this work very seriously and hold each grantee accountable for fulfilling requirements and using funds for the greatest good. We strive to have processes that are easily accessible and supported by professional staff and volunteers.
Why does this matter to you? Because we want you as a stakeholder to know that we have a process in place that fairly and carefully invests resources in our vibrant cultural sector.
We also want you to know that while half of our staff is dedicated to building audiences and fundraising, the other half is dedicated to making sure that recipients have the financial and technical support they need to operate successfully, develop new programs, and increase access to quality arts, science and history programs for everyone in our region.
Our biggest challenge in this work is that there aren’t enough resources for all of the eligible and worthy applications. As our community grows at a rapid pace, so does the need for sustainable funding from individuals, foundations, and corporations.
In 2024, 34 individual artists’ projects went unfunded, 24 community art projects couldn’t be realized, and the gap between operating support requests and the amount available to distribute was more than $1.8 million. How can you help? Please consider volunteering as a grants panelist. And as you make plans to contribute to your favorite organizations in the 2025 Collaborative Campaign, please also contribute to the United Arts Arts for All fund. Your investment will go far to helping all of us reach our aspirational goals and make art thrive.
JENNIFER EVINS
PRESIDENT & CEO
UNITED ARTS OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
