Arts Access Miami Catalyst Grant
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Overview
Arts Access Miami is a countywide collective impact initiative that unites the Miami-Dade County Public Schools ecosystem with nonprofits, funders, and civic leaders to build a sustainable, systems-based solution for arts education. By cultivating collective leadership, delivering community-centered programming, and ensuring impact-driven accountability, we work together to ensure every child in Miami-Dade, regardless of their zip code, has access to free, high- quality arts education.
Learn more at www.artsaccessmiami.org
Catalyst Grants are multi-year grants (up to $20,000 distributed over two years) designed to support grassroots and emerging arts organizations delivering arts education programming for youth on school campuses in North Dade and South Dade. Grant funds are intended to address opportunities for strengthened arts partnerships between nonprofit organizations and Miami-Dade County Public Schools. In addition to the grant funds, Arts Access Miami will work closely with each selected grant partner throughout the grant period to provide guidance, additional resources, and facilitate further opportunities for collaboration and learning.
Funding Priorities
In addition to our eligibility requirements, we will prioritize funding organizations that:
1. Center Arts Education
- Focus on visual arts, dance, theater, or multidisciplinary arts as a core part of their mission.
- Demonstrate a clear commitment to increasing access to arts education, not just delivering programming.
2. Serve Priority Feeder Patterns
- Currently serve or plan to serve youth in the: Carol City, Norland, South Dade, Homestead, and/or Southridge feeder patterns.
3. Strengthen Organizational Capacity
- Seek to build internal capacity, including systems, leadership, and partnerships.
- May not yet meet eligibility requirements for full Arts Access Miami Alliance funding but are working toward readiness.
4. Build Pathways to School Partnership
- Do not need to currently operate within Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS).
- Must demonstrate a clear interest in and pathway toward working with MDCPS schools by the start of the grant period.
5. Collaborate
- Show evidence of partnership with schools, community groups, or other organizations.
6. Are Grassroots Organizations
- Operate with annual budgets under $750,000.
- May lack the infrastructure or resources to effectively navigate school partnerships without support.
Eligibility
To be eligible for a Catalyst Grant, you must:
- Be a IRS 501©(3) public charity serving Miami-Dade County young people through the arts. (Note: IRS 501(c)(3) public charity fiscal sponsors are also eligible to apply)
- Have a core mission focused on arts education with direct student impact, specifically providing free arts education to Miami-Dade County Public Schools students.
- Be based in, or actively serving, or planning to serve communities in North Dade and/or South Dade.
- Provide arts education or arts-based youth programming for students in grades K-12, with a clearly defined age range and program focus.
- Demonstrate a grassroots or early-stage organizational profile.
- Deliver on-site programming at participating schools at least two times per week, serving a minimum of twenty students per class.
- Demonstrate readiness and capacity to participate in cohort-based learning, collaboration, and required capacity-building activities.
- Have an annual organizational operating budget of no more than $750,000
- There are no minimum staffing thresholds or matching fund requirements for this grant.
Funding Details
- Number of awards: 15 organizations
- Grant amount: $10,000 per organization per year ($20,000 total)
- Grant term: 2 Years
- Grant funds may be used to support:
- Program planning or refinement
- Teaching artist or program staff support
- Community or school partnership development
- Organizational systems and infrastructure
Capital projects and unrelated equipment purchases are not eligible expenses.
Funding Note: We understand that creating, building, and launching an arts education program requires the appropriate resources. To that end, this grant is not intended to build a full-scale program, but rather as general operating support to seed a component of, scale an existing program, fund an initiative within, or to foster a new relationship with a school or partner. Our hope is that this funding will help our grant partners foster sustainable relationships that increase access to arts education.
Cohort Expectations
Catalyst grantees will participate in a cohort-based learning experience facilitated by Arts Access Miami. Expectations are designed to be supportive and development-focused, rather than compliance-heavy.
Grantees will be expected to:
- Participate in Leadership Circle cohort convenings (in-person, 4x per year)
- Participate in Program Directors convenings (virtual, once a month)
- Participate in Program Directors cohort convenings (in-person, 2x per year)
- Participate in Principal cohort convenings (in-person, 2x per year)
- Complete Arts Access Miami reporting: pre, mid, and final reports
These reporting and participation requirements are designed to support shared learning, accountability, and continuous improvement across the cohort.
Timeline
- Application Opens: Monday, March 9, 2026
- Office Hours: March 17 and March 18. Please sign up for an optional 15-minute office hours session here
- Proposals Due: Monday, April 6 at 11:59 PM (ET)
- Estimated Notification of Grant Awards: By Friday, May 1
- Affiliating Agreements with MDCPS: May
- Grant Award Ceremony: Monday, May 18
- Catalyst Cohort Training: June
- Grants Period Start and funds disbursed: Beginning of August 2026
For additional information about this opportunity, please visit www.artsaccessmiami.org or contact Alan Valladares, Director of Arts Access Miami, director@artsaccessmiami.org.