To support local arts nonprofits and the communities they serve, the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture has announced $5.59M in grants to 349 nonprofit organizations through its 2025-2026 Organizational Grant Program and Community Impact Arts Grant awards.

Funding will support 349 nonprofits delivering arts and cultural programming in communities throughout Los Angeles County.

Four Santa Clarita Valley arts organizations have received more than $25,000 in Los Angeles County Arts Grants from the Organizational Grant Program funds.

The SCV arts organizations are:

Santa Clarita Symphony Orchestra, Valencia Music, Instrumental, $3,500.

Santa Clarita Valley Youth Orchestra SCVYO, Santa Clarita, Arts Education, Music $13,700.

Acton-Agua Dulce Arts Council, Acton, Multidisciplinary, Community and Cultural Centers, $1,400.

Les Femmes Underground International Film Festival Femtasia, Stevenson Ranch, Multidisciplinary Visual Arts, $5,900.

Different than Arts and Culture’s longstanding funding for nonprofits with a primary focus on the arts, the Community Impact Arts Grant supports arts-based programs of social justice and service organizations.

The Child & Family Center in Santa Clarita recieved a $5,300 Community Impact Arts Grant for survivors of domestic violence, health/wellness services.

The OGP program is designed to support and sustain the L.A. County region’s nonprofit arts sector with grants to a wide array of organizations, large and small, working across a myriad of arts and cultural disciplines including visual arts, performing arts, film and media, literary arts, arts education and arts service organizations.

The funding ensures access to the arts and program investments that reflect and serve diverse Los Angeles communities, with funding shown to reach 95% of the zip codes in L.A. County.

OGP grants will go to 261 organizations, 38 of which are first time applicants to the program.

The total allocation for grantees this year is $5,059,000, reduced from last year’s allocation of $5,668,000 because of L.A. County budget cuts.

OGP also addresses systemic inequity in arts funding; 93% of the organizations that were awarded have budgets under $5M and 39% of those have budgets under $200K.

These organizations are often underfunded and include those that reflect and serve communities of color, historically marginalized and rural communities.

Grantees can use funds to support their critical needs, from staffing and organizational infrastructure to public arts programming for the communities they engage. Grantees can also access Arts and Culture’s professional development opportunities, programs designed in-house, as well as scholarships for trainings and conferences.

A complete list of OGP grantees, and the programs and events this funding will support, can be found here.

The Community Impact Arts Grant was designed to address two priorities: making arts services available to LA County residents who might not experience them through traditional arts venues and outlets, and encouraging integration of the arts in cross-sector work at local nonprofits. Grantee programs span art forms and communities reached, from therapeutic visual arts, to social justice filmmaking, music education for youth, dance empowermen, and memory programs for dementia.

There were 88 awarded organizations in CIAG this year, 19 of which were new awardees—making this year’s grantee pool the largest in the program’s history. The total CIAG allocation is $500,000, and awards range from $1,200 to $7,100.

A complete list of CIAG grantees, and the programs and events this funding will support, can be found here.

To assist new and understaffed applicants, Arts and Culture provides application workshops and technical assistance. After applications are submitted, a peer panel review process ensues, and this year, applications for both programs are reviewed and scored by a combined 101 diverse expert panelists from LA’s community of cultural workers, artists, curators, nonprofit arts administrators, arts funders, and arts educators. Award recommendations were reviewed by the Arts Commission, an advisory body appointed by the Board of Supervisors.

“The Department of Arts and Culture’s grant programs support an incredible range of nonprofit organizations, which in turn bring the arts to communities all over the County,” said Board Chair Kathryn Barger. “The arts contribute to our creative economy, our communities, and overall wellbeing. We know not just from research, but also by hearing directly from our constituents, that their lives, mental health, and connection with others is strengthened when they engage in the arts. All of our Los Angeles County residents deserve these resources. I’m proud to support access to the arts for everyone through our Department of Arts and Culture’s nonprofit grants.”

“Our grant programs are a vital investment in L.A. County’s cultural and creative infrastructure, supporting the cultural organizations and programs that bring meaningful engagement to people across neighborhoods, generations, and lived experiences. In the face of so many challenges this year, sustaining support for arts organizations, large and small, emerging and established—is a matter of equity and vision. With our support, this year’s awardees will engage artists, cultural workers, communities, and visitors. Together, they reflect and serve the vibrancy, diversity, and richness of LA County,” said Kristin Sakoda, Director of the Department of Arts and Culture.

“The Department of Arts and Culture’s grant support means we can provide communities with equitable access to the programs and resources that LA County has to offer. Especially now, the power that the arts possess to humanize, heal, and foster cross-cultural dialogue is crucial,” said Randi Tahara, Arts Commission President.

The mission of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture is to advance arts, culture, and creativity throughout Los Angeles County. It provides leadership, services, and support in areas including grants and technical assistance for nonprofit organizations, countywide arts education initiatives, commissioning and care for civic art collections, research and evaluation, pathways to the creative economy, professional development, free community programs, and cross-sector creative strategies that address civic issues.

For more information, visit lacountyarts.org.