The Metro Arts Commission’s grants committee reported that contracts for the current grant cycle have been routed to all 165 grantees and that the first payment requests will be submitted next week.

The update was delivered during the commission’s October meeting by Ashley, a Metro Arts staff member, who said the contracts “were sent out starting last Wednesday, and we finished sending them out yesterday.” She said several dozen contracts have been fully executed and that staff will submit payment requests “once or twice a week as more contracts become fully signed.”

The committee discussed how the commission’s funding formula and recent scaling choices affected award sizes. Commissioners noted that fiscal-year 2024 represented the largest grants budget in five years, driven by Metro Council advocacy, and that the FY25 cycle used a uniform scale (about a 33% scale of eligibility). For the current cycle, commission staff described using a weighted scale intended to direct relatively more funding to smaller organizations and less to larger ones.

Commissioner Lefkowitz said the committee is building a “parking lot” of items to address across short- and long-term timelines and emphasized that the work will inform the commission’s values as it prepares for a permanent director search. Several commissioners pressed staff to produce clearer data visualizations that connect current funding levels to the unmet need — for example, showing how much each organization would receive under a “fully funded” scenario and the gap between that amount and actual awards.

Ashley told the commission staff is preparing new reporting that will capture participation numbers and qualitative outcomes; she said she will bring a proposal for reporting and the application changes to the grants committee next month.

In other procedural details, Ashley said Metro Legal assisted with contract routing and that grantees that have not yet signed will receive follow-up from staff. She advised grantees with questions to email artsperiodgrants@nashville.gov.

Why this matters: Commissioners said clearer outcome data and a transparent depiction of the gap between current funding and fully funded needs will strengthen future advocacy with Metro Council and other stakeholders.

What’s next: The grants committee will continue developing reporting requirements, consider items from its “parking lot” of reforms (including a possible reconciliation of unallocated or reserve funds), and present recommended application or reporting changes at upcoming committee meetings.

Quotes

“All 165 grantees have received their contract. Several dozen have been fully executed and signed,” Ashley, Metro Arts staff member, said.

“We have a parking lot of things that we’ve been, as a grants committee and funding committee, trying to get us back on a schedule that serves the arts community in Nashville,” Commissioner Lefkowitz said.

Clarifying details

- Number of grantees: 165 grantees were issued contracts in the current cycle.
- Contract timeline: Contracts were sent starting the Wednesday before the meeting and staff finished sending them the day before the commission meeting; several dozen contracts were fully executed at the time of the update.
- Payments: Staff expected to send the first batch of payment requests the week after the meeting and to submit payment requests once or twice weekly as additional contracts are signed.
- Funding history: FY24 had the largest grants budget in the last five years (attributed in the meeting to successful advocacy that increased funding); FY25 used a uniform scale of roughly 33% of eligibility; FY26 used a weighted scale favoring smaller organizations.
- Reporting: Staff proposed new reporting to capture numbers served by grants and qualitative storytelling; a reporting proposal will be presented to the grants committee next month.

Speakers

- Ashley — staff member (Metro Arts). First reference: Ashley, Metro Arts staff member.
- Commissioner Lefkowitz — Metro Arts commissioner.
- Commissioner Knight — Metro Arts commissioner.
- Commissioner Yu — Metro Arts commissioner.
- Interim Executive Director Batchelder — Metro Arts (present at meeting; referenced by speakers).

Authorities

- {"type":"code","name":"Metropolitan Code of Laws §2.6803","citation":"\"Pursuant to the provisions of 2.6803 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws\"","referenced_by":["grants-and-funding-update-165-grantees-contracts"]}

Actions

- {"kind":"other","identifiers":{},"motion":"Approve minutes from September 25 with identified changes and corrections.","mover":"Commissioner (name not specified in transcript)","second":"Commissioner (name not specified in transcript)","vote_record":[],"outcome":"approved","notes":"Motion to approve minutes passed; corrections noted by commissioners Knight and Wade were included."}

Provenance

- {"block_id":"2342.785","local_start":0,"local_end":180,"evidence_excerpt":"I\'ll start, and then I know Ashley can chime in as well. We had a very good meeting of the grants committee, 2 hours long on Monday.","reason_code":"topicintro"}
- {"block_id":"4052.1301","local_start":0,"local_end":40,"evidence_excerpt":"That\'s all for the grants committee.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}

Sections

- lede: "The Metro Arts Commission reported that contracts were routed to 165 grantees and the first payment requests will be submitted next week; commissioners discussed funding formula changes and new reporting to support advocacy."
- nut_graf: "Commissioners said clearer, comparable data on need versus current awards will strengthen future advocacy and help define grant priorities as Metro Arts prepares for a permanent director search."
- ending: "Staff will present reporting recommendations and further proposals to the grants committee in coming weeks."