FY 2026 Arts & Culture Operating Support Grant Funding RecommendationCity of Dubuque
City Council
ACTION ITEMS # 4.
Copyrighted
July 7, 2025
ITEM TITLE: FY 2026 Arts & Culture Operating Support Grant Funding
Recommendation
SUMMARY: City Manager recommending City Council concurrence with
the Arts & Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission for the
recommended recipients along with the funding levels of the
FY2026 Arts & Culture Operating Support grant applicants.
SUGGUESTED Receive and File; Approve
DISPOSITION:
ATTACHMENTS:
1. MVM Memo
2. Staff memo
3. Supporting Documents
Page 626 of 678
THE CITY OF
DUB E-E
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: FY 2026 Arts & Culture Operating Support Grant Funding
Recommendation
DATE: July 1, 2025
Dubuque
All -America Ciq
IIIr
II
2007.2012.2013
2017*2019
Arts & Cultural Affairs Manager Bonnie Spurling is recommending City Council
concurrence with the Arts & Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission for the recommended
recipients below along with the funding levels of the FY2026 Arts & Culture Operating
Support grant applicants. The FY 2026 approved budget includes $250,000 for Arts &
Culture Operating Support Grants.
The Arts Commission's FY 2026 Operating Support grant funding recommendation,
listed in alphabetical order by organization name, is as follows:
Bell Tower Theater
$
17,805.41
Colts Youth Organization
$
21,942.00
Creative Adventure Lab, Inc.
$
22,260.00
Dubuque Area Arts Collective
$
5,775.13
Dubuque Arts Council
$
3,551.44
Dubuque Chapter of SPEBSQSA / Music Men Barbershop Chorus
$
707.73
Dubuque Chorale
$
2,744.86
Dubuque County Fine Arts Society
$
4,344.83
Dubuque County Historical Society
$
23,850.00
Dubuque Museum of Art
$
23,850.00
Dubuque Symphony Orchestra
$
22,896.00
Fly -By -Night Productions
$
1,540.54
Heritage Works
$
10,570.07
Julien Dubuque International Film Festival
$
18,844.61
Key City Creative Center
$
5,108.23
Northeast Iowa School of Music
$
11,588.73
Pigeon Art Center, Inc.
$
13,319.58
Rising Star Theatre Company
$
9,105.99
The Grand Opera House
$
23,214.00
Voices Productions
$
5,668.00
TOTAL FY 2026 Operating Support Funds to be Awarded
$ 248,677.16
Page 627 of 678
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
Mic ael C. Van Milligen
MCVM:sv
Attachment
cc: Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney
Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager
Jill Connors, Economic Development Director
Bonnie Spurling, Arts & Cultural Affairs Manager
Jenny Larson, Chief Financial Officer
2
Page 628 of 678
Dubuque
THE CITY OF
DUB TE
All•A�erie1 Ciq
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
2007-2012.2013
2017*2019
TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Bonnie Spurling, Arts & Cultural Affairs Manager
Economic Development Department
1300 Main St
Dubuque, 1A 52001
Office (563) 589-4393
TTY (563) 690-6678
http://www.cityofdubuque.org
SUBJECT: FY 2026 Arts & Culture Operating Support Grant Funding
Recommendation
DATE: June 25, 2025
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide a funding recommendation from the Arts
& Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission (Arts Commission) for grant awards to arts and
culture organizations through the City's FY 2026 Arts & Culture Operating Support Grants
program, requesting concurrence with the funding recommendation for City Council
approval.
1_[61:011:Tell] LI I f�
$250,000 was approved by the City Council for FY 2026 for the Arts & Culture Operating
Support Grant Program. This program offers limited, unrestricted support to eligible arts
and cultural nonprofit organizations operating within Dubuque city limits that demonstrate
a commitment to serving the community through access to arts, arts education, and
cultural heritage experiences.
Per standard operating procedure, this funding is awarded annually through a competitive
application process with applicants responding to program guidelines and application
questions previously reviewed and approved by the Arts Commission and transmitted to
the City Council.
Applications were reviewed and scored by a three -person reviewer panel independent of
the Arts Commission. Scoring was then considered by and a recommendation supported
by the Arts & Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission (Arts Commission). Staff for the City's
Arts Commission have overseen the process throughout.
DISCUSSION
Operating Support grant applications were accepted between March 3, 2025, and April
11, 2025. In FY 2026, funding awards are based on the organization's total operating
expenses from their most recently completed fiscal year. The maximum funding an
organization can receive is calculated at 6% of the operating expenses not to exceed
$30,000. Twenty (20) applications were received. Twenty (20) applicants were eligible for
funding per the program guidelines.
Page 629 of 678
All eligible applications were reviewed and scored by volunteer reviewers with knowledge
of the arts, actively participating in the arts, and possessing professional experience in
fields such as nonprofit, business, or education. The following volunteers served as the
review panel, independently reading and scoring all applications against the previously
approved 25-point rubric:
• Yasyn Lee, Retired Psychiatrist/Physician
• Lovisa Railstrom, Systems Operations Manager, Community Foundation of
Greater Dubuque
• Marilyn Taylor, Retired College Literature Professor
Scoring and organizational operating budget worksheets were reviewed and used by staff
to inform the funding scenarios provided to the Arts Commission for consideration. The
accompanying scoring and funding scenarios document, listing applicants anonymously
by competitive ranking, was reviewed by the Arts Commission during a Regular Meeting
on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.
If all applications were funded at the maximum possible award based on the max
percentage of the score received, a program budget of $331,244.64 would be needed
and was not considered as a viable option. The following funding scenario based on the
results of the competitive scoring and fully utilizing the program budget, was calculated
as follows:
o Option A: Equal reduction of all maximum awards based on score
o Calculated award amounts based on max funding possible times 79.9% of
the competitive score
o Total awards = $249,928.37
o Option B: Equal reduction of all maximum awards based on score
o Calculated award amounts based on max funding possible times 79.5% of
the competitive score
o Total awards = $248,677.16
o $1,200 of balance transferred to Special Projects to allow funding of one
additional applicant
o Remaining $122.84 to be rolled over to the FY27 Operating Support grant
funding budget
Following a discussion of both scenarios, the Arts Commission voted to recommend
Option B as it:
• Aligns with previously utilized methods of calculating funding allocations using a
tiered funding structure that decreases awards based on scoring.
• Provides all eligible applicants with some level of funding.
• Fully utilizes the program budgets to maximize community impact.
Thus, the Arts Commission's FY 2026 Operating Support grant funding recommendation,
listed in alphabetical order by organization name, is as follows:
Page 630 of 678
Bell Tower Theater
$
17,805.41
Colts Youth Organization
$
21,942.00
Creative Adventure Lab, Inc.
$
22,260.00
Dubuque Area Arts Collective
$
5,775.13
Dubuque Arts Council
$
3,551.44
Dubuque Chapter of SPEBSQSA / Music Men Barbershop Chorus
$
707.73
Dubuque Chorale
$
2,744.86
Dubuque County Fine Arts Society
$
4,344.83
Dubuque County Historical Society
$
23,850.00
Dubuque Museum of Art
$
23,850.00
Dubuque Symphony Orchestra
$
22,896.00
Fly -By -Night Productions
$
1,540.54
Heritage Works
$
10,570.07
Julien Dubuque International Film Festival
$
18,844.61
Key City Creative Center
$
5,108.23
Northeast Iowa School of Music
$
11,588.73
Pigeon Art Center, Inc.
$
13,319.58
Rising Star Theatre Company
$
9,105.99
The Grand Opera House
$
23,214.00
Voices Productions
$
5,668.00
TOTAL FY 2026 Operating Support Funds to be Awarded
$ 248,677.16
The FY 2026 Operating Support funding cycle runs from July 1, 2025, through June 30,
2026. Grant recipients are required to submit a final report by August 31, 2026.
BUDGETIMPACT
There are no new budget impacts. The FY 2026 approved budget includes $250,000 for
Arts & Culture Operating Support Grants.
RECOMMENDATION/ ACTION STEP
I respectfully request concurrence with the Arts & Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission
recommendation to fund the FY2026 Operating Support grant applications for approval
by City Council.
CC: Jill Connors, Economic Development Director
Jenny Larson, Finance Director
Page 631 of 678
FY26 OPERATING SUPPORT
FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS
Organization
Average
Score
Max
of
Score
Total Operating
Expenses
6% of
Operating
Expenses
Max Funding
Possible: 6%
or $30,000
Fundir
Based
Score (M
Score
Bell Tower Productions
23.00
92.00
$
405,738.00
$
24,344.28
$
24,344.28
$
22,39E
Key City Creative Center
23.00
92.00
$
116,403.00
$
6,984.18
$
6,984.18
$
6,425
Fly By Night Productions, Inc.
23.67
94.67
$
34,116.00
$
2,046.96
$
2,046.96
$
1,937
Colts Youth Organization
23.00
92.00
$
1,930,906.00
$
115,854.36
$
30,000.00
$
27,60C
Dubuque Chorale Inc
22.67
90.67
$
63,468.00
$
3,808.08
$
3,808.08
$
3,452
Dubuque Museum of Art
25.00
100.00
$
895,231.00
$
53,713.86
$
30,000.00
$
30,00C
Dubuque Symphony Orchestra
24.00
96.00
$
1,176,696.00
$
70,601.76
$
30,000.00
$
28,80C
Voices Productions
24.00
96.00
$
123,777.00
$
7,426.62
$
7,426.62
$
7,125
Dubuque Arts Council, Inc.
23.00
92.00
$
80,928.00
$
4,855.68
$
4,855.68
$
4,467
Dubuque County Historical
Society
25.00
100.00
$
6,804,791.00
$
408,287.46
$
30,000.00
$
30,OOC
Julien Dubuque Int. Film Festival
24.33
97.33
$
405,889.00
$
24,353.34
$
24,353.34
$
23,70-
Northeast Iowa School of Music
19.33
77.33
$
314,160.00
$
18,849.60
$
18,849.60
$
14,577
Rising Star Theatre Company
23.33
93.33
$
204,537.00
$
12,272.22
$
12,272.22
$
11,454
The Grand Opera House
24.33
97.33
$
765,730.00
$
45,943.80
$
30,000.00
$
29,20C
Creative Adventure Lab, Inc.
23.33
93.33
$
896,605.00
$
53,796.30
$
30,000.00
$
28,OOC
Dubuque Area Arts Collective
23.00
92.00
$
131,600.00
$
7,896.00
$
7,896.00
$
7,264
DUBUQUE CHAPTER OF
S P E BSQSA.
18.00
72.00
$
20,607.00
$
1,236.42
$
1,236.42
$
890
Heritage Works Inc
22.67
90.67
$
244,406.00
$
14,664.36
$
14,664.36
$
13,29E
Pigeon Art Center, Inc.
24.67
98.67
$
283,010.00
$
16,980.60
$
16,980.60
$
16,754
Dubuque County Fine Arts Society
24.67
98.67
$
92,105.00
$
5,526.30
$
5,526.30
$
5,452
$ 899,442.18 $ 331,244.64 $ 312,80'
Page 632 of 678