Art & Culture Fund

The Amarillo Area Foundation (AAF), in collaboration with the Don and Sybil Harrington Foundation, has established the Arts & Culture Fund to bolster visual and performing arts organizations throughout the 26 counties of the Texas Panhandle. Recognizing the economic and community value of the arts, these foundations redirected a portion of the Discretionary Grant funds originally earmarked for Economic Opportunity initiatives to specifically support the region's arts sector. This fund is designed to sustain and enhance the operations, programming, marketing, and capital needs of arts organizations. The grants range in amount from $5,000 to $50,000, ensuring that both small-scale and more substantial projects can be supported. The streamlined application process has been recently launched and is facilitated through an online portal at aaf.spectrumportal.net. A specially convened external arts committee will evaluate applications and make recommendations to the AAF Board of Directors for final funding decisions. To maintain the integrity and intent of the fund, certain types of requests are excluded. These include applications for more than 25% of an organization’s previous year’s cash operating revenue, social or fundraising events, projects at state-operated facilities or universities with limited community impact, and retroactive or debt-related funding. Additionally, projects associated with political activity, obscene content, or for-profit enterprises are ineligible. Eligible organizations can begin submitting applications in January, with the submission deadline occurring in February. The foundation encourages prospective applicants with questions about eligibility or fit to contact the AAF Grants Department directly by phone at 806-376-4521 or via email. This initiative is part of AAF’s broader commitment to fostering education, health, and economic opportunity across the region. It is anticipated that the Arts & Culture Fund will become a recurring opportunity to continually uplift and support the artistic fabric of the Texas Panhandle community.