The City of Portland recently announced that it will award $2.8 million in General Operating Support grants to 79 local arts and culture organizations in fiscal year 2025-26, the Office of Arts & Culture. The funding aims to sustain the city’s diverse creative community amid tightened budgets and rising costs.
“Portland-based arts organizations are an asset to our community,” said Mayor Keith Wilson. “I’m inspired by their work—from murals and activations throughout downtown to the performances hosted at Portland’5 venues. They also buoy our larger efforts to renew and invigorate the central city and beyond.”
The grants are designed to provide stable, unrestricted funding to nonprofit arts organizations across Portland, allowing recipients to cover essential expenses such as staff salaries, rent, and program delivery. “General Operating Support provides stable, flexible funding to Portland’s arts organizations—and that’s really important,” said Arts & Culture Director Chariti Montez. “It’s not attached to any specific project, and groups can use the funds for whatever suits them best.”
The 2025-26 awards come amid a decline in available funding. In 2024-25, the city distributed more than $4 million in operating support. This year’s total has dropped to $2.8 million due to flat collections from the city’s Arts Tax, rising administrative costs, and citywide budget cuts. As a result, only base tier awards will be distributed in 2025-26, with no additional investment or subsidy awards.
Funding amounts are determined using a tiered structure based on each organization’s average income over the past three years. This progressive system ensures that smaller organizations receive a higher percentage of their budget in support compared to larger ones. Award tiers range from $15,000 for smaller groups to $175,000 for the largest cultural institutions, including the Portland Art Museum and Oregon Symphony Association.
In 2023-24, the city’s General Operating Support program funded a workforce of 2,392 people and served more than 1 million Portlanders, including 202,196 K-12 students and over 262,000 low-income Oregonians through free or subsidized events.
Notable 2025-26 recipients include the Oregon Ballet Theatre ($100,000), Portland Center Stage ($100,000), Literary Arts ($85,000), and BodyVox ($45,000). A complete list of grantees includes a range of disciplines and community-focused groups such as the Children’s Healing Art Project, Street Books, and Rejoice! Diaspora Dance Theater.
All grant funds come from the City’s General Fund and the Arts Access Fund, which is supported by a $35 per person annual Arts Tax. Before grants are allocated, funds are first distributed to Portland’s six public school districts to support arts education.
Looking ahead, the General Operating Support program will undergo a full redesign for 2026-27. All organizations—current grantees and new applicants—will be required to reapply. Those interested in applying can sign up to receive updates when guidelines are released in spring 2026.
In addition to the General Operating Support grants, the Office of Arts & Culture will award $1.4 million in Small Grants to individual artists and smaller arts organizations in 2025-26, continuing its broader commitment to creative equity and access citywide.
