Boulder Vision Grants

Si prefiere leer esta página en español por favor haga clic aquí. Se puede responder a la solicitud en español. Un miembro del personal de la Oficina de Artes y Cultura traducirá sus respuestas para que sean revisadas.

For this application in other languages please contact the Office of Arts + Culture Grants Manager Sarah Harrison at harrisons@bouldercolorado.gov.

The purpose of Boulder Vision Grants is to encourage experimental, emerging, underrepresented projects that align with broader city initiatives. Projects may relate to the following community goals:

1. Safe. Boulder’s creative life fosters welcoming, inclusive public spaces, building trust across differences, and help civic life prepare for and recover from disruption.
2. Healthy and Socially Thriving. Boulder is filled with inclusive cultural experiences which strengthen social ties and support mental and physical wellbeing. Through representation, access, and everyday creativity, artists and cultural spaces help residents meet human needs for belonging, expression, and joy while advancing equity across identities and neighborhoods.
3. Livable. The arts make Boulder more livable by turning buildings, streets, and services into places of connection, attachment, and care. Creative practice animates infrastructure, supports housing solutions, and embeds everyday access to culture within walking distance. By weaving art into development, social services, and neighborhood design, the city nurtures environments where people can work, learn, play, live with belonging, and express themselves.
4. Accessible and Connected. The arts advance an accessible and connected city by turning mobility routes into cultural experiences, using creative tools to bridge digital and physical divides, and inviting all residents regardless of language, ability, or location into civic life. Through artful wayfinding, inclusive storytelling, and hybrid engagement platforms, cultural practice helps people navigate, meet, and participate more easily in Boulder’s public realm.
5. Environmentally Sustainable. The arts advance Boulder’s sustainability goals by weaving ecological awareness into everyday civic life. Through creative expression, the arts invite residents to see the natural world with renewed curiosity, celebrate resourcefulness, and co‑create solutions that protect the planet for future generations.
6. Responsibly Governed. The arts strengthen a responsibly governed city engaging residents in civic processes and embedding equity-centered creativity into policy design and service delivery. When incorporated into civic life, the arts generate richer data, deeper trust, and more resilient cross-sector partnerships.
7. Economically Vital. The arts power an economically vital Boulder by sparking innovation, anchoring small businesses, and attracting visitors and talent while ensuring that creative opportunity and the benefits it generates are shared across communities. Culture and creativity are treated as core economic infrastructure.

Total funds: $240,000

Awards: Organizations $120,000 @ maximum $12,000 each // Individuals $120,000 @ maximum $6,000 each

Details: The award amount of $12,000 for organizations or $6,000 for individuals is the maximum grant offered. Smaller requests will be accepted.

Cycle: Annual

Deadline to submit pre-applications - organizations: Friday, February 27 at 11:59 p.m.

Deadline to submit pre-applications - individuals: Wednesday, April 15 at 11:59 p.m.

Definitions: “Individual” is defined as: applications in which the project is created and managed by a single individual, a sole-proprietorship, or a for-profit business with only one employee. “Organization” is defined as: applications in which the project is being created and managed by a nonprofit or a for-profit business with multiple employees.

Community Project Grants – Organizations

• Wednesday, February 4 – Pre-applications open
• February 4 – March 4 – Rolling pre-application eligibility review by staff
• Friday, February 27 – Deadline for pre-applications
• Monday, March 20 at 11:59 p.m. – Deadline for full applications
• March 27 – April 15 – Preliminary review and score by panel (20 days)
• Wednesday, April 22 – Panel meets to discuss applications
• April 24 – May 1 – Applicants respond to (up to) 2 points of clarification
• May 6 – May 13-- Final review and score by panel (8 days)
• May 13- 20 – Processing of final scores
• Wednesday, May 27 – Arts Commission meeting. Discussion and final decisions on grants

Community Project Grants – Individuals

• Monday, March 23 – Pre-applications open
• March 23 - April 17 – Rolling pre-application eligibility review by staff
• Wednesday, April 15– Deadline for pre-applications
• Friday, May 1 at 11:59 p.m. – Deadline for full applications
• May 61 - May 22 – Preliminary review and score by panel (16 days)
• Wednesday, May 27 – Panel meets to discuss applications
• May 27 – June 3 – Applicants respond to (up to) 2 points of clarification
• June 3 – June 10-- Final review and score by panel (8 days)
• June 10 – June 17 – Processing of final scores
• Wednesday, June 24, 2025 – Arts Commission meeting. Discussion and final decisions on grants

• General eligibility. Meets all general eligibility requirements.
• Open to all. Anyone may apply once the general eligibility requirements are met, including individuals, artists, non-profit organizations, organizations with pending non-profit status, fiscally sponsored organizations and for-profit organizations with a community focus.
• Service area and programming. Projects must have a significant component of public programming that takes place within the city limits of Boulder. This programming must meet the criteria described in the Chapter 14-1-2 of the City of Boulder Revised Code. For additional information on the planning area and Comprehensive Plan visit this link. As a shorthand, office staff use addresses with the zip code starting with 803— to determine if it is in the acceptable area.
• Timeline. Projects must take place after the grant funding decision (May 27, 2026 for organizations and June 24, 2026 for individuals) and be completed by June 30, 2027.

Log onto the Boulder Arts Commission online grant portal to preview and apply. If you have not logged on before, make a profile. Applications must be submitted using our online grant applications.

• Deliberation. Applications are reviewed by the Boulder Arts Commission grants panel. Final funding decisions are made at public Boulder Arts Commission meetings. See schedule.
• Evaluation of applications. Funding in previous years does not imply continued support. Each application is reviewed anew in the context of current policies and applications. Applicants that have received repeated funding should be aware that the Boulder Arts Commission looks for indication of growth and a fresh approach to their work.
• Evaluation criteria.
  • Community priorities (Maximum 8 points)
  • Cultural offerings (Maximum 8 points)
  • Cultural equity (Maximum 8 points)
  • Proposed outcomes and evaluation strategy (Maximum 8 points)
  • Boulder focus (Maximum 6 points)
  • Encouragement points (Maximum 3 points)
• The complete scoring system and rubric for the Community Project Grants can be found here.

Written Appeals Process. The deadline for a written appeal is 14 days after the Boulder Arts Commission decision meeting. Find more information about the appeals process.

Grant report forms are on the Boulder Arts Commission grants software. Log in with the same user name and password utilized to submit the application. After logging in, go to the ‘Dashboard’, then you’ll see a ‘Follow Up’ section for the grant. On the far right is the ‘Edit’ button. That will take you to complete the final report.

After you submit the report you’ll receive email confirmation and copy of the report via the email that you have included in the report. Contact Sarah Harrison at harrisons@bouldercolorado.gov or 303-441-3907 if you do not receive email confirmation.