Cultural Organizations Program (COP)

The CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS PROGRAM is the support program through which the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture contracts for cultural services with established Dallas-based non-profit arts and culture organizations for a variety of cultural programs that include concerts, plays, exhibitions, performances, workshops and other cultural programming for the benefit of Dallas residents and visitors. These cultural service contracts are awarded annually using a review panel approach to evaluate applications. Program eligibility and review criteria are published annually.

The COP application for the 2025-26 fiscal year, funding organizations from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, is currently CLOSED for applications. All applications are currently being reviewed. Awardees will be notified by late September.

WHAT’S NEW?

Based on applicant feedback, we are excited to share the following changes to the FY 2025 – 26 application, passed unanimously by the Arts and Culture Advisory Commission and Dallas City Council:

Transition to a three-year funding cycle: FY 2025-26 will be the first year of a three-year COP funding cycle. This 2025-26 Year 1 application will look highly similar to previous years, and will require a full application, video, and review panel Q&A session. Accepted applicants may complete significantly abbreviated applications in Year 2 and Year 3. (New applicants may enter the program at any year of the cycle by completing a full application.) Please see the “COP as a Multi-Year Program” section of the guidelines for more information.
New COP marketing requirement: FY 2025-26 COP-awarded organizations’ major, in-scope events must be open to the public and posted on GoSeeDFW to earn all compliance points for 2026-27.
Award compliance funding impact (for returning applicants): FY 2025-26 guidelines include specific examples of why a returning organization might receive reduced funding from previous years due to incompliance with grant or application requirements.

Please reach out to OACFundingPrograms@dallas.gov with any questions. We hope that these changes help make the COP application process as streamlined as possible!

WHAT’S THE SAME?

Applicant organizations must have an annual operating budget of greater than $100,000 in revenues from the most recent fiscal year.
Applicants must be Dallas based, with at least half of the year’s programming located within the Dallas city limits. (To review Dallas city limits, please see: Dallas City Info).
Applicants must have at least one employee.
Applicants must have received 501c3 designation at least three years prior to the application deadline and have at least three years of operational history.
- For this year, the latest date that organizations could receive 501c3 designation is April 18, 2022.
In lieu of in-person presentations, applicants must include a video to present to the panel (for more information, see Guidelines.) Applicants must also attend a virtual Q&A session on their assigned date, May 13 – 20, 2025. (Applicants who do not attend their virtual Q&A session may be disqualified from the program, or receive reduced funding.)
Applicants must submit complete applications by the deadline of 11:59 p.m. on Friday, April 18, 2025 to be considered. This includes all videos, financial documents, and required forms.

PROGRAM TIMELINE

Online Application Period: March 3 – April 18, 2025
Latest day for new applicant to email OAC of intent to apply: April 9, 2025 (organizations that were not funded in the FY 2024-25 year only)
Virtual Panel Review Period: April 19 – May 9, 2025
Web-meeting Panel Question and Answer Sessions: May 13-20, 2025
- May 13 – Tier 1 Organizations
- May 14 – Tier 2 Organizations
- May 15 – Tier 3 Organizations
- May 16 – Tier 4 Organizations
- May 20 – Tier 5 and Tier 6 Organizations
COP Application Review to Arts and Culture Advisory Commission: June – September 2025
COP Funding Recommendations approved by City Council; initiation of COP Contracts: October 2025

HOW TO APPLY

APPLY HERE: FY 2025-26 COP

Download – FY 2025-26 COP Guidelines
Download – FY 2026 COP Projection Matrix
Download – FY 2025-26 COP Application – Word Version for Drafts
Download – COP Info Session Slides FY 2025-26
Panelist Matrix – FY 2025-26 COP Panel Scoring Matrix

INFORMATION SESSIONS

Session 1: Friday, March 7 | 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
VIRTUAL | Join Teams Meeting Here

Session 2: Monday, March 10 | 4:00 PM – 5:00PM
VIRTUAL | Join Teams Meeting Here

Session 3: Tuesday, March 18 | 12:00 PM – 1:00PM
In-Person | Bath House Cultural Center, 521 E Lawther Dr, Dallas, TX 75218

Session 4: Wednesday, March 26 | 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM* (Note: This will be an in-person application workshop, rather than a traditional information session. There will be an abbreviated presentation for the first thirty minutes, but the additional 90 minutes will be time for personal work on the application, brainstorming with others, and opportunity to ask staff questions in person — we will even read sections and provide on the spot feedback. Bring your laptop!)
In-Person | Central Library – Stone Room (7th Floor) at J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, 1515 Young St, Dallas, TX 75201

Session 5: Monday, April 7 | 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
VIRTUAL | Join on Teams Here

VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS

Friday, April 4 | 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM | Join on Teams Here

Wednesday, April 9 | 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM | Join on Teams Here

Monday, April 14 | 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM | Join on Teams Here

Wednesday, April 16 | 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM | Join on Teams Here

FY 2024 – 25

FY 2024-25 COP Web Portal