Description

The Virginia Commission for the Arts will match, up to $4,500, subject to funds available, tax monies given by Town of Herndon to independent arts organizations. The funding will be sub-granted by the Town directly to the grant recipient(s).

Eligible Applicants

Independent ADA-compliant arts organizations established in or serving populations within the Town of Herndon.

Eligible Activities

Grant funds are to be used to support arts activities in the Town including but not limited to dance, literary arts, media arts, music, theatre, or visual or related arts. The Commission does not match payments paid to performers or arts educators through this grant funding.

Deadline

February 27, 2026, by 5:00 p.m. EST for grants awarded in FY27.

Organizations must submit their proposals to the Performing Arts Supervisor at the Town of Herndon Department of Parks and Recreation. Proposals may be mailed to Herndon Parks and Recreation Department, 777 Lynn Street, Herndon, VA 20170, hand delivered to the Herndon Community Center, 814 Ferndale Ave, Herndon, VA, 20170, or sent electronically to parksandrec@herndon-va.gov.

Amount of Assistance

Up to $4,500, subject to funds available. The Commission will match the dollar amount awarded by the Town for a maximum total of $9,000.

Criteria for Evaluating Applications

Applicants should provide full documentation of the programming for which they are seeking funding, including program budget, program planning, and a detailed description of the implementation of the project. A panel consisting of Town staff members will adjudicate all applications which will be judged on the following criteria:

  • Clearly defined artistic and programming goals
  • Impact on the local community
  • Emphasis on reaching underserved, under-resourced and under-represented communities
  • Financial need for partnership assistance

Process & Timeline

  1. Applicants submit packages to Town of Herndon by February 27, 2026 at 5:00pm
  2. Town of Herndon will notify applicants by April 1, 2026 as to whether the Town will be seeking a matching grant from the Commission on their behalf.
  3. For organizations moving forward in the process, grant match results from the Commission will be available in late summer 2026 for FY27 grant monies.
  4. Fall 2026, after receiving appropriation documentation from the grant recipient including W9, the Town’s portion of the grant funding will be appropriated.
  5. The grant match from the Commission will be appropriated after the grant recipient completes reporting requirements to the Town and the Town in turn completes reporting requirements to the Commission in order to release the funds.
  6. No later than February 1, 2027, the Town must provide a full report to the Commission detailing the usage of allocated grant funds. For programs scheduled to occur between February 1 and June 30, 2027, grant recipients must submit a preliminary report of planned activities by January 15, 2027 as well as a final report no later than June 10, 2027 in order to receive their grant match.

Reporting Requirements

After the funded programming has been completed, grant recipients are required to provide a final report to the Town detailing the usage of grant monies.  Proof of execution of the programming detailed in the grant application are required, as well as a final reporting of expenditures, participation and community impact. Final reports must be received no later than June 10, 2027 in order to receive the grant match. Inability to submit a final report by the deadline may result in forfeiture of the grant match as well as failure to be considered in future grant cycles.

If the programming detailed in the grant application does not take place or is amended in any meaningful way, the grant recipient is required to notify the Town in a timely manner.  Cancellation of funded programming or making significant changes to funded programming may be grounds for termination of grant match funding and/or failure to be considered in future grant cycles.