Glasstire: Moody Fund for the Arts Opens Application for 2026 Grants

This story originally appeared in Glasstire by Hannah Dean

The Moody Fund for the Arts is gearing up for another year of supporting Dallas’ small and emerging arts organizations. Applications for the 2026 granting cycle are now open, due February 17, at Noon.

The fund was created by the Moody Foundation, and is administered by the AT&T Performing Arts Center in partnership with the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture. Hector Garcia, AT&T Performing Arts Center Director of Strategic Services, said in a press release that, since its launch in 2017, the fund has distributed more than $2.8 million to Dallas arts organizations. The fund supports operating expenses as well as arts and culture programming. “The fund is designed to provide flexible support at a scale that can be meaningful for small and emerging groups,” he said.

Mr. Garcia told Glasstire, “I’m also excited that we can increase the maximum to $15,000. The stock market is doing well, so that’s what drives it.”

Applicants may seek funding in five categories: new works and commissions, general program and operating cost support, community performances and artist-in-residency programs, capacity building, and cultural equity and new initiatives.

“The cool thing about the Moody Fund is you can ask for support for your general fund for all year, not just [specific] projects,” Mr. Garcia said. “That’s really great for small organizations. Most foundations want you to do a project so you can check the box. This will really support [organizations] in many ways that other funding entities can’t.”

To be eligible, organizations must be Dallas-based, with annual operating budgets under $1 million and supported by the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture — either approved for funding in the City’s current fiscal year or having successfully executed a city-funded program in the previous year.

Organizations must have a three-year history of programming. Nonprofit status is not a requirement.

Prior recipients include Cara Mía Theatre Co. (2018-2022); Bruce Wood Dance (2018-2023); Dallas Metroplex Musicians’ Association (2019-2025); Dallas Bach Society (2020-2023); Theatre Three (2020-2024); Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico and Verdigris Ensemble (2020-2025); Ollimpaxqui Ballet Co. (2022-2025), and the Oak Cliff Film Society and Oak Cliff Records Library (2023).

The Avant Chamber Ballet, Kitchen Dog Theater Company, Undermain Theatre, and the USA Film Festival all were awardees in each year of Moody Fund grants, from 2018 to 2025.

The Galveston-based foundation’s arts support in Dallas extends beyond these grants. In 2017, the foundation partnered with the City to rename the former Dallas City Performance Hall as Moody Performance Hall. That same year, the foundation gave Southern Methodist University (SMU) a $1 million gift for Owen Arts Center renovations, and in 2019, it committed $100 million to establish SMU’s Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, which houses post-graduate programs for the Meadows School of the Arts.

Since 1942, the Moody Foundation has awarded more than $1.5 billion in grants across Texas for arts, education, healthcare, and community development.

Visit the Moody Fund for the Arts website for more information and to access the 2026 grant application.