Metro Arts affirms FY2025 appeals process and denies three grant appeals after Submittable access disputes

The Metro Arts Commission voted to approve a formal FY2025 appeals process and to deny three grant appeals brought by nonprofit applicants, including the International Black Film Festival, after staff said award calculations relied on original applications submitted by the January 29, 2024 deadline.

Commissioners approved the appeals process as recommended by the executive committee and then heard three appeals in sequence. Interim Executive Director Ashley Batchelder explained that Metro Arts had downloaded original applications in late 2024 and used the revenue figures and uploaded documents from those originals when staff and the commission set funding formulas, so documents uploaded after the original deadline were treated as ineligible for FY25 award-size calculations.

Ingrid Brown, president of the International Black Film Festival, told the commission she could not view her original Submittable submissions and that portions of both the operating-grant and Thrive-grant entries were “not visible or accessible.” Brown said she had been told by Submittable…