Tompkins County awards 2025 arts and culture operating grants after competitive review

The Tompkins County Legislature’s Housing and Economic Development Committee voted unanimously on March 5 to approve the county’s 2025 Arts, Culture and Organizational Development (ACOD) grant awards.

Nick (tourism program director) told the committee that 20 organizations applied requesting more than $540,000 while the county budgeted $330,000 for awards. "Each application is scored in 4 criteria: tourism impact, artistic and cultural impact, economic impact, and administrative capability," Nick said, describing the panel process used to recommend awards.

A five-member grant panel met multiple times to review applications and produce a recommended slate; the panel initially reviewed applications, revised scores and then recommended awards that funded all but five applicants. Nick said the county intends to structure the awards as two‑year contracts, pending future funding availability.

Committee members asked whether the county evaluates the long‑term financial viability of grant recipients. Nick cited a recent discussion with the director of a museum that had publicly described financial difficulties and said the county plans to withhold payments on a monthly basis in that case so the county would not issue several months of funding if operations ceased.

The awards are intended primarily as general operating support; Nick said the program does not fund capital or construction projects. "Many of the organizations request funding for staffing... some may request project‑related expenses, but this program really does not touch capital expenses," he said.

The committee moved the resolution, which passed unanimously. The resolution and score sheets were included in the committee packet for review.