CAH reports faster grant disbursements, new grant management pilot and FY26 application dates

Commission staff told the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities on Feb. 20 that the agency has accelerated grant disbursements for FY25, is piloting a new grants management system and will open FY26 grant rounds in March.

Martin Fernandez, presenting the finance update, said the commission's remaining unrestricted grants balance declined from roughly 39% available last month to about 30% available in the current report, with much of the remaining funding tied to facilities, small capital and building lines. "Most of the remaining funds are from the facilities and buildings and capital, small capital grant projects lines," Fernandez said.

Terrell Johnson, senior grants officer, gave a detailed progress report on FY25 agreements and said the commission has made substantial headway in executing awards. He reported that, as of his morning update, "we have, 1,006 out of, 1,000 and a 55 grants. That's 87 have been fully executed." Johnson also said the commission had established 928 purchase orders representing roughly 80% of grantees and that the number of POs was growing as staff processed documentation.

Johnson announced the FY26 grant calendar for general operating support (GOS), East Arts (EA), and project/events/festival (PEF) programs: applications will open Tuesday, March 11 and close Tuesday, April 22, with workshops and panelist recruitment to follow. He encouraged qualified applicants and potential panelists to review materials on the agency website and to contact grants staff; the posted contact was Kayla Williams at kayla.williams@dc.gov.

Staff described operational improvements that helped accelerate payments this year, including a successful pilot post-award system and plans to select a grant-management system (GMS) after a pilot. Fernandez and others said small-capital award letters are out, vendors are being vetted and purchase orders for awarded small capital projects should go out in the coming weeks once documents are collected.

Why it matters: Faster award execution and a clarified FY26 calendar are critical to applicants and grantees that depend on timely payments and panel schedules. The commission emphasized that staff are still assisting grantees with missing documentation and will provide direct support through grant managers.

What happens next: FY26 application portal opens March 11; staff will continue processing FY25 purchase orders and expect additional POs to be issued in the coming weeks as documents are completed. The commission will announce the selected GMS after a pilot to confirm compatibility.

Ending: Commissioners praised the faster disbursement pace and encouraged continued improvements; staff asked applicants with outstanding documentation to contact their grant managers for assistance.