Flagler County Cultural Council seeks to expand grants, scholarships and public‑art programs after state designation

Nancy Crouch, chair of the Flagler County Cultural Council (FC3), gave the council an annual update on Jan. 15, saying FC3 had been designated by the Board of County Commissioners as the county’s local arts agency and that the group is expanding grantmaking, scholarships and public art projects.

Crouch described three pillars guiding FC3: support (including a new granting program and scholarships), advocacy (engaging local and state officials and fostering collaboration), and collaboration (partnering with schools and regional groups). She said FC3 awarded scholarships to local high school seniors and that “we gave $55,000 scholarships away last year.” Crouch said the council had secured $50,000 the prior year to help fund scholarships and that FC3 had applied for a Local Arts Agency grant through the state for 2026.

Crouch said FC3 is working with the City of Palm Coast to administer the city’s cultural arts grant; she told the council that Palm Coast agreed to an initial $100,000 contribution to the program and that FC3 expects to distribute that funding to nonprofit arts, culture and history organizations through a panel review and scoring process. She said grant awards will be intended as substantive, project‑level support rather than small token awards.

Crouch also reviewed the public‑art “turtle trail,” noting one turtle (Quilty) was stolen last year and a sponsor will replace it; she said turtle sponsorship costs $5,000 and that the next unveiling is planned for March. She described education and outreach programs tied to the trail, including a summer program for schoolchildren and expanded maps of county public art.

Why it matters: FC3’s growth and the new Palm Coast grant agreement would centralize much arts and culture grantmaking in Flagler County, affecting how local nonprofit arts groups and events are funded and promoted.