Hillsborough County gives 2026 grantees step-by-step guide to reimbursement-based arts grants

Hillsborough County staff led a virtual workshop for 2026 Community Arts Impact grantees to explain how to administer reimbursement-based grants, what paperwork is required, and how to submit requests through the Neighborly portal. Kathy Collins, the grant manager, led the session and answered questions from grantees.

"All of the funding that you receive is from taxpayer base. So we all need to be good stewards of the money," Collins said, stressing the county’s expectation for careful recordkeeping. She repeatedly described the grant agreement as the contract between each organization and the county: "The grant agreement is your contract," she said, and added that an agreement is not legally binding until it has been fully executed by a county representative.

Why it matters: The workshop laid out paperwork and timing that determine when grantees can be reimbursed and what counts as allowable spending. Collins said the grants are reimbursement-based — grantees must spend first, document expenses, then…