AUSTIN (KXAN) — Arts education programs across Texas have the chance to get money that supports programming for Texas children across artistic disciplines like music, visual arts, performing arts, dance, creative writing, and theater.
Texas Women for the Arts (TWA) opened applications for its 2026 grant cycle, which awards grants to “select arts organizations making a meaningful impact in communities across the state,” according to a release from the program.
Grant applications opened Oct. 1 and will close Dec. 1.
TWA is a program of Texas Cultural Trust, a statewide arts advocacy nonprofit. TWA is a statewide giving circle that raises funds and awards grants to arts education programs. This year marks the program’s 20th year of service, according to the release.
In its 20 years, TWA has awarded over 400 grants totaling more than $4.7 million, reaching over 3.7 million children across Texas, per the release. Earlier this year, TWA awarded more than $320,000 to art education programs across Texas as part of its 2025 grant cycle.
TWA is made up of more than 200 philanthropists, community leaders and arts advocates who support the program’s dedication to “awakening and nurturing the artist in every Texas child.” TWA members pay annual membership fees, which go toward the grants the program awards.
Jenny Parry, Director of Programs for the Texas Cultural Trust, said TWA is the Trust’s only giving circle.
“It’s comprised of incredible women across the state who really champion their passion for arts education and children in Texas, and their mission is to nurture and inspire the artist in every Texas child,” Parry said. “And so, this program consists of these women who join as members each year. Their membership dues, 100% of their dues go towards grants that we grant out back into the Texas community to support arts education programming for children.”
Parry said the annual grants have always been privately funded, so there’s no anxiety around potentially losing funding due to federal funding cuts.
“So this is a very unique program in Texas because it has always been funded this way. It has always been from private giving dollars from the generosity of these individual Texans that live in communities and cherish their arts in their communities, and want to make sure that their dollars are pulled back together to give back to their community,” Parry said. “So the TWA grants have never been funded by public taxpayer dollars… The private giving always helps to supplement what can’t be provided by taxpayer dollars.”
Each year, grants are awarded in the spring following a rigorous review process by TWA members. The 2025-2026 grant cycle is open from Oct. 1 through Dec. 1, 2025.
Eligibility criteria for the FY26 grant cycle, per TWA:
- Applicants must have a 501(c)(3) designation with the following exceptions: religious organizations and city/county/state historical agencies.
- Current grantees are not eligible to apply after two (2) consecutive years of funding. Applicants may reapply after a waiting period of one (1) year.
- Applications must be sponsored by a current TWA member. Please note: The Texas Cultural Trust does not assign sponsors. It is the applicant’s responsibility to identify and solicit a TWA member to sponsor their application.
- All applicants must have active registration and be in good standing with the Texas Secretary of State.
- To be eligible for consideration, the program for which applicants are seeking funding must reflect the mission of TWA: To awaken and nurture the artist in every Texas child.
The Texas Cultural Trust produces the State of the Arts Report each year, which Parry said includes findings about the impact of the arts on education, the economy, and the overall health of Texans.
“And so what we’ve learned in that research is that arts education improves academic performance. It improves social-emotional learning skills. It improves our health and well-being, and that’s for people of all ages, right, but also for children as they’re developing and finding security and safety in their classroom and getting to learn to express themselves in a safe way,” Parry said. “All of this is benefiting the child as they develop, but then it also feeds into a well-prepared workforce. So the arts are unique in that they’re teaching creative learning skills or teaching problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, like no other subject can.”
According to the Trust’s 2025 State of the Arts Report, students who are deeply engaged in the arts are:
- Up to 46% more likely to pass the Texas Success Initiative (TSI)
- Twice as likely to meet Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate (AP/IB) exam benchmarks
- 20% more likely to earn dual-credit achievements
More information about the grant program and grant applications is available on the TWA website.
Credit: Source link
