GCAC halts 2025 grant programs in response to Franklin County cutbacks

Last week, GCAC released a brief statement announcing that it was immediately closing the Funds for Artists and Artist Projects grant programs for 2025. “In addition to these grant program closures, we have made significant operational expense reductions,” the organization wrote. “We will continue to evaluate and update our budgets and grant guidelines as needed throughout the remainder of the year.”

The announcement quickly rippled throughout the Columbus arts community, with many expressing fears related to the negative impact on their own bottom lines, yes, but also to the potential damage to the local arts scene as a whole. Generally, though, most public expressions relayed some level of understanding, these individuals well aware of the constant threats to public funding existent in a political era where the Trump-appointed DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) has rooted out “wasteful spending” by haphazardly cutting off money to organizations such as U.S.A.I.D. and worsening any number of global crises, including the genocide in Sudan.

Earlier today (Wednesday, July 30), GCAC followed up with a lengthier, more detailed statement in which it attributed the cuts to a handful of factors but especially to a recent decision made by Franklin County to pause $4 million in anticipated county funding to GCAC. This, combined with lower-than-anticipated 2025 city ticket fee receipts, led the organization to make a series of immediate reductions in order to enable it “to fulfill previously awarded grants commitments to both organizations and individuals, including any approved Funds for Artists applications submitted by July 23.”

According to GCAC, these reductions were absorbed by a combination of cuts to operations and grant offerings, with 52 percent of the reduction distributed across five organizational grant programs (GCAC provides operational support to everyone from CAPA to the Columbus Museum of Art). The closure of Funds for Artists and Artist Projects grant programs represented 23 percent of the funding reduction, with the remaining 25 percent coming from staff and administration, public art, marketing and events.

In the press release, GCAC said that several, still-in-process funding programs would continue to be funded this year, including: Artists Elevated awards; Aminah Robinson residency; Dresden Artist Exchange; Visual Arts Fellowship for artists; and Capital Expense grants for organizations, though the budget available for the remaining unawarded Capital Expense grants for organizations was also reduced.

“We are living in unprecedented times, with nonprofit organizations in all sectors being adversely impacted by state and federal funding cuts, and communities and residents experiencing the trickle-down effects of those cuts,” the organization wrote. “Local elected officials are having to make very difficult choices, and organizations and individuals are being increasingly cautious about their spending.”