Arts and culture organizations that serve Littleton now have a new opportunity for funding, as applications are open for arts and culture grants through The Littleton Museum.

These grants will be funded by Littleton’s new 5% lodger’s tax on hotels, motels and short-term rentals, which was approved by voters in 2022.

The city will use 25% of the revenue from the lodger’s tax to support the grant program. Other portions of the tax revenue will go towards supporting the city’s main arts and culture institutions, tourism marketing, public art programming and historic preservation.

“That is something that I think the entire community is very excited about, to really invigorate and bring our communities to the next level of culture,” Mayor Kyle Schlachter said  during the May 17 State of the City address.

The new grant program aims to build strong and dynamic arts and culture organizations in Littleton, foster collaboration between organizations and cultivate community engagement, according to the program’s webpage.

“It may pay for paint for an art installation, it may pay for a guest conductor for the symphony, it may pay for costuming or an additional instructor at the Littleton Ballet,” wrote Kate Eckel, chair of the Arts and Culture Commission, which administers and manages the funds. “The opportunities are endless.”

Organizations, especially non-profits, that offer programming in Littleton and show a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion are encouraged to apply. These organizations should provide some type of “art” to the community, Eckel wrote, but noted that the definition of art is broad.

“This could be performing arts, two- and three-dimensional, temporary art installations, interactive art, etc.,” she wrote.

The Arts and Culture Commission also recommends that applying organizations have been in operation and offered publicly accessible programming for at least three consecutive years, according to the program’s webpage.

The commission will determine recommendations for grant recipients and present these recommendations to city council for final approval in the fall.

The total amount of money available for grant distribution in 2024 is estimated to be approximately $250,000. There is no minimum or maximum award organizations can ask for.

“We are telling applicants to ‘reach for the sky’ this year to help establish baselines and make sure we have plenty of applications in which to distribute funds,” Eckel wrote.

More information on the grant program and how to apply is available at https://www.museum.littletonco.gov/Public-Art/Arts-Culture-Grants.

Applications are due by June 11 and funds will be made available at the start of 2024.