ACME launches $23 million funding round; Austin Live Music Fund gets $6 million and new application rules

Laura Odegard, acting division manager for Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment (ACME), told the Austin Music Commission that ACME will launch a $23 million round of cultural funding on July 7, with applications closing Aug. 18 and awards announced in November.

Odegard said the funding pool is split among programs as follows: $3 million for Thrive, $3 million for Heritage Preservation, $11 million for Elevate and $6 million for the Austin Live Music Fund. She said ACME has paid out roughly $3.68 million to 366 awardees to date and has dispersed about $13 million to Austin creatives over the last two to three months.

The agency will set fixed award tiers for several programs to reduce applicant and administrative burden, Odegard said. Applicants will see clearer eligibility definitions (for example, arts groups will now need an EIN), one‑file upload limits (one file up to three pages per question), and expanded scoring rubrics and tie‑breaker procedures. For the Live Music Fund specifically, tie‑breakers will favor applicants who previously applied but were not awarded and applicants producing work in Austin for longer periods.

Odegard said ACME also tightened anti‑duplication rules: one application per program per entity, and only one active award at a time across the Thrive, Elevate, Nexus programs and the Live Music Fund to prevent double‑dipping.

Staff plans additional applicant supports: English and Spanish guidance documents, rubrics posted on the website, example templates, a video walkthrough, virtual office hours and in‑person workshops. Panel reviewer recruitment is open; ACME estimated a need for roughly 2,322 panelists to review the expected volume of applications for three programs that require panels.

Commissioners pressed staff on practical questions: whether awardees could expense costs before the contract period (staff said grantees may expense starting 60 days before a Jan. 1, 2027 contract start date for events occurring during the contract), how many applicants applied in the previous cycle (staff estimated about 1,066 total applications last round and said they would follow up with exact numbers), and how ACME will publicize the opportunity (press release, memo to mayor and council, social media, printed posters and postcards translated into Spanish and Simplified Chinese).