After the National Endowment for the Arts withdrew awards from cultural institutions across the country, Fort Worth organizations impacted by the move say they鈥檙e seeing a spike in community fundraising and support.
The Welman Project, Transform 1012 N. Main Street and Maroon 9 Community Enrichment in early May after the Trump administration cancelled a slew of NEA grants.
Trump recently proposed from the 2026 federal budget. The federal agency is updating its grantmaking policy to focus funding on projects that 鈥渞eflect the nation鈥檚 rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President,鈥� according to an email sent by the agency.
Maroon 9 a $10,000 NEA grant to support the organization鈥檚 鈥淧age to Stage Theatre Arts Literacy Program鈥� 鈥� which kicked off April 14 鈥� and its production of 鈥淗arriet Tubman, Take My Hand and Follow Me.鈥� The organization focuses on out-of-school enrichment programs for youth in some of east Fort Worth鈥檚 predominantly Black neighborhoods.
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The grant termination came in the middle of the 10-week summer program and threw off some planning, ShaVonne Davis, executive artistic director of Maroon 9, previously told the Report.
On May 17, theater instructor Ehleshea Anderson, who has over 18,000 followers on TikTok, calling for her supporters to donate to Maroon 9. The call went viral, earning more than 37,000 likes and thousands of comments.
The organization quickly received donations that initially provided by the NEA. The funding has come from people across the world, Davis said.
鈥淚 am in shock,鈥� she told the Report. 鈥�(Anderson) saw our statement and created this video and it has just went crazy. We have had people donate from $3 to $2,000. This is a breath of fresh air.鈥�
The new funding will allow Maroon 9 to complete the remainder of its summer program. The organization鈥檚 production of 鈥淗arriet Tubman, Take My Hand and Follow Me鈥� will take place at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. June 21 at Theatre Wesleyan in east Fort Worth.
Transform 1012 and The Welman Project 鈥� which tied to the redevelopment of a former Ku Klux Klan auditorium 鈥� haven鈥檛 seen a large increase in donations, but have received words of support and encouragement from residents.
Since 2019, Transform 1012 has worked alongside the Welman Project to the warehouse in Fort Worth鈥檚 Northside into the Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing.
The Welman Project, which lost its grant through the NEA鈥檚 ArtsHERE program, has received $300 in donations since the grant termination. The organizations remain optimistic about the , Taylor Willis, co-founder of Welman Project, said via email.
鈥淚鈥檓 grateful that people are paying attention, and I hope they鈥檙e rallying around the very urgent needs, like Maroon 9鈥檚 summer camp,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e doing what we can to support them as well.鈥�
The leadership of the ArtsHERE program submitted an appeal on behalf of all the grantees, Willis added, but there鈥檚 no indication of when impacted organizations will hear back.
Carlos Gonzalez-Jaime, executive director of Transform 1012, said the nonprofit is having active conversations with several funders to discuss further financial support.
鈥淲e鈥檙e deeply grateful for the continued commitment from our communities and supporters amid these changes in the funding landscape,鈥� he said via email.
The fundraising success highlights the importance of diversified income and community support and serves as a model for future efforts, Davis said.
鈥淵ou cannot 100% rely on grants and that鈥檚 what this has shown me,鈥� she said. 鈥淎t the end of the day, the funding changes trickle down. We鈥檙e just excited that this has worked out for us.鈥�
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or .
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