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The Arts Council Inc at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

The Arts Council Inc

The organizational mission is to support and advance the legacy of innovation in and access to the arts as a core community value, by providing grants and venues for artists and art organizations to practice and execute their art form in facilties that are efficiently and effectively operated, and to create an environment in which the…

$1.8M
Granted FY2025still arriving
38
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$125k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$3.9MCommunity Improvement$1.1MHuman Services$226kEducation$171kYouth Development$147kEmployment$55kPublic Benefit$50kPhilanthropy$21k
02FY2025 · 38 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 38 grants below total $1,190,897, the rows itemized in this filing. The $1,753,724 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $562,827 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k7 grants · $55k
  • $10k–50k27 grants · $752k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $383k
$29,685
Median grant
1
States reached
$11M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WINSTON-SALEM FORSYTH COUNTY$125,000
SOUTHEASTERN CENTER FOR CONTEMPORAR$101,749
MUSE WINSTON-SALEM$89,425
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL$67,211
TRIAD CULTURAL ARTS INC$35,000
COMMUNIDAD MUJER VALIOSA$35,000
WINSTON-SALEM MIXXER INC$35,000
ROYAL CURTAIN DRAMA GUILD INC$35,000
WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY$34,500
CREATIVE CENTER OF NORTH CAROLINA$34,003
HYMNS FOR HIM CONFERENCE$34,000
AUTHORING ACTION$33,500
BOOKMARKS$33,400
HISPANIC LEAGUE$33,000
WINSTON-SALEM SYMPHONY$32,700
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY24–25, $69k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 13%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 13%SENIOR SERVICES INC: $50k → 15%SENIOR SERVICES INC: $19k → 15%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

95%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.5M · 49 repeat orgs$311k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +45% since the first grant, against +17% for those funded once.

49 repeat relationships: 32 still active in FY2025, 17 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

49
11

Total granted

$6.5M
$164k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+45%
+17%

Still filing today

76%
64%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 88% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $148k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEducationCommunity ImprovementPhilanthropyYouth DevelopmentReligionOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • WS
    WINSTON-SALEM SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION
    6× · 2020–2025 · $412k · revenue +47%
  • NC
    NORTH CAROLINA BLACK REPERTORY COMPANY INC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $365k · revenue +422%
  • SF
    SECCA Foundation
    6× · 2020–2025 · $320k · revenue +46%

Funded once

  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
    one grant, 2024 · $34k
  • CB
    CASHMERE BABY EXPO
    one grant, 2024 · $28k
  • RH
    RED HAWKS AMERICAN INDIAN EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURE
    one grant, 2023 · $20k · revenue -55% · 33% of their budget
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Wilkes Playmakers Inc

Provide cultural and artistic programs for the public of Wilkes County, NC and the surrounding area

Arts & Culture
2
African American Cultural Festival of Raleigh Wake County Inc

To promote, preserve and celebrate African American cultural and heritage through artistic expression and education culminating in a cultural festival held in downtown Raleigh, see schdule O for more info.

Arts & Culture
3
Greenville Theatre Arts Center
—
4
North Carolina Presenters Consortium

The mission of the North Carolina Presenters Consortium is to advance the performing arts by bringing artists and audiences together through collaboration and shared resources.

Arts & Culture
5
The Piedmont Arts Association

To provide experiences in the visual and performing arts

—
6
Arts North Carolina Inc

To support the cultural arts programs of its members by providing educational information as well as conferences and workshops.

—
7
The Arts Council Inc

The organizational mission is to support and advance the legacy of innovation in and access to the arts as a core community value, by providing grants and venues for artists and art organizations to practice and execute their art form in…

—
8
Institute of Classical Architecture and Art North Carolina Chapter

The ICAA advances the appreciation of the priciples of traditional architecture and it's allied arts by engaging educators, students and enthusiats in NC.

—
9
North Raleigh Arts & Creative Theatre

North raleigh arts and creative theatre seeks to engage all members of our community by offering high quality entertainment and theatre education. we encourage the development of life skills while providing opportunities to develop a…

Arts & Culture
10
Caswell Council for the Arts & History Inc

Our mission is to sponsor and encourage cultural education and activities in Caswell County and the surrounding areas by increasing art awareness, educating our citizenry, providing positive opportunities for exposure to the arts, and…

—
11
Caldwell Arts Council Inc

To promote the arts in caldwell county, nc

—
12
North Carolina History Theater

The North Carolina History Theater, Inc., is a qualified 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to expressing and exploring the unique history of North Carolina through the performing arts, and celebrating the rich diversity of our…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Winston-Salem Theatre Alliance Inc; the most unlike its peers is Rebeca Segebre Ministries Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

51 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 51 of the 67 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

8
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
20
Early backer (in before they grew)
50/51
Grantees still filing
33/51
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

WINSTON-SALEM SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $411,808 · Arts & CultureWINSTON-SALEM SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONNORTH CAROLINA BLACK REPERTORY COMPANY INC: $365,394 · Arts & CultureNORTH CAROLINA BLACK REPERTORY COMPANY INCSECCA Foundation: $320,029 · Arts & CultureSECCA FoundationTHE LITTLE THEATRE OF WINSTON-SALEM INC: $285,113 · Arts & CultureTHE LITTLE THEATRE OF WINSTON-SALEM INCTHE SAWTOOTH SCHOOL FOR VISUAL ART: $240,953 · Arts & CultureTHE SAWTOOTH SCHOOL FOR VISUAL ARTRIVERRUN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL: $217,037 · Arts & CultureRIVERRUN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALPIEDMONT CRAFTSMEN INC: $204,104 · Arts & CulturePIEDMONT CRAFTSMEN INCTriad Cultural Arts Inc: $164,691 · Arts & CultureREYNOLDA HOUSE INC: $157,846 · Arts & CultureDowntown Winston-Salem Community Cinema: $133,092 · Arts & CultureWinston Salem Delta Fine Arts Inc: $131,000 · Arts & Culture+21 more: $796,146 · Arts & Culture+21 moreGLADNESS PARTNERS LLC: $955,700 · OtherGLADNESS PARTNERS LLCPIEDMONT OPERA INC: $213,542 · OtherPIEDMONT OPERA INCWinston Salem Forsyth County Schools: $178,746 · OtherWinston Salem Forsyth County Schools1 LOVE FESTIVAL: $168,782 · Other1 LOVE FESTIVALROYAL CURTAIN DRAMA GUILD INC: $105,000 · OtherHigh Point Ballet: $100,800 · OtherTRE 4 CENTER OF FINE ARTS INC: $98,367 · Other+16 more: $498,030 · Other+16 moreBOOKMARKS INC: $161,972 · EducationACTION4EQUITY: $115,297 · EducationUniversity of North Carolina School of the Arts Foundation Inc: $82,489 · EducationWAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY: $34,500 · EducationMUSE WINSTON-SALEM: $101,673 · PhilanthropyCREATIVE CENTER OF NORTH CAROLINA: $75,148 · PhilanthropyTHE ENRICHMENT CENTER AN AFFILIATED CHAPTER OF THE ARC: $32,400 · PhilanthropyAuthoring Action: $180,550 · Youth DevelopmentCenter for Creative Economy: $125,001 · Community ImprovementCREATIVE CORRIDORS COALITION: $24,357 · Community ImprovementHappy Hill Neighborhood Association INC: $20,001 · Community ImprovementRebeca Segebre Ministries Inc: $114,994 · Religion
Arts & Culture$3,427,213Other$2,318,967Education$394,258Philanthropy$209,221Youth Development$180,550Community Improvement$169,359Religion$114,994

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetWINSTON-SALEM SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $411,808 over 6y, 3.4% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA BLACK REPERTORY COMPANY INC: $365,394 over 6y, 12% of budgetSECCA Foundation: $320,029 over 6y, 7.6% of budgetTHE LITTLE THEATRE OF WINSTON-SALEM INC: $285,113 over 5y, 20% of budgetTHE SAWTOOTH SCHOOL FOR VISUAL ART: $240,953 over 5y, 8.1% of budgetRIVERRUN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL: $217,037 over 5y, 11% of budgetPIEDMONT OPERA INC: $213,542 over 6y, 6.3% of budgetPIEDMONT CRAFTSMEN INC: $204,104 over 6y, 16% of budgetAuthoring Action: $180,550 over 6y, 17% of budgetTriad Cultural Arts Inc: $164,691 over 4y, 26% of budgetBOOKMARKS INC: $161,972 over 5y, 2.5% of budgetREYNOLDA HOUSE INC: $157,846 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetDowntown Winston-Salem Community Cinema: $133,092 over 6y, 4.6% of budgetWinston Salem Delta Fine Arts Inc: $131,000 over 6y, 20% of budgetCenter for Creative Economy: $125,001 over 3y, 22% of budgetACTION4EQUITY: $115,297 over 3y, 2.4% of budgetRebeca Segebre Ministries Inc: $114,994 over 3y, 78% of budgetHispanic League: $111,899 over 4y, 17% of budgetMUSE WINSTON-SALEM: $101,673 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetHigh Point Ballet: $100,800 over 4y, 22% of budgetPIEDMONT WIND SYMPHONY: $95,729 over 3y, 18% of budgetWinston-Salem Mixxer Inc: $90,400 over 4y, 7.5% of budgetUniversity of North Carolina School of the Arts Foundation Inc: $82,489 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetCREATIVE CENTER OF NORTH CAROLINA: $75,148 over 2y, 61% of budgetDOSE COLLECTIVE CORP: $74,072 over 2y, 31% of budgetSENIOR SERVICES INC: $69,305 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetKORNER'S FOLLY FOUNDATION INC: $56,975 over 3y, 3.0% of budgetWINSTON-SALEM THEATRE ALLIANCE INC: $53,331 over 4y, 3.5% of budgetOLD SALEM INC: $47,820 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetWAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY: $34,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHYMNS FOR HIM CONFERENCE: $34,000 over 1y, 88% of budgetTHE ENRICHMENT CENTER AN AFFILIATED CHAPTER OF THE ARC: $32,400 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetKERNERSVILLE LITTLE THEATRE INC: $25,500 over 2y, 15% of budgetKALEIDEUM: $25,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetMUSIC CAROLINA: $22,700 over 3y, 21% of budgetHappy Hill Neighborhood Association INC: $20,001 over 2y, 24% of budgetART SHAC INC: $20,000 over 2y, 13% of budgetRED HAWKS AMERICAN INDIAN EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURE: $20,000 over 1y, 33% of budgetDOWNTOWN WINSTON-SALEM PARTNERSHIP INC: $16,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetTHE NORTH CAROLINA WRITERS' NETWORK INC: $15,000 over 1y, 5.6% of budgetSHALLOW FORD FOUNDATION INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetUNITED ARTS COUNCIL OF GREENSBORO INC: $12,100 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetSPRING THEATRE: $10,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetCAMELCITY PLAYHOUSE: $10,000 over 1y, 9.9% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART FOUNDATION: $8,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetARTPOP: $8,500 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetKROSSROADS PLAYHOUSE INC: $7,290 over 1y, 67% of budgetAssociated Artists of Winston-Salem Inc: $6,030 over 1y, 29% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds WINSTON-SALEM SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds NORTH CAROLINA BLACK REPERTORY COMPANY INC ↗
  • Who funds SECCA Foundation ↗
  • Who funds THE LITTLE THEATRE OF WINSTON-SALEM INC ↗
  • Who funds THE SAWTOOTH SCHOOL FOR VISUAL ART ↗
  • Who funds RIVERRUN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ↗
  • Who funds PIEDMONT OPERA INC ↗
  • Who funds PIEDMONT CRAFTSMEN INC ↗
  • Who funds Authoring Action ↗
  • Who funds Triad Cultural Arts Inc ↗
  • Who funds BOOKMARKS INC ↗
  • Who funds REYNOLDA HOUSE INC ↗
  • Who funds Downtown Winston-Salem Community Cinema ↗
  • Who funds Winston Salem Delta Fine Arts Inc ↗
  • Who funds Center for Creative Economy ↗
  • Who funds ACTION4EQUITY ↗
  • Who funds Rebeca Segebre Ministries Inc ↗
  • Who funds Hispanic League ↗
  • Who funds MUSE WINSTON-SALEM ↗
  • Who funds High Point Ballet ↗
  • Who funds PIEDMONT WIND SYMPHONY ↗
  • Who funds Winston-Salem Mixxer Inc ↗
  • Who funds University of North Carolina School of the Arts Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds CREATIVE CENTER OF NORTH CAROLINA ↗
  • Who funds DOSE COLLECTIVE CORP ↗
  • Who funds SENIOR SERVICES INC ↗
  • Who funds KORNER'S FOLLY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds WINSTON-SALEM THEATRE ALLIANCE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE AFAS GROUP ↗
  • Who funds OLD SALEM INC ↗
  • Who funds WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds HYMNS FOR HIM CONFERENCE ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The Winston-Salem Fou…Reynolds American Fou…Twin City Development…Ta John W and Anna H …Strickland Family Fou…Flow Foundation IncReynolds Foundation 1…Z Smith Reynolds Foun…The Kurtz Family Foun…Handson Northwest Nor…The Kooken Family Fou…Forsyth Memorial Hosp…
The Winston-Salem FoundationNC60.6× affinity32 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Winston-Salem Foundation · Reynolds American Foundation · Twin City Development Foundation · Ta John W and Anna H Hanes Foundation · Strickland Family Foundation Cynthia a S Graham · Flow Foundation Inc · Reynolds Foundation 186-8803582 · Z Smith Reynolds Foundation Inc · The Kurtz Family Foundation · Handson Northwest North Carolina · The Kooken Family Foundation · Forsyth Memorial Hospital Inc

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization The Arts Council Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Arts Council Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%23%51%90%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    20report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 67 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Arts Council’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home