Mississippi · Nonprofit
GRIOT ARTS INC
GRIOT ARTS INC (Mississippi) receives grants from 27 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,017,068 to it, the largest being Walton Family Foundation Inc ($847,100). 13 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $1.1M
- Funders on record
- 27
- Grants received
- $2.0M
- Net assets
- $748k
What Griot Arts Inc does
Mission
Griot arts is dedicated to empowering people in clarksdale, ms, by providing access to enriching arts education and workforce development opportunities. Our mission is to cultivate creativity, compassion, and community to enhance the well-being of our students and the broader community. We believe in the transformative power of the arts and creative expression in fostering personal growth, community integration, and social development. Our approach is grounded in the belief that each individual inherently possesses unique capabilities for success. By nurturing these talents and perspectives, we enable our participants to become agents of positive change in their lives and communities. This is achieved through diverse programs including after-school art education, workforce development initiatives, and community-building activities.we operate with a commitment to inclusivity and respect for a diversity of beliefs, ensuring an environment where everyone feels a deep sense of belonging an
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Through the following programs and achievements, Griot Arts steadfastly pursues its mission of empowering the people of Clarksdale, Mississippi, by providing access to arts, education, and workforce development opportunities, thereby enabling them to create positive change in their lives and in the community. This is accomplished though: i. Meraki Program: Specifically designed for young adults aged 16-24, this program focuses on nurturing soft skills essential for workforce development. By offering these opportunities, we empower participants to create positive changes in their lives, aligning with our commitment to workforce development and personal growth. ii. Griot Afterschool Arts: This diverse arts program, catering to children and adolescents aged 3-18, plays a crucial role in our mission. By providing access to a variety of artistic disciplines, we enable young individuals to explore and develop their creative talents, contributing to their overall educational and personal development. iii. Bridge Services: Offering a range of support services, including academic assistance and workforce readiness programs. This initiative reflects our dedication to education and workforce…
$724,493 spent100% of program spendingSignificant Achievements i.Impact on Students: In the last year, 108 students were served across all programs, indicating our impact on the community. A total of 295.5 hours through 13 unique weekly artistic classes were conducted in our afterschool program, providing extensive creative learning opportunities. were offered, showcasing the diversity of our programs. Engagement with 81 families, demonstrating our deep reach into the community. Through Bridge Services, 70 educational support offerings were provided, emphasizing our commitment to educational enrichment. Collaboration with 30 community partners, underscoring our role in fostering community-wide support and development. ii.Community Center Development: The revitalization of the historic Paramount Theater into a dynamic community hub embodies our vision of creating a space where the arts and community development intersect. This project is a testament to our dedication to preserving cultural heritage. while fostering opportunities for artistic expression and community engagement.
The 2 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $724,493.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2019, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2019, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2024 to 2025, from $500k to $762k (+52%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2019 10% · 2020 24% · 2021 8% · 2022 6% · 2023 4% · 2024 66% · 2025 11%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
82% of GRIOT ARTS INC’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (63% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 7 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 8 funders, grant income rose $15k → $544k.
7 of 27 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 27% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of GRIOT ARTS INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
GRIOT ARTS INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 42% of grant income and the top three 65%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
36% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund GRIOT ARTS INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 98% · 2018 43% · 2019 48% · 2020 67% · 2021 41% · 2022 65% · 2023 46% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
70% of GRIOT ARTS INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 48% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
GRIOT ARTS INC draws 92% of its grant income from funders outside Mississippi, across 11 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $549k arriving through sponsors registered in 7 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
GRIOT ARTS INC runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 3,430 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,430 arts & culture nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Government funding GRIOT ARTS INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $85k on record.
- National Endowment for the Arts$85k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like GRIOT ARTS INC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Mississippi
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
85% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
78%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for GRIOT ARTS INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds GRIOT ARTS INC?
- GRIOT ARTS INC (Mississippi) receives grants from 27 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,017,068 to it, the largest being Walton Family Foundation Inc ($847,100). 13 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does GRIOT ARTS INC have?
- IRS filings report 27 organizations giving $2,017,068 in grants to GRIOT ARTS INC, 13 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of GRIOT ARTS INC?
- Walton Family Foundation Inc is the largest funder on record, with $847,100 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like GRIOT ARTS INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Mississippi. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Griot Arts →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2019–2025), and the filings of 27 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing