After the National Endowment for the Arts withdrew awards from cultural institutions across the country, Fort Worth organizations impacted by the move say they’re seeing a spike in community fundraising and support.
The Welman Project, Transform 1012 N. Main Street and Maroon 9 Community Enrichment lost a collective $120,000 in funding in early May after the Trump administration cancelled a slew of NEA grants.
Trump recently proposed eliminating the NEA from the 2026 federal budget. The federal agency is updating its grantmaking policy to focus funding on projects that “reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President,” according to an email sent by the agency.
Maroon 9 planned to use a $10,000 NEA grant to support the organization’s “Page to Stage Theatre Arts Literacy Program” — which kicked off April 14 — and its production of “Harriet Tubman, Take My Hand and Follow Me.” The organization focuses on out-of-school enrichment programs for youth in some of east Fort Worth’s predominantly Black neighborhoods.
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, uploaded a video 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 matched the amount initially provided by the NEA. The funding has come from people across the world, Davis said.
“I am in shock,” she told the Report. “(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.”
The new funding will allow Maroon 9 to complete the remainder of its summer program. The organization’s production of “Harriet Tubman, Take My Hand and Follow Me” 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 — which lost $110,000 in funding tied to the redevelopment of a former Ku Klux Klan auditorium — haven’t 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 redevelop the warehouse in Fort Worth’s Northside into the Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing.
The Welman Project, which lost its grant through the NEA’s ArtsHERE program, has received $300 in donations since the grant termination. The organizations remain optimistic about the future of the Northside project, Taylor Willis, co-founder of Welman Project, said via email.
“I’m grateful that people are paying attention, and I hope they’re rallying around the very urgent needs, like Maroon 9’s summer camp,” she said. “We’re doing what we can to support them as well.”
The leadership of the ArtsHERE program submitted an appeal on behalf of all the grantees, Willis added, but there’s 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.
“We’re deeply grateful for the continued commitment from our communities and supporters amid these changes in the funding landscape,” 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.
“You cannot 100% rely on grants and that’s what this has shown me,” she said. “At the end of the day, the funding changes trickle down. We’re just excited that this has worked out for us.”
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at [email protected] or @davidmreports.
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