Three research reports that build on one another — from forming an organization, to understanding the City of Austin's grant landscape, to an individual artist's grant application. Together they cover the full path from idea to funded public work for flow, fire, aerial, dance, and strength arts in Austin. All three are cross-linked and cite City/ACME and other primary sources.
The collection
Founding a 501(c)(3) Movement Arts Nonprofit
Implementation guide for an Austin movement-arts nonprofit (flow/fire, aerial, acro, contact improv, ecstatic & partner dance, weight-lifting) supporting artists, events, and venues like Flowstorm, Swolemates, and Ekstasis. Texas formation & 501(c)(3) filing, fiscal sponsorship, City of Austin & TCA funding, fire/aerial insurance & safety, and the dance/community mental-health evidence base. LGBTQ+ affirming.
Recipients of Austin's Elevate Grant
Overview of who the City's flagship cultural-arts grant funds: ~288 recipients / $12.84M in FY26 across nonprofits, creative businesses, and individual artists ($4K–$80K awards). Eligibility tiers, discipline & demographic snapshot (Dance 3.3%, LGBTQ+ 26.6% program-wide), competitiveness (1,606 apps / $67M requested), district distribution, and how Elevate compares to Nexus and Thrive.
meltopus — Nexus Grant Application Strategy
Application playbook for an Austin fire-performance artist & choreographer (@meltopus) pursuing a City of Austin Nexus grant ($5K/$10K) via Museum of Human Achievement fiscal sponsorship. The 100-point scoring rubric (Creative Work / Capacity / Public Connection), eligibility gates, fiscal-sponsor mechanics, a sample budget, the Austin fire/flow peer landscape, and the Round 2 timeline.