What is General Operating Support?
Through its General Operating Support program, the City of Portland's Office of Arts & Culture provides direct, unrestricted grants to established nonprofit arts organizations that demonstrate artistic excellence, provide service to the community, show administrative and fiscal competence, and provide a range of high-quality art programs for the public.
The history of General Operating Support
From 1995 to 2024, the City contracted with the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) to administer General Operating Support grants and distribute funds. In 2019, RACC revamped its General Operating Support program to direct a higher proportion of funding to small and midsized organizations, establishing funding tiers based on budget size.
With the creation of Portland's Office of Arts & Culture in 2024, the City brought the General Operating Support program in-house for the first time. For fiscal year 2024-25, Arts & Culture announced that it would provide General Operating Support directly to the same organizations that RACC had funded in fiscal year 2023-24—including the same base award calculated using the same tiered structure. The same is true for 2025-26 awards.
With this change, the City also announced that General Operating Support grant awards would be more closely tied to the goals of the Arts Access Fund, which is the primary revenue source for these grants. Specifically, funding will be allocated to organizations that provide services to K-12 students and people in under-represented communities.
2025-26 General Operating Support grantee organizations
General Operating Support grantees were announced on October 23, 2025. Grantee organizations include 79 groups that had received General Operating Support from the City in fiscal year 2024-25 and from RACC in fiscal year 2023-24. These groups are listed in the table below. Download a list of 2025-26 General Operating Support distributions here:
The Office of Arts & Culture and the City's Grants Management Division are working to redesign the General Operating Support process, including a requirement for all current grantees and interested parties to reapply for the program next year. Organizations that are not currently receiving General Operating Support funding from the City of Portland but would like to be notified when 2027 guidelines are shared and/or when next year's application opens—in spring 2026—are invited to fill out this form.
General Operating Support grantees (2025-26)
Expand the entries in this list to learn more about General Operating Support grantee organizations.
Alberta Abbey Foundation
Albert Abbey Foundation nurtures the arts in NE Portland. The nonprofit music and community center provides affordable education, studio, and performance space.
All Ages Music Portland / Friends of Noise
Friends of Noise is a non-profit organization that supports creative youth in Portland through all ages concerts, workshops, and experience navigating the music scene.
Artists Repertory Theatre
Artists Repertory Theatre’s mission is to produce intimate, provocative theatre and provide a home for a diverse community of artists and audiences to take creative risks.
Arts for Learning Northwest
Arts for Learning Northwest connects young people with diverse arts and creative experiences and makes the arts abundantly accessible in schools and communities.
Blue Sky Gallery (Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts)
Blue Sky’s mission is to inspire and build community between contemporary photographic artists and our audiences through exhibitions, publications, and dialogue.
BodyVox
BodyVox is dedicated to the creation and performance of innovative dance works that entertain, inspire and uplift audiences of all ages.
Boom Arts
Boom Arts is a performing arts presenter and producer whose mission is to imagine new social and political possibilities through live performance.
Caldera
Caldera supports youth and artists through the power of creativity, nature, and community.
Cappella Romana
Cappella Romana is a vocal ensemble dedicated to combining passion with scholarship in its exploration of the musical traditions of the Christian East and West, with emphasis on early and contemporary music.
Chamber Music Northwest
Chamber Music Northwest’s mission is to inspire through concerts and events celebrating the richness and diversity of chamber music, performed by artists of the highest caliber, presenting the community with exceptional opportunities for enjoyment, education, and reflection.
Children's Healing Art Project
Children's Healing Art Project brings together the healing power of art to children and families facing medical challenges.
CoHo Productions
CoHo Productions provides critical theatrical opportunities to low-income and underserved artists in Portland through its Resource Center and Co-Production model.
Corrib Theatre
Corrib Theatre’s mission is to bring Irish playwrights’ unique perspective on oppression and empowerment, and conflict and resolution, to Portland in order to change our world for the better.
Cymaspace
Cymaspace's mission is to make the performing arts more accessible and inclusive to Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities by supporting the development of projects utilizing cymatic technology and presenting these works in live performance.
Echo Theater Company
Echo Theater Company is committed to the celebration of community using movement and ensemble theater traditions.
En Taiko
The En Taiko performance group is a youthful, high-energy experience that fosters community in Portland, OR.
Ethos Music Center
Ethos Music Center offers sliding scale music lessons from its headquarters in North Portland and facilitates music outreach programs for students in Oregon’s underserved rural and urban areas.
Friends of Chamber Music
Friends of Chamber Music is dedicated to presenting the highest quality chamber ensembles in concert and providing educational outreach to further chamber music in the community.
Hand2Mouth
Hand2Mouth (H2M) is a theatre ensemble that creates original work that is bold, accessible, and inclusive.
Hollywood Theatre (Film Action Oregon)
The Hollywood Theatre is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to entertain, inspire, educate and connect the community through the art of film, while preserving a historic Portland landmark.
Imago Theatre
Imago Theatre's mission is to create theatre that transcends the limits associated with language, age, and even gravity and other laws of the real world.
Independent Publishing Resource Center
The Independent Publishing Resource Center (IPRC) is a community center and shared print studio.
Instituto de Cultura y Arte In Xochitl In Cuicatl
Through Mexica culture, Instituto de Cultura y Arte In Xochitl In Cuicatl inspires the exploration of our shared indigenous heritage, provide an indigenous cultural foundation to the community, and thereby empower people toward social, educational, and personal improvement.
Learn more about Instituto de Cultura y Arte In Xochitl In Cuicatl
Lan Su Chinese Garden
The mission of Lan Su Chinese Garden is to cultivate an oasis of tranquil beauty and harmony to inspire, engage, and educate our global community in the appreciation of a richly authentic Chinese culture.
Literary Arts
Literary Arts' mission is to engage readers, support writers, and inspire the next generation with great literature.
Live Wire Radio
Live Wire cultivates joy, discovery, and connection by amplifying unexpected and riveting voices to a national audience.
MediaRites
MediaRites is dedicated to telling the stories of diverse cultures and giving voice to the unheard through the arts, education, and media projects.
Metropolitan Youth Symphony
Metropolitan Youth Symphony educates, develops, and promotes young musicians.
Milagro Theatre Group
Milagro Theatre Group provides extraordinary Latino theatre, culture, and arts education experiences for the enrichment of all communities.
My Voice Music
My Voice Music amplifies young voices and igniting self-discovery through music.
New Expressive Works
New Expressive Works celebrates the creative power of multi-cultural performing artists in Portland, Oregon and beyond.
North Pole Studio
North Pole Studio supports careers in the arts, and exists to increase opportunities for artists with autism and intellectual / developmental disabilities to thrive as active members of the arts community.
Northwest Children's Theater & School
Northwest Children's Theater & School educates, entertains, and enriches the lives of young audiences.
Northwest Dance Project
Northwest Dance Project is an award-winning, bold, and innovative contemporary dance company performing an all-original repertoire from a select roster of accomplished choreographers and the most promising new creators in contemporary dance.
NW Documentary Arts & Media
NW Documentary Arts & Media is a Portland-based nonprofit that supports filmmakers and storytellers of all kinds dedicated to the craft of nonfiction.
OK You
OK YOU is a nonprofit that offers free creative resources for navigating big emotions and staying connected to our OK selves.
Open Hearts Open Minds
Open Hearts Open Minds supports individuals serving prison sentences through arts and dialogue—facilitating personal and institutional transformation and growth.
Oregon Ballet Theatre
Oregon Ballet Theatre is committed to sharing our passion for the expressive power of ballet, inspiring an enduring appreciation of dance, and connecting in meaningful ways to our community through excellence in performance, training, and educational programs.
Oregon BRAVO Youth Orchestras
BRAVO Youth Orchestras is a highly esteemed and influential non-profit organization that connects diverse students in Northern Portland with world-class music education.
Oregon Children's Theatre
For more than 35 years, Oregon Children’s Theatre has been creating exceptional theater experiences that transform lives.
Oregon Contemporary
Oregon Contemporary is a space dedicated to art, community, and the exponential possibilities of contemporary art.
Oregon Symphony Association
The multi-GRAMMY Award-nominated Oregon Symphony, led by Jean Vollum Music Director David Danzmayr, serves more than 500,000 people annually through live concerts and education and community engagement programs.
Outside the Frame
Outside the Frame trains homeless and marginalized youth to be directors of their own films and lives.
Pacific Youth Choir
For more than 20 years, Pacific Youth Choir's youth choral program has been a beacon of musical excellence in the Portland metro area.
PassinArt: A Theatre Company
PassinArt: A Theatre Company entertains, educates, and inspires artists and audiences while addressing critical issues facing our community.
PHAME
PHAME is a fine and performing arts academy serving adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
PlayWrite
PlayWrite gives youth a safe space to explore their voice, share their stories, and transform their experience through the power of performance art.
Polaris Dance Theatre
Polaris Dance Theatre's mission is to awaken the heart and enhance our humility through dance, which they do through community dance festivals, classes for all, career track youth training, company performances, scholarship offerings, youth program, and more.
Portland Art Museum
Portland Art Museum's mission is to engage diverse communities through art and film of enduring quality, and to collect, preserve, and educate for the enrichment of present and future generations.
The Portland Ballet
The Portland Ballet is committed to fostering the future of ballet by building the next generation of dancers and audiences.
Portland Baroque Orchestra
Portland Baroque Orchestra creates transformative experiences for musicians and listeners who share in the exploration and celebration of historically inspired music.
Portland Center Stage
Portland Center Stage is the largest theater company in Portland, Oregon, and its mission is to create transcendent theatrical experiences and community programs that break down the barriers separating people.
Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble
The Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble is a company of artists making new performances in a collaborative way.
Portland Gay Men's Chorus
The Portland Gay Men’s Chorus aspires to expand, redefine, and perfect the choral art through eclectic performances that honor and uplift our community and affirm the worth of all people.
Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA)
PICA's acknowledges and advances new developments in contemporary art while fostering the creative explorations of artists and audiences.
Learn more about Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA)
Portland Jazz Festival
PDX Jazz's mission is to evolve the art of jazz by engaging our community, celebrating live performance, and enhancing arts education.
Portland Opera
Portland Opera Association gathers and inspires audiences, artists, and collaborators to create shared opera experiences that enliven and connect us all, enhancing the cultural landscape of the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
Portland Piano International
Portland Piano International presents the finest pianists of today and tomorrow and fosters the growth of musicianship in our region through education and inspiration.
Portland Playhouse
Portland Playhouse's mission is to celebrate the complexity of the human experience through theatre.
Portland Street Art Alliance
Portland Street Art Alliance advances street art culture by empowering artists to activate the spaces where we live, work, and play.
Portland Taiko
Through innovation and excellence in taiko, Portland Taiko affirms Asian American pride, inspires audiences, builds community, and educates the community from a cultural heritage perspective.
Portland Youth Philharmonic
The Portland Youth Philharmonic Association's mission is to prepare young people for success through musical excellence.
Profile Theatre
Profile Theatre's mission is to produce a season of first-class productions and community engagement activities centered around featured writers whose visions broaden our perspective on our world and deepen our collective compassion.
The Red Door Project
The Red Door Project uses the transformative power of storytelling to challenge, connect, and co-create the world we all want to live in.
Rejoice! Diaspora Dance Theater
Rejoice! is a Portland-based contemporary dance ensemble inspired by the folklore of the great African diaspora and led by the bold vision and artistic direction of Oluyinka Akinjiola.
Resonance Ensemble
Resonance Ensemble, a professional vocal ensemble based in Portland, creates powerful programs that promote meaningful social change.
Shaking the Tree Theatre
Shaking the Tree melds the boundaries of theatre and visual art by presenting audiences with unconventional theatrical experiences in our non-traditional warehouse space.
Street Books
Since 2011, Street Books has provided library services empowering folks with access to literature and building a bridge across housed and unhoused communities in Portland.
Takohachi
Founded in 2007, Takohachi works to preserve traditional Japanese music and dance through its performances at Portland area schools, festivals, and cultural events.
Theatre Diaspora
Theatre Diaspora is Oregon's only Asian American/Pacific Islander theatre company, committed to portraying authentic AAPI cultural, historical, and social perspectives.
Third Angle New Music
Third Angle New Music's mission is to perform, present, and record adventurous contemporary sonic works while commissioning new works from a diverse spectrum of composers.
Third Rail Repertory Theatre
Third Rail Repertory Theatre provides a dynamic artistic home for theatre audiences in Portland by fostering a professional local company, which, through collaboration and discipline, brings to life exceptional stories that provoke dialogue, encourage empathy, and inspire curiosity.
Triangle Productions
Triangle Productions entertains and educates through the celebration and presentation of contemporary live theatre and promotes diversity and acceptance through the presentation of accessible, high-quality productions addressing a broad range of social and political issues.
Vanport Mosaic
Vanport Mosaic is a memory activation platform that amplifies, honors, and preserves the silenced histories that surround us to better understand our present and shape a fture where we all belong.
White Bird
White Bird is committed to bringing the best Portland-based, regional, national, and international dance companies to Portland, Oregon and to fostering the growth of dance in the region.
Willamette Light Brigade (Portland Winter Light Festival)
Willamette Light Brigade enriches the public realm by harnessing the power of art and artful lighting to transform the cityscape.
World Stage Theatre
World Stage Theatre inspires youth and adults to explore their unlimited possibilities and recognize the arts as a mirror that imitates life and a vehicle to educate, heal, unite, uplift, and celebrate our experiences.
Write Around Portland
Write Around Portland uses creative writing to help people heal, change, and transform.