As new Measure P deadline looms, artists make sense of the application process — and the upcoming schedule

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Some artists who came to Dulce UpFront had definite projects and were close to completing their letter of intent.

One of them – Marcos Dorado, a professional photographer – wants to create an online anthology featuring the photographic portraits and narratives of Fresno residents. Dorado said individual artists are important because they often focus on subject material, like immigration, that resonate in neighborhoods lacking artistic “amenities.”

Doug Hoagland / The Munro Review

Samuel Lopez, left, and Marcos Dorado

Samuel Lopez – who sat next to Dorado – is a case in point. Lopez, a student at Fresno State, wants Measure P funds for a film he’s making about the migrant farm working community. “I want to capture untold stories,” Lopez said.

Others at Dulce UpFront had less definite plans. Bree Barnes, a house DJ, said she came to learn more about Measure P. “I really had no idea this was available, and I’m here to brainstorm,” she said.

Tanner McLelan also came to get ideas about a musical project he’s thinking about. “This allows those of us on the small scale of things to learn,” he said.

‘Short time frame’

The letter of intent is designed to ensure that all grant applicants are eligible to receive Measure P money. In 2024, some applicants submitted applications with deficiencies such as incomplete information, and, as a result, they had no chance for funding.

To help artists avoid that pitfall, Lopez answered questions and worked with individuals on their specific issues. Some people chatted while others worked on their laptops to complete letters of intent at Submittable, an online system that can be accessed at the Arts Council’s website.

A delay in finalizing guidelines for this year’s grants created a time crunch for submitting the letter, adding pressure for some artists, particularly those new to the process.

“I’m concerned for the artists, art collectives and the culture bearers who do phenomenal work in the community and may not be able to apply this round because of the short time frame for them to find a fiscal sponsor,” Lopez said.

The Munro Review has no paywall but is financially supported by readers who believe in its non-profit mission of bringing professional arts journalism to the central San Joaquin Valley. You can help by signing up for a monthly recurring paid membership or make a one-time donation of as little as $3. All memberships and donations are tax-deductible. The Munro Review is funded in part by the City of Fresno Measure P Expanded Access to Arts and Culture Fund administered by the Fresno Arts Council.

(Asked later for comment, Lilia González Chávez, executive director of the Fresno Arts Council, said: “The April 4 deadline is only for the letter of intent. Full applications aren’t due until June 6. So there is ample time to submit an application.” That response seemed to sidestep the issue that an application can’t be submitted unless a letter of intent is approved by April 4.)

If finding a fiscal sponsor hinders grassroots artists, it could interfere with a commitment to equity made in 2025 Measure P guidelines. A new guideline states that recommended grants will “recognize, reflect and support the cultural, demographic, and geographic diversity of all parts of the City of Fresno.”

Awarding grants to a robust and diverse group of individual artists from throughout Fresno – but particularly those who live in the city’s southern neighborhoods – could help meet the equity guideline.

Behind schedule

The Fresno Arts Council opened the three-week period on March 14 for letters of intent and set a due date of April 4. Before March 14, artists and organizations didn’t have access to the letter of intent template on Submittable.

The three-week window (March 14-April 4) is part of a timetable thrown off by policy debates and legal reviews that ensnared the Arts Council. It happened this way.

The Arts Council introduced some new grant guidelines in September 2024, with the goal of starting the process in November 2024. But the city’s Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission proposed several revisions to the guidelines, requiring the City Attorney’s Office to review each revision. Months passed, and the Fresno City Council finally approved the revised guidelines in January 2025.

Unchanged from 2024 is that a fiscal sponsor must be a registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit recognized by the Internal Revenue Service and be based in Fresno. But new in 2025 is a requirement that a fiscal sponsor must have an IRS code showing it’s an arts/culture organization or have another state or federal designation that shows its purpose is to provide arts and culture programming.

City Hall meeting

On March 25, the Arts Council held an evening information session at Fresno City Hall to review the 2025 grants process, including details on the letter of intent. That session was live-streamed on CMAC, and a recording of the meeting can be viewed at https://cmac.tv/show/eaac-grant-information-session-3-25-2025

González Chávez told the 30 or so attendees at City Hall that Arts Council staff are available to work with would-be applicants. Audience members were both individual artists and officials of nonprofit arts organizations. The letter of intent requirement and April 4 deadline also apply to arts organizations that want to put in a bid for Measure P funding in 2025.

In 2024, those organizations received the largest share of the grants financed by a ⅜-cent increase in Fresno’s sales tax. Fresno voters approved the increase in 2018, and as a result, Measure P will raise millions of dollars for 30 years to boost parks and arts.

Haley White, one of the founders of the Fools Collaborative, a nonprofit arts organization in Fresno, attended the meeting at City Hall. She wanted information on how she, as an individual artist, could secure Measure P funds for a documentary film she wants to make.

The film would be about the successful campaign to keep a conservative church from buying the Tower Theatre. “It was one of the biggest movements in Fresno history,” she told The Munro Review.

White said she still had questions and needed more information after the meeting, but she is confident the Arts Council would assist her. “Anytime we’ve worked with them, they’ve been available and helpful.”

At the City Hall meeting, González Chávez provided a tentative timeline after the April 4 deadline for letters of intent.

June 6: grant applications due.

June and July: Panels composed of artists, culture bearers (artists and individuals who practice and carry forward cultural art forms, beliefs and traditions) and nonprofit administrators review grant applications.

August: Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission reviews and adopts funding recommendations.

September: Successful applicants receive notice.

October: Grant money disbursed. (Many arts organizations start their fiscal year on July 1, which makes the September/October dates problematic for planning their 2025-26 budgets.)

At the March 25 meeting, González Chávez emphasized the timetable could change. “Things don’t always go as scheduled,” she said. “Unfortunately, I can’t promise that we’ll stick to the schedule. But we’ll give it our best.”

The next day, the Arts Council finalized a list of seven fiscal sponsors and posted the names and contact information at the Council’s website. The seven are available to help applicants who need a sponsor. That was 10 days before the April 4 deadline for letters of intent.

Dulce UpFront is one of the seven. The other six are Arte Américas, Arts Enrichment for All, Community Access Media Collaborative (CMAC), Downtown Fresno Foundation, Fresno City and County Historical Society and South Tower Community Land Trust.

Doug Hoagland / The Munro Review

Ali Ruiz at the Dulce UpFront meeting.

Back at Dulce

Ali Ruiz attended the March 29 gathering at Dulce UpFront for a sense of community. “I came to be with other creatives who are working to benefit our community. Being around people who really contribute helps me to feel I can do this, too.”

Ruiz said she and friends stage cabarets “to bring beauty and also to tell the stories of minorities and give people of color and queer individuals opportunities to perform who don’t always get them.” Promoting literacy is another of her goals.

She added: “Ome has really been pushing everybody to get their voices out there and be heard,” Ruiz said. “Even if I’m not successful the first time [in applying], hopefully the next year we can make things happen.

“Before it just seemed like this big ominous thing. It just didn’t seem attainable. Ome has made it feel much more tangible and realistic.”