At a tense arts Commission meeting, speakers critique awards process as Measure P funding finale nears

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2025 is the second year for the arts grants, and the Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission is scheduled to vote on Sept. 29 on this year’s recommended grants. Data from the Fresno Arts Council shows this breakdown in recommended funding: 62 applications from established organizations receiving more than $5.1 million, and 72 applications from individual artists and smaller arts organizations, both categories needing a fiscal sponsor, sharing more than $1.1 million.

Here are excerpts from some of the speakers, who had three minutes to address the Commission in the Unscheduled Communication portion of the meeting. Commissioners did not respond, as is their standard practice. The speakers are listed in the order in which they appeared.

Ome Lopez, co-founder of Dulce UpFront, a nonprofit arts organization. Dulce is recommended to receive $89,997 in Measure P money. Furthermore, it fiscally sponsored individual artists and arts organizations that don’t have nonprofit status; more than 30 of them made it to the review process and at least 17 are recommended for 2025 grants, Lopez said. To cover fiscal sponsors’ administrative expenses, they can receive up to 10% of each grant received by a sponsored grantee.

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Lopez said that Lilia Gonzáles Chávez, executive director of the Fresno Arts Council, showed “bias” when volunteers who scored grant applications met to discuss the applications. Applicants could attend those meetings but not speak. By allegedly providing information not in grant applications, Gonzáles Chávez could affect the scoring that determined winners and losers in the grants process, Lopez said.

Gonzáles Chávez was present at the meeting on Sept. 15 but did not speak. In an earlier interview with The Munro Review, she said, “This is still a new initiative, and while many people have expressed appreciation for the process, it is important to hear from the community about their concerns or problems so we can make changes and adjustments as needed.”
Lopez also urged Commissioners not to approve funding recommendations, now scheduled for their vote on Sept. 29. “Instead, let’s make a pause and work collectively to create a process that is equitable, transparent and worthy of the taxpayers who fought for the measure,” she said.

Christina Soto, one of 32 community volunteers who scored applications in 2025. In 2024, she was a member of the Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission but stepped down earlier this year. Soto said she observed this year what she considers bias by the Arts Council staff, which she said could boost some applications and put others at a disadvantage.

Reacting to Dohlin’s view that the process is improving, Soto said: “I agree it’s never going to be perfect. That doesn’t mean we can’t improve upon it. I think the concerns we’re hearing today are valid.”

Elizabeth Laval, president of the Fresno City & County Historical Society, which is recommended to receive $240,000. The Historical Society also acted as a fiscal sponsor for several applicants; some are recommended for funding and some are not.

Laval said she was “appalled” by the comments of some panelists at a scoring meeting she attended. “I don’t feel that the panel I heard was well trained on the distinction between arts grants and culture grants,” Laval said. She cited the example of a museum’s culture grant application that the panel penalized because the museum wrote “not applicable” to the question of how many artists it would employ. The museum did not propose to hire artists, a fact the panelists seemed not to understand.

Laval’s solution: Find experts in arts and culture outside this region to score the applications, which would eliminate the problem of bias and lack of knowledge on the part of local people doing the scoring.

Brandon Weis, executive director of Chanticleer Shakespeare Co., which is recommended to receive $44,998.

“Is it the intent [of Measure P] to spread limited funds to as many organizations as possible, or is it to provide sustainable financial support that actually allows artists and organizations to fully realize their visions?” Weis asked.

This year, he said, some applicants are recommended to receive 30% of what they requested. Higher scoring applicants will receive 60% and only two with the highest scores will receive 90% of what they requested. “Awarding 30% of a proposed budget, while appreciated, often falls short of supporting what is needed to implement a meaningful and lasting program,” Weis said. “In many cases, it leaves organizations in a difficult position, either scale down an ambitious vision meant to serve the community or scramble for additional funding in a landscape that is already highly competitive.”

Chanticleer’s application is recommended to receive 30% of what it requested. In total, 68 out of the 134 applications are recommended at the 30% funding level.

Amy Kitchener, executive director of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, based in Fresno. The Alliance is recommended to receive $240,000, and it fiscally sponsored two applicants also are recommended for funding.

Kitchener said she’s concerned that the Commission’s Cultural Arts Subcommittee works behind closed doors with the Fresno Arts Council to develop grant guidelines and determine a formula and approach for allocations. Commissioners Laura Ward and Scott Miller, along with Dohlin, serve on the Subcommittee.
Last year, some Commissioners appeared interested in opening the Subcommittee’s meeting to the public. But at an Oct. 14, 2024 meeting of the Commission, the parks department spoke about the cost and the City Attorney’s Office spoke about complicated procedures and policies.

Kitchener: “The City Attorney has reportedly determined that the [sub]committee is not a standing committee and therefore does not require compliance with the Brown Act as a public meeting.” She disagrees, saying the Brown Act – the state’s opening meeting law – should apply, and she asked for the City Attorney’s legal analysis.

“How is it not a standing committee, when the [sub]committee has existed for multiple years with an appointed chair and [it] handles the same matters each grant cycle?”

Kitchener added: “In essence, the Arts Subcommittee is making the sausage, and we the public are just getting it served up to us.”