NEVADA COUNTY

Nevada County Arts & Culture has launched the Cultural District Resilience Fund following the end of state funding for California Cultural Districts on June 30.

Nevada County is home to two state-designated California Cultural Districts: Grass Valley/Nevada City and Truckee. For the past three years, state funding has helped Nevada County Arts & Culture turn these designations into real local benefit through artist grants, professional development, public art, youth arts, cultural tourism coordination, creative business visibility, and implementation of Culture Forward 2026 to 2032, Nevada County’s first countywide Arts & Culture Action Plan.

A generous local philanthropist has pledged a $50,000 lead gift to launch the fund. Nevada County Arts & Culture is now asking local and regional donors, businesses, foundations, and community members to help sustain the work during a critical transition.

In 2025/26, Nevada County Arts & Culture is administering over $340,000 in grants for artists, culture bearers, and arts organizations, including Cultural District mini-grants and Upstate Individual Artist Fellowship regranting across 19 counties.

In 2025, the organization also promoted 2,000 arts and culture events, over 450 creative business through Nevada County Arts Council’s MUSE publication, shared 100 paid artist opportunities, supported visibility for over 1,000 artists, served 150 artists and creative workers through the Business of Art Symposium, showcased over 250 artists and culture bearers through Art in Public Spaces and Art at the Airport, and reached 500 students weekly through Artists in Schools.

Learn more at nevadacountyarts.org/resiliencefund.

~ Nevada County Arts & Culture press release