ArtsBuild

What ArtsBuild does

ArtsBuild is a Chattanooga-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization founded in 1969 (originally as Allied Arts) that operates as the central convening and grant-making body for the arts ecosystem across Chattanooga-Hamilton County, Tennessee. The organization runs a four-pillar portfolio: (1) grant-making through Mission Support Grants (awarded to 20 local arts organizations annually), Community Cultural Connections Grants (150+ unique programs funded since 2012), REGIA racial-equity grants for Black/African-American and Hispanic/Latino(a)(x) artists, and the NEA-funded United We Create: America 250 grants; (2) arts education anchored on the Imagine! program, which reaches approximately 14,000 K-5 students across every elementary school in Hamilton County through formal delivery partnerships with seven cultural institutions including Creative Discovery Museum, Chattanooga Ballet, and the Hunter Museum of American Art, plus Kennedy Center Any Given Child affiliation; (3) arts leadership via the Holmberg Arts Leadership Institute (300+ graduates since 2005), Opportunity Fellows paid internships, and Periscope CHA artist-entrepreneur training (licensed in 2023 from the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville); and (4) advocacy and community engagement including Arts Week (an annual 50-70+ event celebration), the newly launched Culture Works business-engagement program (2026), and a Community Performing Arts Center feasibility study (2025). The underlying technology stack is minimal: a Google Maps-based engagement map, built with the Chattanooga Design Studio, visualizes the geographic reach of grant-making and programs across the county. ArtsBuild is headquartered on the second floor of The Arts Building (301 E. 11th Street), donated to the organization by WEHCO Media in 2015, which also houses for-profit arts school Townsend Atelier and nonprofit ceramic studio Scenic City Clay Arts.

Name

ArtsBuild

Legal name

ArtsBuild

Website

https://artsbuild.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ArtsBuild is a Chattanooga-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 1969, that serves as the central grant-maker, arts educator, and advocate for the Chattanooga-Hamilton County arts ecosystem through programs reaching K-12 students, artists, arts organizations, and local businesses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Arts Grantmaking and Education Services

NAICS

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71), Fine Arts Schools (61161)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Art, Arts Councils & Grantmaking Programs (BPAGAHAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Arts Education & Community Arts Programs (BPAGAHAC), Cultural, Arts & Humanities Community Education (Museums/Arts Councils) (EDAAAFAD)

Keywords

• Arts grantmaking
• Arts education
• Arts leadership
• Community arts funding
• Nonprofit arts support

Headquarters

HQ city

Chattanooga

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Annual Campaign: ArtsBuild generates primary revenue through an annual fundraising campaign with individual donors, corporate partners, and foundation supporters. The organization reported 650+ annual campaign donors.
2. Foundation and Government Grants: ArtsBuild receives grant funding from organizations such as the Lyndhurst Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Tennessee Arts Commission, and local government to fund specific programs and initiatives.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ArtsBuild is a private nonprofit arts organization that invests in arts organizations, education, and leadership across the Chattanooga-Hamilton County region. It provides grant funding (Mission Support, Community Cultural Connections, REGIA, America 250), delivers K-5 arts education through the Imagine! program, develops arts leadership via the Holmberg Arts Leadership Institute and Opportunity Fellows, and supports artist entrepreneurship through Periscope CHA, while advocating for arts policy and connecting the arts and business sectors through Culture Works and Arts Week.

Product overview

ArtsBuild is a nonprofit arts organization that operates as a unified portfolio of interconnected programs rather than a single software product. Its core offerings span four main areas: (1) Grant Making, including Mission Support Grants, Community Cultural Connections Grants, REGIA Racial Equity Grants, and United We Create: America 250 Grants; (2) Arts Education, centered on the Imagine! program for K-5 students and educator training through the Arts, Education & Ideas Series; (3) Arts Leadership, comprising the Holmberg Arts Leadership Institute (HALI), the Ruth Holmberg Arts Leadership Award (RHALA), Opportunity Fellows internships, and Periscope CHA artist entrepreneur training; and (4) Advocacy and Community Engagement, including Arts Week celebrations and Culture Works business partnerships. Additional offerings include The ArtsBuild Muse publication and the Community Performing Arts Center Feasibility Study initiative. Together, these programs aim to provide 'more arts in more places for more people' across Chattanooga-Hamilton County.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Imagine!: Arts education initiative providing systematic introduction to the arts for Hamilton County elementary school students through performances and exhibits
• Holmberg Arts Leadership Institute
• Periscope CHA
• Culture Works
• Arts Week
• REGIA
• Opportunity Fellows
• The Muse

Quantifiable outcome

• $80M+ invested into local arts since 1969; $500,000 in grants awarded annually; 750,000+ people served by community arts partners each year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Chattanooga Chamber of CommercecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Program partner for Culture Works: Arts Supportive Businesses, a new initiative celebrating local businesses that engage with the arts community, moving beyond traditional sponsorships toward sustainable integrated partnership models.
• River City CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Program partner for Culture Works initiative, working to strengthen connections between the private sector and creative economy in Chattanooga.
• City of Chattanooga Office of Arts, Culture & Creative EconomycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Program partner for Culture Works initiative, collaborating on efforts to integrate arts support into the broader economic development strategy.
• Arts & Business Council of Greater NashvillecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Licensed the Periscope artist entrepreneur training program to ArtsBuild, which has been adapted for Chattanooga. The program provides business skills training for artists culminating in pitch competitions.
• RISE ChattanoogaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue partner for Periscope CHA events and program activities.
• John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArtsBuild and Hamilton County Schools are partners in the Kennedy Center's Partners in Education program and Any Given Child program, providing professional development for teachers and strategic coordination of arts education.
• Hamilton County SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partner for Any Given Child program, supporting arts education access for all K-8 students. ArtsBuild serves as lead organization for the initiative.
• University of Tennessee at ChattanoogaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner through UTC-Wolf Trap teaching artist program and Arts-Based Collaborative (ABC-Arts) for arts education development.
• WTCI-PBSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArts education partner providing professional development resources for teachers through the Arts, Education & Ideas Summit.
• Creative Discovery MuseumcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorArts education partner delivering Imagine! program experiences for Hamilton County K-5 students.
• Chattanooga Theatre CentrecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorArts education partner delivering theatre and performance experiences for Imagine! program students.
• Chattanooga BalletcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorArts education partner delivering dance and ballet experiences through the Imagine! program.
• Chattanooga Symphony & OperacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorArts education partner providing musical performance experiences for Imagine! program students.
• Hunter Museum of American ArtcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorArts education partner providing visual arts museum experiences for Imagine! program students.
• Sculpture FieldscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorArts education partner providing outdoor sculpture park experiences for Imagine! program students.
• Scenic City Clay ArtscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorArts education partner providing clay and ceramics workshops for Imagine! program, including professional glazing and firing services for student artwork.
• The Pop-up ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Speaking Through Dance arts integration workshop and collaborative arts education programming.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Americans for the Arts: National nonprofit advocating for the arts and producing the Arts & Economic Prosperity studies cited by ArtsBuild; a broader-incumbent peer in arts advocacy and impact research.
• Mid-America Arts Alliance: Regional arts organization serving six states with grantmaking, touring, and capacity-building programs; a broader-scale peer in arts funding and ecosystem support.
• New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA): Statewide arts organization providing grants, fellowships, and professional development to artists; comparable in mission to ArtsBuild's artist-support programs at greater scale.

Direct peers

• United Arts of Central Florida: Central Florida's regional arts council and grantmaker coordinating funding, advocacy, and education across a multi-county region; structurally analogous to ArtsBuild's role in Chattanooga-Hamilton County.
• Houston Arts Alliance: Local arts council that administers city and cultural arts funding and operates arts education and grant programs, structurally comparable to ArtsBuild's combined grantmaking and education mandate.
• Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance: Regional cultural alliance providing research, advocacy, and capacity-building for arts organizations in Greater Philadelphia, similar to ArtsBuild's ecosystem-coordination role.
• Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council: Regional arts council providing grantmaking, advocacy, and professional development to arts organizations and artists in the Pittsburgh metro, comparable to ArtsBuild's funding and leadership programs.
• ArtsWave (Cincinnati): Cincinnati-based community-supported arts council that combines annual campaign fundraising, grantmaking, and arts advocacy for a regional arts ecosystem, mirroring ArtsBuild's hub-and-spoke model.
• TACA (The Arts Community Alliance) - Dallas: Dallas-based arts council supporting performing, visual, and literary arts organizations through grants and capacity-building; a close direct peer in mission and operating model.
• Arts Council Indianapolis: Indianapolis-based arts council providing grants, advocacy, and capacity-building services to arts organizations and artists, directly analogous to ArtsBuild's nonprofit hub model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/artsbuild
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC7Spm0N3UPac7KZ8du95cbQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/artsbuild
• Instagraminstagram.com/artsbuild
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/artsbuilde

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ArtsBuild