St. Petersburg Arts Alliance

What St. Petersburg Arts Alliance does

The St. Petersburg Arts Alliance (SPAA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2012 in St. Petersburg, Florida, that operates as the sole umbrella organization for the city's creative community of individual artists, arts and cultural organizations, and creative businesses. The organization runs a portfolio of interconnected programs rather than a single software product: the annual SHINE St. Petersburg Mural Festival (launched 2015, now comprising nearly 200 murals across downtown and surrounding arts districts), the monthly Second Saturday ArtWalk coordinating seven arts districts (Central, Grand Central, Warehouse, Uptown, Deuces Live, Edge, and Waterfront), the Funding Futures student grant program for ages 10–17 (launched 2017), the six-week Arts Business Academy, the MUSE Awards, the Curate St. Pete virtual gallery tours, the 'A City of Museums' video series, the ACE Pinellas arts education advocacy program, and the annual Garden Party fundraiser.

SPAA's technology stack centers on third-party consumer integrations rather than proprietary platforms: the SHINE festival uses PixelStix for the world's first accessible mural audio tour, the Mural Quest St. Pete mobile app powers self-guided walking tours of 185+ murals, and the Star Trolley partnership delivers guided SHINE tours. The organization maintains a 163+ listing Membership Directory, the SHINE registered trademark, and an Arts Guide publication. No native mobile app is owned by SPAA itself, and no API or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed.

The revenue model is a diversified nonprofit stack of individual and corporate donations, event sponsorships (SHINE, ArtWalk, MUSE, Garden Party), grants administered from sources including the National Endowment for the Arts, the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, Pinellas Community Foundation, and the City of St. Petersburg's Comprehensive Arts Strategy, and recurring monthly or annual membership dues across six tiers (Individual, Emerging Artist, Arts Supporter, Arts Advocate, Arts Partner, Arts Trailblazer). The organization serves professional and emerging artists, arts and cultural organizations, creative businesses, young artists ages 10–17, and arts educators in Pinellas County, with three paid staff and roughly 60 active volunteers.

Name

St. Petersburg Arts Alliance

Legal name

St. Petersburg Arts Alliance

Website

https://stpeteartsalliance.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The St. Petersburg Arts Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2012 that serves as the umbrella organization for St. Petersburg's entire creative community, operating the SHINE Mural Festival, Second Saturday ArtWalk, Funding Futures grants, and Arts Business Academy across seven arts districts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts & Cultural Nonprofit Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultural Festivals & Events Organizations (BPAGAHAG)

Keywords

• Arts advocacy
• Community arts development
• Public art festivals
• Arts education programs
• Nonprofit arts funding

Headquarters

HQ city

St. Petersburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual and Corporate Gifts: SPAA raises money through individual and corporate gifts to support community-wide arts efforts.
2. Event Sponsorships: Revenue generated from sponsoring programs and events including SHINE Mural Festival, ArtWalk, MUSE Awards, and Garden Party.
3. Grants: SPAA receives and distributes grants that support community-wide arts efforts, including administering the Funding Futures student grant program.
4. Membership Dues: Monthly and yearly membership fees at various levels (Individual, Emerging Artist, Arts Supporter, Arts Advocate, Arts Partner, Arts Trailblazer) providing networking, education, grants, promotional, and professional development opportunities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SPAA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit umbrella organization that advocates for and supports the entire creative community of St. Petersburg, Florida. It raises money through donations, sponsorships, grants, and membership dues to fund community arts programs including the SHINE Mural Festival, Second Saturday ArtWalk, Funding Futures student grants, the Arts Business Academy, the MUSE Awards, and virtual gallery tours. Its beneficiaries are individual artists, arts and cultural organizations, creative businesses, and young student artists in Pinellas County.

Product overview

St. Petersburg Arts Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization founded in 2012 that serves as the umbrella organization for the entire creative community in St. Petersburg, Florida. The organization operates a portfolio of interconnected programs and events rather than a unified software product. Core offerings include the SHINE Mural Festival (annual public art festival featuring nearly 200 murals), Second Saturday ArtWalk (monthly coordinated gallery events across seven arts districts), Membership Directory (comprehensive listing of artists and arts organizations), Curate St. Pete (virtual gallery tours), and Museums of St. Pete (video series). Education initiatives include the Arts Business Academy (6-week professional development program) and Funding Futures Student Grant Program (summer camp scholarships for young artists). The organization also operates advocacy programs through the ACE Committee, hosts the annual MUSE Awards, produces the Arts Guide print publication, and organizes the annual Garden Party fundraiser. Funding comes from individual and corporate gifts, event sponsorships, and grants supporting community-wide arts efforts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SHINE Mural Festival Annual mural festival produced by SPAA that illuminates public spaces through large-scale murals by local, national, and international artists. Since 2015, has created nearly 200 murals throughout downtown and surrounding arts districts, transforming the city into a world-class outdoor gallery. Free to attend.
• Second Saturday ArtWalk Monthly art walk event where seven arts districts (Central Arts District, Grand Central District, Warehouse Arts District, Uptown Arts District, Deuces Live District, Edge District, and Waterfront Arts District) come together as one arts destination. Galleries and studios open 5-9pm for public exploration. Free and open to the public.
• Membership Directory
• Curate St. Pete Virtual Gallery Tours
• Museums of St. Pete Video Series
• Arts Business Academy (ABA)
• Funding Futures Student Grant Program Grant program supporting student artists ages 10-17 in Pinellas County with financial constraints. Eligible disciplines include dance, music, jazz, voice, theater, digital arts, writing, photography, cinematic arts, visual arts, and literary arts. Grant funds may cover tuition, instruments, supplies, and instruction.
• MUSE Awards
• ACE Program (Arts for a Complete Education)
• Arts Guide (Studio, Gallery, Museum & Performing Arts Guide)
• Garden Party

Quantifiable outcome

• SHINE Mural Festival has created nearly 200 murals throughout downtown and surrounding arts districts since 2015
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 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

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• City of St. PetersburgcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024City of St. Petersburg is a key funding partner of SPAA, supporting community-wide arts efforts, the SHINE Mural Festival, and arts-related economic development initiatives. The city provides funding through the Comprehensive Arts Strategy and supports the Historic Manhattan Casino Mural project.
• St. Petersburg Chamber of CommercecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Chamber is listed as a funding and media partner, supporting SPAA's efforts to advocate for and develop the arts community in St. Petersburg.
• WUSF/NPRcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWUSF and NPR are listed as media partners, providing coverage and promotional support for arts events and SPAA initiatives.
• EDGE DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe EDGE District association coordinates with SPAA to produce the Second Saturday ArtWalk, bringing together multiple arts districts as one unified arts destination.
• Grand Central DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Grand Central District association coordinates with SPAA to produce the Second Saturday ArtWalk.
• Warehouse Arts DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Warehouse Arts District association coordinates with SPAA to produce the Second Saturday ArtWalk and operates the WADA trolley service during events.
• St. Petersburg Downtown PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Downtown Partnership provided funding for the 'A City of Museums' video series project.
• Creative PinellascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative Pinellas launched the $500,000 Arts Tourism Funding Program with support from SPAA and Clearwater Arts Alliance.
• Star TrolleyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStar Trolley provides SHINE Mural Tours, offering guided tours through the city's vibrant murals. Star Trolley is also a retail location for the SHINE book.
• PixelStixcoreTechnology or IntegrationPixelStix technology enables the SHINE Mural Festival's accessible audio tour and instant connection to online content via smartphone scanning. This technology is being adopted by other mural organizations nationwide.
• Pinellas County SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPinellas County Schools (PCS) educators and specialists serve on the ACE Pinellas Committee to promote quality arts education in K-12 schools.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Fractured Atlas: National arts services organization providing fiscal sponsorship, insurance, and professional development to independent artists and small arts organizations. Comparable in serving the operational needs of creative communities, but does not operate as a local umbrella for arts districts.
• National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA): Membership organization of state and jurisdictional arts agencies that supports arts policy and funding at the state level. Functions as an industry body for the kind of arts funding and advocacy work SPAA performs locally.
• Americans for the Arts: National nonprofit providing advocacy, research, and tools to local arts agencies. Comparable as an ecosystem enabler to SPAA's local advocacy role, but at the national scale rather than competing directly.
• Local Arts Agencies (national network): Network of municipal and county arts agencies across the U.S. that perform advocacy, grants, and community arts programming. SPAA operates as a local arts agency equivalent; comparable peers include city arts councils in peer-sized cities like Nashville, Austin, and Savannah.

Broad incumbents

• ArtsBoston: Regional arts service organization that aggregates and promotes arts and cultural events across the Boston metro area, offering a comparable umbrella/community directory model to SPAA but operating at considerably larger scale.
• Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council: Established multi-discipline arts alliance model serving a regional creative ecosystem with membership directory, advocacy, grants, and professional development programs—directly comparable in structure and mission to SPAA but at a larger urban scale.

Direct peers

• Clearwater Arts Alliance: Direct local peer serving as an arts umbrella organization in adjacent Clearwater, FL. Co-participates with SPAA in the Creative Pinellas Arts Tourism Funding Program and operates as a parallel arts alliance model in the same regional market.
• Creative Pinellas: County-level arts funding and advocacy organization serving Pinellas County. SPAA is an active partner in Creative Pinellas's $500K Arts Tourism Funding Program, and the two organizations share overlapping mandates around arts advocacy, funding distribution, and creative community development in the same geography.

Regional players

• Arts Council of Hillsborough County: Regional arts council serving neighboring Hillsborough County (Tampa area) with comparable programmatic functions including grants administration, advocacy, and ArtsIn Motion programming. Comparable in mission but does not directly compete in St. Petersburg's territory.
• Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs: Governmental arts funding and advocacy body serving a Florida major metro area. Comparable in advocacy and grants administration functions, but operates as a county government entity rather than an independent nonprofit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/StPeteArtsAlliance
• Facebookfacebook.com/StPeteArtsAlliance
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/st-petersburg-arts-alliance
• Instagraminstagram.com/stpeteartsalliance
• Xx.com/StPeteArts

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about St. Petersburg Arts Alliance