photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

Pogo Fred performs at the Lawrence Busker Festival on Friday, May 23, 2025. Busker Fest was one of 12 organizations in Douglas County to receive state funding for arts programming.

Thirteen Douglas County organizations and nonprofits have been awarded over $100,000 total in state grants for arts programming for the 2025-26 grant period, the state of Kansas announced Tuesday.

The grants to Douglas County organizations range from a few thousand dollars to just over $11,000, and they will support visual arts, performing arts, music and special events in multiple Douglas County communities.

The awards were among more than $1 million in grants that the Kansas Arts Commission has awarded in communities across the state for 2025-26. Lt. Gov. and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said in a press release the grants will support initiatives that will “enrich the appeal of these communities, encourage innovation and drive economic growth.”

Organizations in Douglas County received a total of $101,908 from the state; the only county that received more was Sedgwick County, home to Wichita. However, Douglas County organizations received less total grant money than they did last year, when the state awarded 12 organizations in the county a total of $159,288, as the Journal-World reported.

Here is the complete list of groups that received grants in Douglas County:

• Theatre Lawrence: $7,236

• Busker Festival: $10,000

• Great Plains Emerging Arts Project Inc.: $10,000

• Lawrence Arts Center: $10,000

• Kansas University Endowment Association: $11,400

• Lawrence Kansas Juneteenth Organization: $10,000

• Heartland Chamber Music: $7,500

• Americana Music Academy: $6,809

• Mid-America Performing Arts Alliance: $3,713

• Van Go Inc.: $6,711

• Lumberyard Arts Center Inc.: $6,705

• Lawrence Community Orchestra: $5,539

• Lawrence Art Guild Association: $6,295