Cathedral Arts Project announced $3.95 million in new federal, state and philanthropic funding on Thursday, a package the Jacksonville nonprofit says will let it expand local arts education while building a teaching model it hopes schools nationwide will adopt. The announcement came at the organization's downtown Jacksonville headquarters, and it includes the largest government grant in the group's history.
The centerpiece is a $2.55 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, part of its Assistance for Arts Education program, according to First Coast News. Cathedral Arts Project was selected as one of just 12 organizations nationwide to receive the competitive award, and the money will support three years of programming and educator professional development. The nonprofit also reported a $991,758 state appropriation through the Florida Department of Education, though a Florida Senate project description instead frames that figure as a request from Cathedral Arts Project to expand education choice through high-quality arts programming — a discrepancy the organization's own announcement does not address.
Rounding out the package, an anonymous national foundation contributed a $260,000 matching gift intended for long-term philanthropy and public-awareness efforts, while the Find Your Light Foundation gave $50,000 for professional development and program infrastructure. Cathedral Arts Project President and CEO Kimberly Hyatt said the new support reflects growing confidence in arts education and will help the organization bring its work to classrooms nationwide, per the station's report.
From Jacksonville Classrooms to a National Model
Cathedral Arts Project says it will use the funding both to expand programming in Northeast Florida and to package its teaching approach for use elsewhere in the country. The combined federal and state dollars are projected to reach 2,900 students locally, and the organization plans to provide ongoing professional development to 70 educators nationwide through the federal grant. Those educators are expected to reach another 4,200 students by weaving arts-integrated practices into their own teaching, bringing the funding's projected total impact to more than 7,000 students.
The professional development will target a wide range of educators: general-education teachers, special-education professionals, school administrators, and homeschool and microschool instructors, along with teaching artists. Training will be offered both virtually and, when possible, in person, and the initiative also calls for a local conference or learning event in its second year so educators can share best practices. As part of the effort, the nonprofit plans to build a digital curriculum database stocked with lesson plans, instructional videos and examples of student work.
A Nonprofit That Started With 10 Students
Cathedral Arts Project traces its roots to a program that began with just 10 students in Duval County, and it has since grown into one of the region's larger arts-education providers. During the 2024-25 school year, the organization reached 4,328 students through 265 programs at 61 sites across Northeast Florida, according to Cathedral Arts Project, offering instruction in dance, music, theatre and visual arts across a range of educational settings. Its signature offering, Arts Ignite, has run for more than 30 years.
A separate CAP initiative focused on military-connected students, Brave HeARTs, reached 4,300 students during the 2025-26 academic year and launched with a $250,000 grant from the city of Jacksonville, according to Jax Today. Teachers reported that 51% of those students made gains in academic engagement over the school year, nearly two-thirds of parents said their child's communication skills improved, and 74% of students reported better mental focus. Among Brave HeARTs participants, 66.9% were proficient in both English and math, more than 10 percentage points above the districtwide average of 56.3%.
Part of a Broader Fundraising Push
Thursday's announcement follows a string of major gifts for Cathedral Arts Project in recent years. In February 2022, the organization received a $3.75 million gift from the Foley Family Charitable Foundation, described at the time as the largest in its 29-year history, per WJCT News. In 2024, it secured $500,000 from the Delores Barr Weaver Legacy Funds to establish a named teaching artist fellow position, a gift that required the nonprofit to raise a matching $500,000 from Betty and Tom Petway, as reported by The Florida Times-Union.
The new funding also builds on Cathedral Arts Project's REIMAGINE Campaign, which aimed to raise $26 million by summer 2026 to expand its teaching artist fellowship model and strengthen student exhibitions and performances. Mark Laborde, chair of the REIMAGINE Campaign cabinet, said the new funding builds on the campaign's momentum. Cathedral Arts Project has said the latest investment will expand local arts education access while giving educators across the country resources to integrate the arts into their teaching.
