Our annual budget for 2025 is approximately $550,000, which includes the $25,000 fundraiser!

Every single dollar is used to sustain affordable studios, pay our small but mighty staff, and fund the programs and scholarships that make media arts accessible to all.

We stretch this modest budget to support hundreds of artists, filmmakers, and students across Austin every year.

We aim to grow our annual budget by 10% (to $605,000) in 2026 as we’ve spent 2025 re-envisioning each program in new spaces (i.e. Canopy and Clayton plus select pop up venues).

That growth will help us:

• Expand scholarship and free community programs

• Add part-time staff support

• Upgrade equipment and studio spaces

• Provide more paid opportunities for local teaching artists

• Facilities & Operations: $165,000 (30%)
  This includes rent, utilities and maintenance, cleaning, insurance, and supplies like gear, accessories, and backdrops for studios

• Staffing (3 full-time staff): $275,000 (50%)
  Salaries and payroll for our small but mighty team plus administrative support and taxes.
  This ensures fair pay, stability, and sustainability for the people who keep our nonprofit running every day.

• Marketing & Community Outreach: $15,000 (3%)
  Supports our website, outreach, and communication tools to reach students, families, and artists.

• Scholarships & Teaching Artist Contracts: $95,000 (17%)
  Funds pay local filmmakers and media artists to teach classes and workshops and provide scholarships for youth and adult learners.

Because we’re fighting to keep space accessible in a city where affordability is disappearing.

Austin’s commercial rents have skyrocketed, and creative spaces are disappearing faster than they can be replaced. At Motion Media Arts Center, maintaining physical space — studios, classrooms, and production areas is our foundation. It’s what allows artists to create, students to learn, and the community to gather.

Your donation goes directly toward the essentials that keep Motion Media Arts Center alive — our facilities, scholarships, and creative supplies.

Our year-end goal of $25,000 represents just 5% of our total annual budget, and while that may seem small, it’s undoubtedly important.

This funding helps us pay rent and utilities for our studios, provide scholarships for youth and adult learners, and purchase the film, equipment, and materials needed to keep our programs running.

Our 2025 $550,000 annual operating budget is funded through a balanced mix of earned income, grants, and community support.

• Earned Income – 60%
  The majority of our funding comes from tuition through our education programs and memberships at CINEMAKER. These programs are intentionally priced below market rates so artists, students, and families can access professional-grade studios and instruction at an affordable cost.

• Public & Private Grants – 30%
  We receive vital annual support from the City of Austin, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as smaller contributions from local foundations and community organizations. These grants help sustain our facilities, operations, and public programs.

• Community Giving – 10%
  The remaining portion of our budget is raised through individual donations and year-end fundraising campaigns — including our current Holiday Giving Drive, which aims to raise $25,000.

While 10% may seem small, it’s undoubtedly important. These contributions give us the flexibility to respond to community needs, offer scholarships, and keep creative space affordable for everyone.

In 2024, we made one of the most significant transitions in our organization’s history. We left a large central Austin facility that cost over $30,000 per month to operate and took the final quarter of the year to reimagine how our programs could grow within a new Austin — one where commercial real estate prices have skyrocketed and affordability for creatives is increasingly rare.

From that challenge, a new model emerged. Instead of operating from a single large space, we now facilitate programming across four active locations in Austin, allowing us to stay nimble, sustainable, and connected to creative communities citywide.

Looking forward, our goal over the next three years is to:

• Open an additional, larger Cinemaker studio designed for expanded film and media production.

• Establish satellite classrooms for Austin School of Film in both Round Rock and South Austin to reach more students and families across the region.

But we won’t get there if we’re treading water and simply breaking even. That’s why this year’s $25,000 Holiday Giving goal is so critical. Exceeding that target will not only keep us stable — it will cushion and position us for a stronger, more sustainable future where Austin’s creative community continues to thrive.

✨ All donations are 100% tax-deductible and go directly toward sustaining our programs, people, and spaces — and expanding access to even more creative corners of the city.