The Cathedral Arts Project strings ensemble performs before the arts nonprofit's announcement that it won its largest federal grant in its 33-year history. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
Published on October 16, 2026 at 3:37 pm
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The Cathedral Arts Project announced it will use the largest public grant award to expand arts education to children on the First Coast and beyond.
Thursday, the nonprofit announced that the $3.95 million in federal, state and philanthropic grants will triple the number of families it’s able to serve.
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The largest portion is a $2.5 million award, over three years, from the U.S. Department of Education that will provide professional development for scores of arts educators across America.
The CEO of Cathedral Arts Project, the Rev. Kimberley Hyatt, expects the knowledge and ideas that have been allowed to foment in Jacksonville will be shared across the country.
The Florida Department of Education allocated another $991,000 in its 2026-27 fiscal budget for Cathedral Arts Project.
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The Cathedral Arts Project served more than 4,300 students in the 2025-26 academic year. This new round of federal, state and philanthropic funding will allow the Jacksonville nonprofit to bring an additional 7,100 children from across America under its creative wing.
“We have documented improvements in school attendance, behavior and academic performance,” Hyatt said during Thursday’s announcement inside CAP’s headquarters. “Those are meaningful outcomes for students today, with enormous implications for the workforce and communities of tomorrow. … We are living through a historic transformation. Artificial intelligence is changing everything. And, while we cannot predict what the world is going to look like for the students we are teaching today, we know that the future is going to demand far more than the ability to memorize information and perform routine tasks.”
Cathedral Arts Project expects that the state dollars will help it expand its arts education programs for children in military families.
A’laiya Crew is 12 and a member of CAP’s dance ensemble. She is the daughter of a former Navy petty officer who found a community through Jacqueline Peterson’s dance class.
“It’s where I meet other military kids and where we feel welcomed and have fun,” A’laiya said. “And most importantly, it’s where I let my feelings out when I miss my dad.”
A’laiya’s dad, Tray Crew, stood 20 feet away and beamed as she spoke. A’laiya’s mother, Montoya, didn’t have to say she was proud of her daughter’s progress. Her tears spoke instead.
Cathedral Arts Project and schools
Duval County Superintendent Christopher Bernier says arts education is a phenomenal complement to the other curricula the district offers.
“One of the reasons we have been so successful as a school system is our thriving arts program and great partners like the Cathedral Arts Project,” Bernier said. “It’s just really important that our kids have this outlet. I say it often: Sometimes, kids get up in the morning to go to Algebra I. But, a lot of others get up to be a part of the play, draw, be part of an art class, perform. It’s really important to them and their total round out as a human being.”
Sen. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, is a believer in CAP’s mission. He says he will request additional state funding for the organization when the 2027 legislative session begins in March.
“It’s working. It’s not just stuff that sounds good,” Yarborough said. “It’s things that are really helping the kids and really helping these families. … I look forward to advocating for them to get more dollars next year.”
Cathedral Arts Project has raised more than $26.5 million in private funding since 2019. That type of private commitment, Yarborough says, is additional evidence of the community investment in the organization’s programming.
Hyatt says rising reliance on artificial intelligence enhances the value of creatives who can work with people. Through its teaching fellowships, CAP has provided opportunities for burgeoning cellists, violinists, thespians — and in A’laiya’s case — dance.
“As our technology becomes more capable, the more important human creativity becomes,” Hyatt says. “The lessons that arts education teach, they are not simply relevant to our future. I believe they are absolutely essential for us to have a future.”
Disclosure: Reporter Will Brown’s child has participated in CAP programming.
