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Ambassador Tour Grants

Ambassador submissions are reviewed on the 15th of each month. Funding is typically processed and available to Ambassador artists within two weeks. Please plan the timing of your application accordingly to ensure you have funds prior to the start of your tour.

Artist Eligibility

  • All Ambassador grant recipients must meet the eligibility requirements for all MEM opportunities.
  • To be eligible for an Ambassador grant, you must have 5 or more tour dates booked outside of Memphis. The majority of those dates should fall outside of a 100-mile radius of Memphis. We do not typically fund artists with multi-date residencies (multiple dates at a single venue in a single city) unless they are part of a bigger tour, or private events unless they are accessible to the public via ticketing and promoted publicly.
  • When prepping your application be sure you plan well in advance of your tour dates. Applications are reviewed on the 15th of every month. You should submit your application an entire calendar month before your tour starts at the least. Ex: Tour starts on March 20. You should apply before February 15 or earlier.
  • Funding decisions are competitive and made based on a number of factors, including the artist or band’s viability as an excellent ambassador for the city of Memphis. In most cases, artists meeting our eligibility requirements for the grant are funded. The funding amount awarded to each applicant is decided based upon the size of the band, geographic reach of the tour and number of tour dates.
    • Multiple members of the same band will not be funded. Bands should submit one application and indicate the total number of people the grant will fund.
    • If an artist or band is an opening act on a tour, they can be funded separately from the headliner as long as they are a billed artist.
    • Artists cannot receive Ambassador grants for showcases already funded by other MEM programs (i.e.: Experiences or Export Bank).
  • Some Ambassador artists will have the chance to highlight a favorite Memphis music location in a video promoting their music and the tour. For all Ambassadors, Memphis-themed hardshell suitcases are available to use for merch table displays.
  • Ambassadors receive between $500 – $2,500 per request. There is no limit to how many times an artist can be funded, with an annual cap of $5,000.