$1,259,500 awarded to Maricopa County schools and nonprofit organizations

On July 20, 2017, the Arizona Commission on the Arts, an agency of the State of Arizona, announced 234 grants to Arizona nonprofit arts organizations, local arts agencies, schools, and community organizations. In total, the competitive grant review process for fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018) resulted in an aggregate investment of $2,354,500.

A total of $1,259,500 was awarded to Maricopa County schools and nonprofit organizations from Queen Creek to Wickenburg, Carefree to Litchfield Park.

Additional info and resources can be found at http://azarts.gov/news-media/press-resources/

The state’s investment in arts organizations, festivals, and community-based programs was once again bolstered this year by a one-time $1.5 million allocation to the Arizona Commission on the Arts in the state’s fiscal year 2018 budget. This additional funding, derived from interest accrued on the State’s Rainy-Day Fund, represents a significant boost to the agency’s primary funding streams: the Arts Trust Fund, which contributes, on average, $1.43 million to the agency’s annual budget, and a state partnership grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, which contributes $800,000 on average.

These funds are distributed throughout the state in the form of grants, but also in the form of programs and services that contribute to the growth and stabilization of Arizona’s arts sector, enhance student learning, nurture artists’ creative and professional development, and preserve the rich traditions of Arizona communities.

“With their repeat of the additional funding allocation for fiscal year 2018, the state’s leadership acknowledges the vital role that artists and arts organizations play in Arizona’s communities as innovators and creative catalysts,” said Robert Booker, Executive Director of the Arizona Commission on the Arts. “The arts are an economic driver, enhance the education of our young people, and create opportunities for dialogue and understanding among and within Arizona’s diverse communities."

Grants were awarded in four categories:

Community Investment Grants provide operating support to nonprofit arts organizations, local arts agencies and tribal cultural organizations whose mission is to produce, present, teach or serve the arts.

Festival Grants support organizations in their efforts to provide quality arts and cultural programming through community festival activities.

Arts Learning Collaboration Grants enhance the work of arts educators, classroom teachers and school-based arts programs through collaborative projects.

Lifelong Arts Engagement Grants enhance the work of community and social service organizations/ governmental entities through partnership projects with professional teaching artists and/or arts organizations.

In accordance with the Arts Commission’s strategic plan and governing statutes, schools and nonprofit arts organizations are awarded grants based on such factors as community investment, quality of programming, fiscal ingenuity and responsible stewardship of public funds.

Grant applications are reviewed within rigorous panel processes which are open to applicants as well as the broader public. Review panels are led by Governor-appointed Commissioners and are composed of diverse community leaders, volunteer experts, educators and arts practitioners from rural, urban and suburban areas throughout Arizona.

“From Yuma to Teec Nos Pos, from Kingman to Bisbee, the Arts Commission utilizes its grant programs to provide essential investment in communities across Arizona,” said Robert Booker, Executive Director of the Arizona Commission on the Arts. “As part of this grantmaking effort, the State of Arizona is an indispensable partner to Arizona’s arts sector in pursuit of a shared mission: to imagine an Arizona where everyone can participate in and experience the arts.”

About the Arizona Commission on the Arts

One of 56 state and jurisdictional arts agencies across the United States, the Arizona Commission on the Arts is a 50-year-old agency of the State of Arizona and a leading force in the creative and professional development of Arizona’s arts sector. Through robust programs, research initiatives and strategic grantmaking, the Arts Commission catalyzes arts-based partnerships that strengthen Arizona communities through the arts.

For more information about the grants, services and programs of the Arizona Commission on the Arts, visit http://www.azarts.gov.   back...