ANNOUNCING ARTS & CULTURE 2016 GRANTS
In November 2016 the Board of Directors approved 81 grants totaling $1,096,000 in support of arts and culture organizations and programs in the Greater Kansas City area. This is nearly $111,000 more than grants awarded in 2015.
Highlights from a list of 20 one-year grants (made to large and midsize arts and culture organizations for $706,000) include a continued emphasis on arts integration as reflected by the following:
- A $100,000 grant to ArtsKC Regional Arts Council, including $50,000 for Artsopolis, an arts and culture network of websites available on mobile devices. Artsopolis combines a visually appealing, customizable design along with simple navigation and powerful administrative tools that can help any type of organization or business with its cultural engagement, audience development, and community building efforts.
- New grants include the support of: (1) growth and innovative programming at KCUR FM 89; (2) arts integration learning communities for school teachers at the Spencer Museum of Art (KU Endowment Association); and, (3) the Kansas City Consortium Residency: Building Regional Connections through Theater (UMKC Foundation).
- Additional funding to Kansas City Young Audiences to support linkage among Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) initiatives and the arts. Often called STEM to STEAM, this work will bring together programs like Project Lead the Way (a STEM focused curriculum used broadly throughout the KC area) and KCYA’s work in bringing arts to K-12 education.
Fourteen multi-year grants to large and mid-size arts organizations were approved totaling $140,000 in 2016 payments. Examples include the Folly Theater, Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Mid-America Arts Alliance programming and audience development, and education programming at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.
The Foundation continued the annual Small Arts Grant Fund supporting small arts groups and community-based arts programs. The Small Arts Committee recommended and the Board approved 47 grants of $250,000 contributing toward a diverse and vibrant arts scene in the region. Some examples include Bach Aria Soloists, Kansas City Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts, Rightfully Sewn, and Black Archives of Mid-America, Inc.
In addition, the Foundation Board approved a $200,000 capital campaign grant to Kansas City Young Audiences for continuing renovation of their new office space in Kansas City, Missouri.
A listing of the arts and culture grants can be found below. If you have questions, please contact program officer Lyn Knox at 816-531-0077.