ArtsBuild announces the recipients of its annual round of Mission Support grants.
ArtsBuild has awarded a total of $525,000 in Mission Support grants to 21 local arts organizations for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. The group includes three first-time Mission Support grant recipients – Dynamo Studios, The Pop-up Project and Stove Works. Total awards increased from $500,000 granted last year, and 21 is the highest number of arts organizations ever awarded Mission Support grants in a year.
Recipients for 2020-2021 include: Art120, Association for Visual Arts, Bessie Smith Cultural Center, Chattanooga Ballet, Chattanooga Boys Choir, Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, Chattanooga Theatre Centre, CoPAC, Creative Discovery Museum, Dynamo Studios, East Lake Expression Engine, Hart Gallery, Hunter Museum of American Art, The Pop-up Project, Scenic City Clay Arts, Sculpture Fields at Montague Park, SoundCorps, Southern Lit Alliance, SPLASH, Stove Works and Unity Performing Arts Foundation of Chattanooga.
President James McKissic says, “Each of these organizations – ArtsBuild’s Community Arts Partners – enriches Chattanooga and Hamilton County making it a better place to live, work and visit.”
The cumulative total of the beneficiaries of all Community Arts Partners as well as ArtsBuild’s own programs and arts education initiatives is estimated to be close to 1 million people each year.
Mission Support grants support local arts organizations that create and provide year-round arts programs and experiences that are vital to the cultural life of the community. A grants review panel made up of community volunteers evaluates each organization’s application, heavily weighted on the organization’s efforts to create access to the arts across our community – through outreach, inclusion and variety of programs.
“ArtsBuild is proud to support such a diverse group of arts organizations. Our Community Arts Partners are key collaborators in our mission of building a stronger community through the arts, by expanding access to the arts and making a difference through their unique work,” says Rowena Belcher, ArtsBuild board member and chair of the Initiatives Committee.
ArtsBuild has another grant-making program called Community Cultural Connections which awards grants of up to $2,000 on a rolling basis for projects or programs that use the arts to make the community a better place. Applicants do not need to be 501(c)(3) organizations. ArtsBuild is now accepting CCC applications for fiscal year 2020-2021. To learn more about eligibility and to apply for a CCC grant, visit the online grant application system https://artsbuild.gosmart.org/ or contact Miriam Manda, manager of Grants and Community Engagement at miriam@artsbuild.com.