Students Performing at Commonwealth Theatre Center
by Mollie LaFavers
Fund for the Arts’ Manager of Communications and Engagement
The Sustaining Impact Grant is the Fund for the Arts’ (FFTA) primary grant funding program and provides operating support to Greater Louisville arts organizations to ensure ongoing capacity and community impact. As COVID-19 continues to affect arts audiences and program-based revenues, operating support is critical.
In the past year, the Sustaining Impact Grant application placed an increased emphasis on how organizations were addressing racial equity within their organizations and across the community, how they were helping individuals to heal and connect in the face of social distancing, and how they were working toward long-term sustainability.
A student from AMPED playing the guitar.
Dave Christopher, Executive Director and Founder of AMPED said, “The Fund for the Arts Sustaining Impact Grant is one of the most powerful and impactful grants that AMPED has received because it’s so much more than money! It’s technical support, knowledge building, capacity-building tools, and most importantly moral support. Simply put, FFTA cares about our organization and its success.”
In FY 2021, FFTA invested $2.5 million to support 23 arts organizations across a wide variety of artistic disciplines through this grant program.
Louisville Story Program
During this difficult year, Sustaining Impact Grant recipients went above and beyond to help the Greater Louisville community heal and rebuild. They pivoted to porch concerts and drive-in performances. They found ways to adapt their educational content to reach students as they attended school virtually. And they delivered art supplies to the homes of students who otherwise wouldn’t have access to those resources.
Darcy Thompson, Executive Director of the Louisville Story Program said, “The Sustaining Impact Grant from the Fund for the Arts is the power supply that we need to amplify unheard voices and untold stories. We appreciate that the Fund prioritizes not only our largest arts institutions but also the smaller ones that bring our city some of its freshest, most exciting, and most democratic art. The Sustaining Impact Grant program not only affords arts organizations financial stability but also facilitates valuable partnerships and professional development.”
The FY 2021 Sustaining Impact Grant recipients were as follows:
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- Actors Theatre of Louisville
- AMPED (Academy of Music Production Education and Development)
- Arts Association of Oldham County
- Bunbury Repertory Theatre Company
- Commonwealth Theatre Center, Inc.
- Kentucky Opera Association
- Kentucky Shakespeare, Inc.
- KMAC Museum
- Looking for Lilith Theatre Company
- Louisville Ballet
- Louisville Chorus
- Louisville Story Program Inc.
- Louisville Visual Art (LVA)
- Louisville Youth Choir
- Louisville Youth Orchestra
- Pandora Productions
- River City Drum Corp Cultural Arts Institute Inc. LLC
- Speed Art Museum
- Squallis Puppeteers
- StageOne Family Theatre
- The Little Loomhouse
- The Louisville Orchestra, Inc.
- West Louisville Performing Arts Academy
