FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information:
Mollie LaFavers
mlafavers@fundforthearts.org
502.882.8697
FUND FOR THE ARTS ANNOUNCES SUSTAINING IMPACT GRANT RECIPIENTS
LOUISVILLE, KY (September 29, 2021) – Today, Fund for the Arts announced recipients of its 2022 Sustaining Impact Grants (SIG). A total investment of $3.16 million was made to 28 local arts institutions.
Andre Kimo Stone Guess, President and CEO of Fund for the Arts said, “while Louisville’s diverse arts and culture ecosystem continues to adapt and recover from the impact of COVID-19, we are committed o providing crucial resources to arts institutions of all sizes, disciplines, and missions.”
The purpose of Sustaining Impact Grants is to provide mission-based operating support to Greater Louisville charitable arts organizations whose programming supports the priorities of Imagine Greater Louisville 2025 to ensure the organization’s ongoing capacity to drive community impact. Sustaining Impact Grants are designed to provide foundational operating support for Greater Louisville charitable arts organizations.
“The Sustaining Impact Grant from the Fund for the Arts is the power supply that we need to amplify unheard voices and untold stories,” said Darcy Thompson, Executive Director of the Louisville Story Program. “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 SIG program not only affords arts organizations financial stability but also facilitates valuable partnerships and professional development.”
The Fund for the Arts recognizes that all arts and culture organizations are operating under extreme uncertainties, with many unknown variables because of COVID-19. Additionally, Fund for the Arts recognizes the community’s call for racial equity and is committed to building a more inclusive and equitable community for all. In response, in the Fiscal Year 2022 Sustaining Impact Grant application, Fund for the Arts placed an increased emphasis on the applicants’ plans to recover from COVID-19 and their commitment to rebuild a thriving, vibrant, inclusive, and equitable community for all.
Of this year’s 28 Sustaining Impact Grant recipients, 23 have received a Sustaining Impact Grant before and 5 are receiving this grant for the first time.
“The Sustaining Impact Grant offers critical financial support for the Louisville Academy of Music’s mission, but it goes beyond a grant by offering invaluable guidance and resources for us to truly thrive,” said Sara Louise Callaway, Executive Director of Louisville Academy of Music (LAM), a new Sustaining Impact Grant recipient this year. “We are so grateful to the Fund and its generous donors for supporting LAM and working to make art accessible to all.”
Josh Miller (CEO) and Hannah Drake (CCO) of IDEAS xLab said, “IDEAS xLab is at a place of growth as we continue to champion inclusion and belonging through creativity, art, and action. Fund for the Arts’ support through a Sustaining Impact Grant provides general operating funds at a time when both organizational budgeting and fundraising have been impacted by the pandemic. SIG support allows us to focus on further building out systems and developing projects to maximize their reach and impact with our community partners and the artists we work with!”
Congratulations to the following Sustaining Impact Grant recipients:
- Actors Theatre of Louisville
- AMPED (Academy of Music Production Education and Development)
- Arts Alliance Southern Indiana*
- Arts Association of Oldham County
- Bunbury Repertory Theatre Company
- Commonwealth Theatre Center, Inc.
- IDEAS xLab*
- Kentucky Opera Association
- Kentucky Shakespeare, Inc.
- KMAC Museum
- Lanita Rocknettes School of Dance*
- Looking for Lilith Theatre Company
- The Louisville Academy of Music*
- Louisville Ballet
- Louisville Chorus
- The Louisville Orchestra, Inc.
- Louisville Story Program Inc.
- Louisville Visual Art
- Louisville Youth Choir
- Louisville Youth Orchestra
- The Little Loomhouse
- Pandora Productions
- River City Drum Corp Cultural Arts Institute Inc. LLC
- Speed Art Museum
- Squallis Puppeteers
- StageOne Family Theatre
- West Louisville Performing Arts Academy
- Young Authors Greenhouse*
*First-time Sustaining Impact Grant recipients
About Fund for the Arts
Fund for the Arts is a regional nonprofit with the mission to maximize the impact of the arts on economic development, education, and quality of life in our community. The Fund is a convener, promoter, leader, and driver of Imagine Greater Louisville 2025, the region’s arts and cultural plan. It facilitates the largest arts grant program in Kentucky as well as conducts one of the oldest united arts campaigns in the country. For more information, visit www.fundforthearts.org.
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