by Mike Telin
Since 2007, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) has invested more than $97 million in 237 local organizations presenting arts and cultural activities in Cuyahoga County. On Monday, November 18 at the Jennings Center for Older Adults, CAC’s Board of Trustees announced that it would invest $1,891,902 in grants in 139 arts and culture organizations in Cuyahoga County next year through its 2014 Project Support grant program. CAC’s Project Support program funds Cuyahoga County-based projects that promote public access and encourage the breadth of arts and cultural programming in the community.
“I want to congratulate each of the organizations Cuyahoga Arts & Culture is funding in 2014, and we look forward to partnering with them in the coming months to benefit the community,” said Karen Gahl-Mills, CAC’s executive director. Approved by Cuyahoga County voters in 2006, CAC’s vision for its first ten years of public funding for arts and culture is to help build stronger, more resilient organizations, create vibrant and energetic neighborhoods infused with culture, and establish Cuyahoga County as a hub of creative activity and a destination for artists. “On behalf of all county residents, CAC is funding more arts and culture programs for more people in more places than ever before,” Gahl-Mills added.
The diversity of groups and projects that were approved for funding at Monday’s meeting is impressive, a true showcase of the cultural richness and diversity of Cuyahoga County. For many recipients, a grant from CAC heavily figures into an organization’s financial stability. “For our Brownbag Concerts, CAC is our biggest single grant maker,” said Todd Wilson from Music and Art at Trinity Cathedral. (Project Support I – $18,489 for Brownbag Concert Series.)
Chris Haff-Paluck of Arts Renaissance Tremont agrees. “We are fortunate to have CAC — they have an expanded view of art and it’s great to see them fund such a diverse group of organizations.” (Project Support II – $4,565 for Tremont’s “Little Carnegie Hall.”) “CAC is one of only a few funding resources our organization has. Our main funding source continues to be individual donations, so we really appreciate the money from CAC.”
“CAC grants also help to build capacity for organizations to better serve the community,” said Barbara Bechtel of the Broadway School of Music and the Arts (Project Support I – $23,424 for It takes the Arts to Raise a Village: Slavic Village Arts Education Outreach Project.) “CAC funding is so important because it especially enables small arts organizations, to strengthen their programming and therefore have more direct community impact.”
For organizations like the Cleveland Chamber Music Society, a grant from CAC allows them to try something a little different with programming. “This is the Society’s third grant from CAC, says CCMS president Richard Fried, “and CAC grants have allowed us to expand and be more daring with our programs like this season’s performances by the Takács Quartet.” (Project Support I – $16,634 for The Takács Quartet: Complete Bartók Quartet Cycle in Two Evenings.)
Clurie Bennis of CityMusic Cleveland (Project Support I – $48,000 for “Fleeing”) summed up the views of many people in attendance. “CAC cares about small organizations. They have a great diversity in the organizations that they fund. And the fact that they hold meetings in different locations like today, allows us to get to know the community better as well.”
Project Support I Grants fund projects with budgets ranging from $5,001 to $50,000. Cuyahoga Arts & Culture funded 60 organizations with $1,452,165 through this program.
Organizations receiving Project Support I grants also include
ChamberFest Cleveland – $20,154 for Chamber Fest’s Summer Chamber Music Festival
Cleveland Women’s Orchestra – $7,756 for Severance Hall Community Concert
Local 4 Music Fund – $19,160 for Live Music is Best: Professional Musicians in our Schools and Community
Singers’ Club of Cleveland – $10,954 for Starry Night…Voices and Visions
The West Shore Chorale – $8,547 for Mozart’s Mass in C Minor (The Great)
Click here to view a complete list of Project Support I grant recipients.
Project Support II Grants fund projects with budgets up to $5,000. Cuyahoga Arts & Culture funded 67 organizations with $279,361 through this program.
Organizations receiving Project Support II grants also include
Choral Arts Society of Cleveland – $4,009 for New Music from Old Friends
Cleveland Chamber Symphony – $4,558 for NEOSonicFest: A Northeast Ohio New Music Festival
Cleveland Classical Guitar Society – $4,579 for The International Series
Cleveland Composers Guild – $4,608 for 22nd Annual Junior Concert of the Cleveland Composers Guild
FiveOne Experimental Orchestra – $1,760 for New…Audio…Ink
M.U.S.I.C. – $3,632 for Classical Cabarets
Opera Per Tutti – $4,136 for Strengthening the Presence and Accessibility of Opera in Gordon Square
Quire Cleveland – $4,386 for The Land of Harmony: Celebrating American Choral Works
Suburban Symphony Orchestra – $3,134 for Suburban Soloists Concert
Symphony West Orchestra – $4,286 for 2014 Concert Series
Western Reserve Chorale – $4,415 for Mozart’s Requiem
Click here to view a complete list of Project Support II grant recipients.
Cuyahoga Arts & Culture funded 12 organizations with $160,376 through its Project Support Grants for Units of Government program.
Click here to view a complete list of this program’s grant recipients.
In addition to this grant program, CAC also operates a biennial General Operating Support grant program through which it provides substantive, multi-year support to arts and cultural institutions that provide a range of programs that benefit residents throughout Cuyahoga County. The board is expected to approve grants to 57 organizations totaling $13.7 million at its December 9 meeting.
Published on ClevelandClassical.com November 22, 2013
Click here for a printable version of this article.
