Chatham Arts Council Awards Grassroots Arts Grants
Seven Local Arts Organizations Awarded Funds to do Great Things in Chatham County
Pittsboro, NC—The Chatham Arts Council is excited to announce the winners of the annual Grassroots Arts Grants, a program aimed to help organizations do amazing work through the arts.
Seven organizations will be awarded a portion of the more than $12,000 in total funding available, which will help with operational support and the hiring of local artists to implement arts programming. This year’s award winners are: Chatham Artists Guild, Chatham County Partnership for Children, Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, Shakori Hills Roots in Schools, Sisters’ Voices, Sprott Center for Youth (Moncure), and NC Arts Incubator. Since 2000, Chatham Arts Council (CAC) has awarded more than $117,000 to nonprofits, who in turn, use the money to carry the arts into every corner of the county.
“We were so pleased with the diverse applications we received for the grant this year,” expressed Cheryl Chamblee, Executive Director of the CAC. “Chatham is full of creativity and our hope is that this funding will help arts organizations enrich the county with meaningful artistic experiences.”
The CAC serves as the Designated County Partner to the North Carolina Arts Council in awarding the funds to local organizations.
The review panel was particularly interested in seeing proposals that included local artist fees/fair payment to artists and outreach to diverse or underserved communities. Applications were reviewed based on the quality of the project, community impact, ability to implement the project, and fiscal responsibility. Winning applications ranged in programming from early literacy opportunities and integrated art in after school classes to educational music programs and promoting arts/artists in Chatham County.
“Each winning organization had compelling needs and incredible program ideas,” said Sue Szary, Chair of the Grassroots Arts Grants Panel and CAC Board Member. “We’re so proud of the arts organizations in our county – all of which are dedicated to elevating art as a priority in Chatham.”
Grassroots Arts Grants are made possible by individual contributions to the Chatham Arts Council’s general operating fund and through the generous assistance of the Grassroots Arts Program of the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
ABOUT THE CHATHAM ARTS COUNCIL
The Chatham Arts Council nurtures creative thinkers in Chatham County. We do this in two ways: (1) We invest in artists. And (2) We educate kids through the arts. In its thirty-fifth year as a nonprofit arts agency, Chatham Arts Council’s flagship programs include Meet This Artist, Go See This, Grassroots Arts Grants, and the Chatham Artists-in-Schools Initiative—serving more than 2,500 children this year. Chatham Arts Council is proud to partner with the NC Arts Council, the Durham Arts Council, Chatham County Schools, and numerous Chatham arts organizations, human resource nonprofits, and local businesses. For more information on the CAC, visit www.chathamartscouncil.org.
CONTACT: April Starling, Marketing/Public Relations Leader of the Chatham Arts Council, april@chathamartscouncil.org or 917.544.0608.
NOTE: Feel free to publish partially or in its entirety, with or without a byline. The article was written by April Starling, Marketing/Public Relations Leader, Chatham Arts Council.
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