FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 18, 2020
Chatham Arts Council Offers up to $10,000 in Grassroots Arts Grants for Local Arts Organizations
Online Applications Now Available!
Pittsboro, NC—The Chatham Arts Council is excited to announce the availability of its annual Grassroots Arts Grants, a program aimed to help organizations do amazing work through the arts. Since 2000, the Chatham Arts Council (CAC) has awarded nearly $200,000 to nonprofits, who in turn, use the money to fund artists and carry the arts into every corner of the county. The CAC is now accepting online applications.
“Part of our mission is to invest in artists, and our Grassroots Arts Grants program is one way we feel we can successfully do that,” explained Cheryl Chamblee, Executive Director of the Chatham Arts Council. “Our hope is that through these grants, local arts organizations have the opportunity to funnel quality arts programs throughout our county.”
The CAC serves as the Designated County Partner to the North Carolina Arts Council in awarding the funds to local organizations. Cash grants range from $500 to $2,500, and are typically used for program expenses (i.e., artists’ fees, space rental) or operating expenses for arts organizations. Areas of particular interest for the CAC are local artist fees/fair payment to artists and outreach to diverse or underserved communities.
Organizations applying must:
- Have been in operation for at least one year as a 501(c)(3);
- Have an arts mission, or a program that uses the arts to help accomplish the organization’s mission;
- Be based in Chatham County, or carry out the project in Chatham County.
The CAC is offering a Zoom meeting with applicants who may have questions about the process on July 14, 2020 from 3:00 – 4:30 pm. Interested persons should RSVP to Jenni Detwiler via Jenni@ChathamArtsCouncil.org. The deadline for applications and supporting materials is July 31, 2020.
“These arts grants have the ability to make a big impact locally,” expressed CAC Board President, Taylor Hobbs. “We are proud of this investment in artists, and encourage all qualified organizations to apply.”
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.
Past recipients have included organizations such as Bynum Front Porch, Chatham County Partnership for Children, Chatham Artists Guild, Hispanic Liaison of North Carolina, Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, NC Arts in Action, NC Arts Incubator, Shakori Hills Roots in Schools, Smelt Art Gallery, Sprott Center for Youth (Moncure), and more.
For more information on the Grassroots Arts Grants, or to apply, visit https://www.chathamartscouncil.org/grassroots-arts-grants/.
ABOUT THE CHATHAM ARTS COUNCIL
The Chatham Arts Council nurtures creative thinkers in Chatham County. We do this in two ways: we invest in artists and we educate kids through the arts. In its thirty-seventh 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 3,500 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, 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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