Cuyahoga Arts and Culture (CAC) Announces 2008 Project Support Grants: Fifty-Four Cuyahoga County Organizations to Share Nearly $1 Million
For Immediate Release
Contact: Catherine Boyle, Executive Director, (216) 515-8303
June 10, 2008
The Board of Trustees of Cuyahoga Arts and Culture (CAC) has approved fifty-four grants
worth nearly $1 million for the initial cycle of its annual Project Support (PS) Grant program.
The 2008 awards, which range from $2,150 to $50,000 were announced today during a
special meeting of CAC’s five-member board.
CAC’s Project Support grant program aims to enhance opportunities for Cuyahoga County
residents and visitors to access and participate in high quality arts and cultural
programming. The PS grants require grantees to raise matching funds from other
community sources to support innovative initiatives, community and cross-cultural
collaborations, and arts and cultural educational opportunities.
The Project Support Grant program is open to Cuyahoga County-based nonprofits with a
history of public arts or cultural offerings. Eligible projects must be open and accessible to
the general public and take place in Cuyahoga County between July 1, 2008 and June 30,
2009.
The program’s inaugural class of Project Support grantees was selected from among
seventy-five eligible applications scored during a two-day public panel review held April 23-
24, 2008 at Trinity Commons in Cleveland. Panelists–eight arts and cultural professionals
from outside Ohio–assessed and scored all eligible applications, recommending fifty-four
projects for funding. Consistent with the highly competitive nature of the review process,
award amounts have been based upon each organization’s comparative ranking within the
pool of applicants recommended for funding. For 2008 PS grantees, the percentage of
requested funds awarded is equal to the applicant’s panel score, thereby rewarding those
organizations scoring highest with the largest percentage of their request amount.
Moreover, the five applicant organizations that scored 90 or greater (out of a possible 100
points) will receive the full amount of their grant request.
“We were excited by the response to year one of the PS grant program– Projects funded
encompass a diverse group of organizations–groups of all sizes and missions serving a
range of populations, and located in communities throughout Cuyahoga County,” said
Catherine Boyle, Executive Director, Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. “The awards will go to
groups whose annual budgets range from just over $10,000 to colleges and universities who
operate in the hundreds of millions each year.”
Among the outstanding projects recommended for funding are:
- Cleveland TOPS Swingband’s dual-focused Big Band Outreach Program, with
grant funds helping to support performances for seniors in low-income facilities
and to introduce promising high school musicians to big band music (Award
amount: $8,900)
- Independent Pictures’ Film Production Internship Program, a Summer 2008 jobtraining
program designed to teach youth and adults professional filmmaking
skills in a hands-on, real-world production environment as actual short film is
made (Award amount: $26,700)
- The ParkArts program presented by ParkWorks, which will enlist the creative
expertise of professional artists and arts organizations to bring a unique
summer arts/culture experience to approximately 1,000 children and youth in
Cleveland’s neighborhood parks (Award amount: $26,100)
- The Connect Card program developed by Positively Cleveland (Spirit of
Cleveland), a cost-effective, multi-venue admission card set to launch in
September 2008 that is expected to generate revenue and new audiences for
Cuyahoga County’s stellar cultural institutions (Award amount: $10,500)
- The Lit’s biannual Writers and Friends Workshop, a juried platform for both
emerging and veteran literary artists–from throughout the region and across all
genres–in which works are performed and/or read by professional actors,
community leaders, and celebrities (Award amount: $5,700)
- The 2008 Building Bridges Mural Program of West Side Ecumenical Ministry,
which has selected the Irish Heritage Memorial site by the Cuyahoga River as
the location for this year’s installation, a historical reflection on the area directly
surrounding the Irish bend and its vibrant narrative of industry, heritage, early
settlers, and innovative expression (Award amount $29,200)
Cuyahoga Arts and Culture makes grants using public funds to support Cuyahoga County’s
arts and cultural sector and the valuable contribution arts and culture makes to children’s
learning experiences as well as to the county’s appeal and economic vitality. Meetings of
the CAC’s five-member Board of Trustees are regularly held the second Tuesday of each
month and are open to the public.
For a complete list of PS08 grantees and award amounts, download the PDF file below.
