Cuyahoga Arts and Culture Announces 2012 Project Support grants

At its Nov. 14 board meeting, the trustees of Cuyahoga Arts and Culture (CAC) approved 88 grants, totaling $1,029,164 for the 2012 Project Support (PS) cycle. The awards include traditional PSI grants and the new PSII, a small grant program that provides awards of up to $5,000.

Cleveland Heights-based organizations received $137,326 in grants. Among the larger organizations receiving PSI grants was the City of Cleveland Heights, which was awarded $28,700 for the Cain Park Arts Festival. Ensemble Theatre of Cleveland received $19,525, CityMusic Cleveland received $48,000, and Open Doors received $21,633.

Martin Cosentino, managing director of Ensemble Theatre, said, “This is the third grant we are receiving from CAC and we are ecstatic about it. This will help fund two plays, running in rotating repetition during Black History Month: “Lower Ninth,” by Beau Willimon, which deals with Katrina and its aftermath, and “A Song for Coretta,” by Pearl Cleage, which honors the life of Coretta Scott King. We expect these plays to draw a diverse audience. We are working with the CH-UH schools and will be providing a free performance for students. We will be able to provide reduced price tickets for other performances.”

Among the smaller organizations receiving a maximum of $5,000 under the CAC’s PSII grants program were FutureHeights, which received $4,933 to develop walking tours of Cleveland Heights using the Cleveland Historical mobile phone app; Facing History and Ourselves, which received $4,733; the Coventry Village Special Improvement District, which received $4,600 for the Coventry Village Arts Festival; Council Gardens, which received $4,567; and the River Valley Ringers, which received $625.

Project Support 2012 received the largest number of applications in CAC’s history. A total of 131 organizations submitted intent-to-apply materials, of which 118 of were eligible. This is up more than 45 percent from 2011.  

Increased outreach and the new, small grants program (PSII) led to an increase in participation, and 36 percent of all organizations were first-time applicants to CAC. Sari Feldman, president of the CAC board of trustees, said, “We are extremely pleased with the results of the new PSII program. CAC has been able to expand its reach in to the community and provide more opportunities for arts and cultural organizations. Knowing that almost half of the applications came from the PS II pool lets us know that this program is a valuable addition to the process.”

Since 2007, CAC has invested nearly $65 million in 150 local arts and cultural organizations. In 2009, CAC grantees generated nearly $280 million in local economic activity and supported 5,000 local jobs. For more information, visit www.cacgrants.org.