The Arts Fund at GMCT Awards $60,000 in Grants to Local Arts
June 6th, 2009
The Greater Morgantown Community Trust has announced $60,000 in general operating support grants to 11 local arts organizations and festivals in the greater Morgantown area. The Arts Fund, in its second year of operation, is both an arts membership organization and a component fund of GMCT, our local community foundation. The intent of the Arts Fund is to help local groups to work together to access funding opportunities, increase local awareness of arts activities, and to provide a forum to discuss and act on new opportunities both at home and outside our region. "We are pleased that the idea is gaining support among local funders and the recipient arts groups. The members are always looking for new opportunities to work together and save on their regular expenses," said GMCT Executive Director Paula Martinelli.
Two theatre groups for adults and children, local arts advocacy organizations, two area festivals, and local writers and artists groups benefited from this years joint effort. "In the current economic times it is more important than ever that our arts groups support each other and work together with the community to ensure the quality of programming that our families have come to expect," notes Arts Monongahela Executive Director Jeannie Kuhn.
Not only has GMCT increased its arts grantmaking each year since its inception in 2000, but additional opportunities have been developed through individual donors and through artist grants established by other area groups like Arts Monongahela.
The latest grants include $10,000 each to the Monongalia Arts Center, the Morgantown Theatre Company and Arts Monongahela. In addition, 2,000 to 6,000 grants were awarded to Appalachian Education Initiative, M. T. Pockets Theatre Company, Morgantown Art Association, Morgantown Dance, Morgantown History Museum, Morgantown Writer's Group, Arts on the River Festival and the Florence Merow Mason Dixon Festival.
The complete list of 2009 grant recipients is available at the Greater Morgantown Community Trust website, www.gmctfoundation.org or www.morgantownartsfund.org.
