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Community Foundation announces more than $1 million in funding for the arts

January 11, 2023
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35 small to midsize organizations received support

ATLANTA – January 10, 2023 – Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta has awarded a total of $1,084,998 to 35 arts organizations following an open grant application cycle at the end of 2022. These grants support small and midsize arts organizations with annual budgets under $2 million. Grants are awarded for general operating support, allowing organizations to use funds at their discretion to advance their creative programming and operations.

A portion of grants in this cycle were awarded from the Foundation’s longstanding Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund program. Arts funding is an essential component of the Community Foundation’s TogetherATL strategic framework, its mission to create a more equitable Atlanta. In keeping with the Foundation’s commitment to racial equity, 80 percent of eligible applicants in this round that are founded or led by Black, indigenous or people of color (BIPOC) have received funding, and more than 60 percent of funding is recommended to Black-led nonprofits. Awards were made to a wide spectrum of organizations that incorporate a variety of mediums and approaches including expanding access to visual and performing arts, providing arts education to youth and advancing the work of BIPOC artists. 

In addition to grants awarded from the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund, this round of funding includes grants made through the Foundation’s A Place to Perform program. A Place to Perform historically has provided supplemental funding for organizations to pay for performance space and related costs. Due to ongoing COVID-19 impacts on live performance and shifting safety protocols, this year A Place to Perform grants were awarded as one-time general operating support grants of up to $5,000, allowing organizations flexibility at a critical time when many are rebuilding their live audiences after extended periods of remote and hybrid performances. Almost 70 percent of this funding is recommended for Black-led nonprofits. Additionally, 90 percent of the organizations recommended through this cycle have operating budgets of under $300,000.

“Our focus on arts, culture and creative industries seeks to address historic inequities and allow our region’s smaller arts organizations, artists and creative businesses to thrive,” said Ayana Gabriel, vice president of community impact, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. “We are formalizing this vision within our TogetherATL framework by taking a long-term perspective to ensure that our arts ecosystem amplifies and activates community voices, strengthens our economy and fosters learning through the arts at all stages of life. Our progress has been slower than we would like, but in 2023 we will fill a staff vacancy for an arts program officer who will be charged with leading our 2023 arts grantmaking and driving our vision of equity in the arts forward.”

Candidates who wish to apply for the Program Officer, Community Impact (Arts, Culture and Creative Enterprises) position are encouraged to learn more here.

Organizations receiving funding, and funding amounts, in this grant cycle, include:

Atlanta School for the Arts Foundation received a discretionary grant of $20,000 to support a feasibility study for its potential new school space.

General Operating Support Grants were awarded to:

African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta, $25,000
Artportunity Knocks, Inc., $102,646
Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Inc.. $125,000
Atlanta Jewish Film Society Inc., $50,000
Atlanta Workshop Players, $63,297
Conyers Rockdale Council for the Arts, $15,000
Cultural Arts Council Douglasville/ Douglas County, $12,500
DanceATL, $6,840
Dashboard Co-op Inc., $90,000
Elm Street Cultural Arts Village, $35,000
Essential Theatre, Inc., $11,091
Fly on a Wall, Inc., $13,500
Girls Rock Camp ATL, $7,609
ImmerseATL INC., $5,500
Johns Creek Community Arts Center, $96,000
Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra of Atlanta, $15,000
Moving in the Spirit, $125,000
Out on Film, Inc., $14,000
Radio Free Georgia Broadcasting Organization, Inc., $54,000
Roswell Arts Fund, $50,000
Showability, $24,300
South Fulton Institute for Art, Culture and the Environment, $50,000
The Trey Clegg Singers, $25,000
ViZion Dance, Inc., $7,714

A Place to Perform Grants were awarded to:

CityDance, Inc., $5,000
Dance Canvas, Inc., $5,000
Djoli Kelen, Inc., $5,000
Onward Theatre, $2,500
Southeast Community Cultural Center, $5,000
Staibdance, Inc., $5,000
TADA Foundation, Inc., $5,000
The Atlanta Music Project, Inc., $5,000
Urban Poets, $1,000
ViZion Dance, Inc., $2,500

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About the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta

The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta inspires and leads the Atlanta region toward equity and shared prosperity for all who call it home. TogetherATL is the Foundation’s strategic ethos, working through a collaborative approach with community stakeholders, donors, nonprofits and others to examine complex challenges the region faces and create solutions that build a thriving region. Started in 1951, the Community Foundation shepherds approximately $1.4 billion in current assets through its 1,000+ donor funds, while simultaneously raising and deploying more than $120 million annually to thousands of nonprofit organizations. It is Georgia’s second largest foundation. For more information visit: cfgreateratlanta.org or connect with the Foundation via FacebookInstagramLinkedIn and Twitter.

Media Contact:

Nichole Owens, 770.383.2307
nowens@cfgreateratlanta.org

Pictured: Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra of Atlanta
Photo credit: David Martinez