By Joyce Kryszak
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wbfo/local-wbfo-955083.mp3
Buffalo, NY – A group of private foundations known as the Fund for the Arts has pooled $430,000 to replace some of the lost Erie County funding for 36 arts groups.
Checks will go out in early April to 36 small and mid-sized arts groups that were zeroed out of this year's county budget. The checks will be roughly forty percent less than what the groups received from the county in past years.
And the money offers only temporary relief.
"This is a one time response to help the arts and cultural organizations have a little bit more time to think about their future sustainability challenges," said Clotilde DeDecker, president of the Community Foundation, one of the funders.
The foundations originally targeted 23 groups to receive help from the fund. But the foundations ultimately decided to allocate money based on recommendations from the Greater Buffalo Cultural Alliance.
Robert Gioia is president of the John R. Oishie Foundation. He said the GBCA wanted to be as inclusive as possible, even though it meant each arts group would get less money. Gioia said the foundations were very pleased with both the process and the result.
"And, quite frankly, the willingness of all these organizations to work cooperatively on this funding challenge, which will will only help going forward to work collaboratively to try to combine some back offices and save some money," said Gioia.
He said that effort, called the Arts Services Organization, will be rolled out soon. It will provide a variety of administrative support - but no funding.
Another fundraising effort by Artvoice, the Give for Greatness campaign, hopes to bridge the gap in funding this year, and establish long-term funding. Meg Quinn with the GBCA said they are hopeful and grateful for all the efforts. But she said public funding still needs to be part of the mix.
"The arts and culture are an investment, and that's a big part of our thinking here," said Quinn. "We want people to understand it for what it really is. It's about quality of life, but it's also very productive in terms of developing economic development and looking at the big picture."
In all, ten private foundations make up the Fund for the Arts. Another foundation also contirbuted to the Fund, anonymously.
Funders that have contributed to initiatives within the Fund for the Arts include:
Baird Foundation, The Cameron and Jane Baird Foundation, Louis P. Ciminelli Family Foundation, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, Davis Family Foundation, Josephine Goodyear Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, The Patrick P. Lee Foundation, The John R. Oishei Foundation, The M&T Foundation, The Margaret L. Wendt Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, Western New York Foundation
Organizations that will receive funding from the $430,000 Fund for the Arts are:
African American Cultural Center of Buffalo, Inc.
Alleyway Theatre Inc.
American Legion Band of Tonawandas
Ballet Artists of WNY (Neglia)
Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy
Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens
Big Orbit Gallery
Buffalo Arts Studio
Buffalo Inner City Ballet
Buffalo Naval Park
Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus
CEPA
Community Music School
Buffalo El Museo Gallery
Explore and More
Folkloric Dance Hallwalls, Inc.
Irish Classical Theatre
Just Buffalo Literary Center
Kavinoky Theatre
Lancaster NY Opera House
Locust St. Neighborhood Art
Music Is Art
MusicalFare Theatre
New Phoenix Theatre
Pierce Arrow Museum
Polish Arts Club of Buffalo
Road Less Traveled Productions
Roycroft Campus Corp.
Shakespeare in Delaware Park
Springville Arts Center
Squeaky Wheel
Theatre of Youth Company
Ujima Company, Inc.
WNY Artists Group
Young Audiences of WNY