Arts Council awards $54,000 to support underrepresented communities through Inclusive Outreach Grant

[Fayetteville, North Carolina] – In July of 2022, the Arts Council of Fayetteville|Cumberland County (Arts Council) introduced its new Inclusive Outreach Grant. The program increases funding for cultural agencies to receive support for capacity building programs which promote diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion outreach, and which impact traditionally underserved constituencies in Cumberland County.

The Inclusive Outreach Grant awards go up to $15,000. Eight project applications were submitted with requests totaling $104,850 for the 2022-2023 grant cycle. Through the Grants Assessment Committee, chaired by Dr. Kenjuana McCray, the Arts Council Board of Trustees will award $54,000 to the following four organizations:

Fayetteville State University Foundation

Award will support an inaugural International Music Festival, a three-day event that will present concerts of small instrumental ensembles across venues in Cumberland County who will perform classical chamber music, jazz, and folkloric pieces by artists originally from Colombia, Czech Republic, Mexico, Honduras, Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, South Korea, and the United States.

Fayetteville State University Department of Performing & Fine Arts

Award will support the 2022-2023 Performance Series and new Marketing Strategies that will include public performances, gallery exhibitions, and master class events featuring community members, guest artists, and ensembles. The organization will further engage the community at large by implementing new grassroots marketing strategies to better promote FSU cultural arts activities.

Fayetteville Justice for our Neighbors

Award will support the “Tour Around the World: Exploring Immigrant Experiences Through Art” showcasing the various impacts and talents of Cumberland County's immigrant populations including their musical, visual, and literary expressions to educate and inspire the community.

First Nations Tribal Youth Development

Award will support the Cumberland County Social Powwow which will enlighten and educate peers and the greater community through cultural awareness activities and events that provide an opportunity for visitors to explore the community’s Indigenous cultures through music, dance, storytelling, foods, arts and crafts, social and/or environmental awareness projects, and fellowship.

“It’s exciting to see these inspiring programs take flight under this new grant initiative,” says Michael Curtis Houck, Director of Grants and Allocations for the Arts Council. “We look forward to seeing the outcomes of these inaugural outreach efforts and to what new programs come forth in the next Inclusive Outreach grant cycle.”

Following this pilot cycle, the Inclusive Outreach Grant will continue as part of the Arts Council’s annual Project Support Grant initiatives. Applications open to eligible agencies in January 2023. “The Arts Council is listening to the community. Our grant programs will continue to transform in more inclusive ways,” says Interim President/CEO Robert Pinson. “We serve all of Cumberland County.”

Funding for Inclusive Outreach Grants is provided through the North Carolina Arts Council’s Grassroots American Rescue Plan Act allocation. Additional information regarding the grant is available at TheArtsCouncil.com/inclusive-outreach.

Questions? Please contact:

Michael Curtis Houck

Director of Grants and Allocations

michaelh@theartscouncil.com

910-460-5725

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About the Arts Council of Fayetteville | Cumberland County

The Arts Council of Fayetteville|Cumberland County is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization based in Fayetteville, NC that supports individual creativity, cultural preservation, economic development, and lifelong learning through the ARTS. As a primary steward of public and private funding for arts, cultural, and historical activities in the Cape Fear Region, all affiliated programs of the Arts Council exemplify our 5 core values: Excellence, Accountability, Transparency, Collaborations, and Innovation. theartscouncil.com

In the year 2021-22, the Arts Council distributed almost $1 million in grant funds and allocations to Cumberland County arts and culture non-profit organizations, artists, and municipalities.

Grants, programs, and services of the Arts Council are funded in part by contributions from community partners, and through grants from the City of Fayetteville, Cumberland County, and the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources. ncarts.org