[Fayetteville, North Carolina] – In December 2022, the Arts Council of Fayetteville|Cumberland County (Arts Council) awarded Mini Grants to eight nonprofit organizations and twelve individual artists to support cultural arts projects in Cumberland County. The awards totaled $45,250 – the largest amount in a single Mini Grant cycle for this fiscal year.
Thirty-two applications were submitted for the most recent Mini Grant cycle requesting just under $67,000 to fund arts, culture, and history projects in Cumberland County. An Artist Panel reviewed individual artist applications while the Board of Trustees’ Grants Assessment Committee, chaired by Dr. Kenjuana McCray, reviewed nonprofit applications and recommendations from the Artist Panel. The Arts Council’s Board of Trustees awarded $45,750 in Mini Grants for twenty initiatives in Cumberland County.
“Our Mini Grant program continues to thrive,” says Sarah Busman, Arts Education Manager for the Arts Council. “These twenty new grantees will bring in 2023 with strong cultural arts programs for Cumberland County.”
The Mini Grant program was created in 2019 to help fund creative arts, culture, or history-based projects, activities, and events. Awards range from $500 to $3,000 and are supported in part by the City of Fayetteville, Cumberland County, and the North Carolina Arts Council. For the 2022-23 fiscal year, the Arts Council will disburse $130,000 throughout Cumberland County for Mini Grant funded cultural arts programs. The Mini Grant is a quarterly program with the final deadline for the 2022-23 fiscal year on April 14, 2023.
Funded Mini Grant projects approved in December 2022 include:
NONPROFITS
Boys and Girls Club
Funds will be used to purchase podcast equipment, a music workstation, and a synthesizer for an in-house audio-visual recording studio for youth participants.
Cool Spring Downtown District
Funds will be used to cover artist fees for their 2022 “Night Circus: A District NYE Spectacular.”
Culture & Heritage Alliance
Funds will be used to purchase a projector and screen for the NC African Film Festival on February 24-26, 2023.
Cumberland Choral Arts
Funds will be used to cover artist fees and space rental fees for “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a concert featuring music by black female composers.
Greater Life of Fayetteville
Funds will be used to cover artist fees and craft supplies for an afterschool program which will research historical figures in Cumberland County and have students respond with monologue performances.
Rick Herrema Foundation
Funds will be used to cover artist fees for the Cape Fear Regional Theatre Passport Series, a theater arts series teaching playwriting and acting to children.
Sandhills Family Heritage Association
Funds will be used to purchase a camera, publishing fees, and marketing for a book and documentary film about the history of African Americans in the Manchester area of Cumberland County, culminating in a viewing and book launch in 2023.
Cumberland County Schools Office of Indian Education
Funds will be used to cover artist fees and supplies for their youth culture class “Pottery, Painting, and Patchwork.”
INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS
Andrew Brooks
Funds will be used to hire actors and production staff and rent equipment for the 15-day production of his TV show pilot “American Dreamers.”
Tara Campbell
Funds will be used to purchase yarn and materials for a crochet workshop in which participants will learn and reproduce basic crochet patterns.
Laura Cruz
Funds will be used to purchase costumes and marketing for Merequetengue Colombian Dance’s upcoming dance performances.
Mary Ferguson
Funds will be used to purchase cultural professionals, printing, and marketing for “Women and Wellness,” an event centered around the activities in her newest book.
Joshua Gow
Funds will be used to purchase equipment and advertising for “The Static Lounge,” an online show with performances and interviews of and by Cumberland County musicians.
Latisha Harden (Artist Tishmoné)
Funds will be used to cover artist fees for her music video, “LowKey,” which will feature music from her first solo album.
Trent Holmes
Funds will be used to cover cultural professional fees to produce the second season of his web series “Real Convos” with a premiere scheduled for February 1, 2023.
Deborah Murph Jacobs
Funds will be used to purchase materials and photography for her craft workshop “Malas and Mimosa” to be held at H8ters Bar and Grill in early 2023.
Crystal McLean
Funds will be used to cover artist fees, workbooks, and craft items for her Money Box Workshop, which teaches financial literacy to youth and their parents through crafting.
Rebecca Ann Russell
Funds will be used to purchase materials for her history and period sewing workshop “Preparing for Lafayette – Foundations.”
Harold Smith
Funds will be used to cover artist and cultural professional fees, venue rental, and rack cards for his fashion and visual art show.
Ayana Washington
Funds will be used to cover artist fees to produce her stage play “400 Years : The Evolution of Black America” at Cape Fear Regional Theatre in March 2023.
APPLY FOR A MINI GRANT
APPLICATION DEADLINE IS APRIL 14, 2023.
Interested applicants that meet eligibility requirements may apply for a Mini Grant from the Arts Council. Download the complete Mini Grant Guidelines and Application at www.theartscouncil.com/mini-grants.
ATTEND MINI GRANT WORKSHOP
The Mini Grant Workshop is an informational session to learn about the Grant Application Process, Program Guidelines, Workshop Writing Samples, and a Q&A session.
Stay connected to our website and social media for upcoming Mini Grant Workshop dates/times.
Questions? Contact:
Sarah Busman
Arts Education Manager
910-323-1776 ext 1011
Editorial by Christy McNeil, Director of Marketing, and Sarah Busman, Arts Education Manager, of the Arts Council
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