[Fayetteville, North Carolina] – The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County (Arts Council) receives increased funding from the North Carolina Arts Council (NCAC) in the amount of $291,166 to support flagship grant programs and new capacity building initiatives.
With renewed and increased funding, the Arts Council will continue and expand grant and exhibition programming in 2022-2023 to reach more of the Cumberland County region. Programs benefiting from NCAC funding include Project Support, Artists Support, Inclusive Outreach Support, and Technical Assistance grants. In addition to grant initiatives and general operating support, NCAC funds will also aid in the development of annual programming such as the International Folk Festival and Holidays on Hay – A Season of Light.
“It’s very meaningful to have increased support from the NCAC, especially in ways that will allow the Arts Council to increase and implement capacity building programs like never before,” says Michael Houck, Director of Grants and Allocations for the Arts Council. “Leveraging their increased funding from state legislation through the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) , the NCAC is doing a superior job of aiding the arts communities and economies across our state.
North Carolina Arts Council awards are as follows:
The Arts Council has been awarded $103,349 in NCAC Grassroots funds to aid art, culture, and history-based community projects via the Arts Council’s Project Support grant and Mini Grant programs. In FY23, the Arts Council will distribute more than $400,000 into the Cumberland County community between these two continually growing programs.
The Arts Council has been awarded $157,317 from a special allocation through ARPA to the NCAC Grassroots initiative. Designed to increase capacity for arts-based organizations in a post-COVID 19 economy, the NCAC Grassroots ARPA funds will seed two new capacity building grant initiatives at The Arts Council:
Inclusive Outreach Support grants for 501(c) organizations who directly affect underserved communities through arts, culture, and history-based programming.
Technical Assistance grants for 501(c) organizations with an arts-focused mission who require capacity building support in areas such as Strategic Planning, Marketing and Branding, Development Planning, Board Engagement, and more.
The Arts Council has been awarded $28,000 in NCAC Artist Support Grant funds to aid in the state-wide Artists Support Grant (ASG) initiative. The ASG aims to distribute direct support to emerging, midcareer, and established artists across the state for their artist development, improved operations, and building their capacity to create new works. The Arts Council manages and distributes funds for artists living in a five-county region: Cumberland, Hoke, Robeson, Sampson, and Scotland Counties.
The Arts Council has been awarded a $2,500 Technical Assistance grant to implement accessibility best practices for its programs and grantmaking initiatives.
For more information about grants and subsidy programs offered through the Arts Council, visit www.TheArtsCouncil.com/grants or contact:
Michael Houck
Director of Grants and Allocations
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