Cultural Arts Council Douglasville/Douglas County Receives Grant

Press release from CAC:

Jan. 12, 2023

The Cultural Arts Council Douglasville/ Douglas County (CAC) was awarded a grant by the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. A total of $1,084,998 was awarded 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. 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.”

CAC Executive Director Emily Lightner stated “We are honored and grateful to receive this grant and to be recognized as an arts council that deserves funding.” The Cultural Arts Council Douglasville/ Douglas County intends to utilize the funds received to support the CAC’s operating expenses incurred during the fiscal year.

The Cultural Arts Council Douglasville/ Douglas County, located at 8652 Campbellton Street in historic downtown Douglasville, Georgia, is open Mondays through Fridays, 9 am to 5 pm. For directions, more information, or to make your reservations, visit www.artsdouglas.org or contact the Cultural Arts Council at 770-949-2787.

This press release was produced by CAC. The views expressed here are the author's own.