Grassroots Arts Program
DUE TO STATE FUNDING CUTS, THE GAP PROGRAM WILL NOT BE ADMINISTERED FOR 2010/11 AS IT HAS BEEN FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS. PLEASE SEE EXPLANATION AND INFORMATION FROM GEORGIA COUNCIL BELOW AS TO PROCEDURE FOR THIS YEAR.
Georgia Council for the Arts has announced plans to administer the Grassroots Arts Program, or GAP, as the Grassroots Invitational Grant Program. The agency has distributed funding through GAP for more than fifteen years in support of exceptional community-based arts programming and services throughout the state. Although the budget has been reduced for the current fiscal year, GCA remains committed to its mission of providing access to the arts for all Georgians. $159,000 has been allocated to the modified Grassroots program, which will provide $1,000 grants for each of Georgia's 159 counties.
The intent of the Grassroots Arts Program remains unchanged: to support arts programming and services as broadly as possible in every county in the state. Funded projects will create opportunities for community-wide access to the arts, target underserved populations and contribute to activities that have a positive impact on community development. Additionally, funded projects must be accessible and available to the general public or designed as outreach to specific underserved populations.
"Georgia Council for the Arts is indebted to the GAP partners for their exceptional work administering this program over the years. Unfortunately, state funds appropriated to GCA this year are less than the entire previous years' budget for just the GAP program," explains GCA Grants Director Karen Paty. "As a result the administrative expenses can not be supported and available funds for grant awards in each county have been significantly reduced. Preservation of the program was the ultimate goal and we are grateful to our partners for working with us to find a feasible solution that achieves continued support of the arts community in such a financially challenging time."
A comprehensive statewide selection process for Invitational Grant nominees is currently in progress with the network of sixteen Regional Partner organizations that distributed and managed GAP funds during previous fiscal years. Nominations are based upon measurable performance outcomes of previous GAP funding recipients and represent the best of the FY2010 GAP grantees as determined by panel score, program evaluation, administrative and financial stability. Those organizations recommended will be invited by GCA in the coming month to apply for FY2011 Grassroots funding.
Recipients of the Grassroots Invitational Program Grants will be announced in October. More information is available via phone 404-685-2787 or e-mail.
Georgia Council for the Arts is a state agency that provides support for nonprofit arts and cultural organizations throughout the state. Established in 1965 as the Georgia Commission on the Arts, the agency's mission is to encourage excellence in the arts, support the arts many forms of expression and increase access to the arts for all Georgians by providing funding, leadership, programming and other services. The Georgia General Assembly, the National Endowment for the Arts, and other private and public sources, provide funding for Georgia Council for the Arts.