May 15, 2020
Annual grant program shifted to provide operational support
Springfield Regional Arts Council announced the recipients of its Arts Relief and Recovery Grant Program, funded by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks’ COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund and the Musgrave Foundation. The program reflects a grantmaking shift prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
While recent COVID-related grantmaking has been directed toward “second responder” agencies that address needs like hunger, housing and health, arts and culture agencies are not without need. The focus of SRAC’s annual grant program, which typically funds unique projects, was adjusted to provide operational support for arts organizations that were forced to cancel revenue-generating performances and events in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.
The Arts Relief and Recovery Fund grant program provides a total of $37,000 to these 10 agencies:
- Downtown Springfield Community Cinema/The Moxie: $5,000
- Heartland Opera Theatre (Joplin): $1,000
- Plotline Film & Media Education (Springfield): $2,500
- Queen City Rock Camp (Springfield): $500
- Sculpture Walk Springfield: $3,000
- Springfield Ballet: $5,000
- Springfield Contemporary Theatre: $5,000
- Springfield Little Theatre: $5,000
- Springfield Regional Opera: $5,000
- Springfield Symphony Orchestra: $5,000
The grant recipients were selected by a committee comprised of Sally Baird, Dr. Gloria Galanes, Caitlin Golike and Dr. Tom Russo. Grantmaking for the fund is administered by the CFO.
“The arts are critical to our quality of life in good times and bad, and never more than now,” said Sally Baird, a longtime community arts advocate and chair of the selection committee. “SRAC, with the support of the CFO and the Musgrave Foundation, is pleased to have the opportunity to strengthen our community arts groups through the awarding of these grants.”
Springfield Regional Arts Council connects people and the arts and supports visual, performing, literary and film/media arts organizations within 27 counties, the largest outreach of any in the state of Missouri. SRAC is supported financially by the Missouri Arts Council, Springfield-Greene County Park Board, its members and generous donors.
