OFFICE OF CULTURAL AND HERITAGE AFFAIRS

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Local Arts and Education Organizations Benefit from $64,000 in Development Grants

Seventeen organizations in Atlantic County have received more than $64,000 in state local arts development funds through a competitive grant application process administered by the Atlantic County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs.

“This funding contributes to the development of a lively arts community which continues to grow and enrich the lives of both residents and visitors,” said County Executive Dennis Levinson.

New Jersey Council on the Arts/Department of State grant awards range from $500 to $5,000 and are required to be matched dollar-for-dollar by the non-profit organizations and three-to-one by educational institutions. Organizations receiving general operating support include: Somers Point Jazz Society, Hammonton Art Center, Atlantic City Ballet, South Jersey Wind Symphony and The Eagle Theatre.

Organizations receiving awards for general program support of special projects are: Absecon Lighthouse/Inlet Public Private Association, Atlantic County Library Foundation, Atlantic Pops Community Band, Atlantic Youth Orchestra, Chicken Bone Beach Foundation, Children’s Cultural Foundation, Cygnus Creative Art Center, The Arc of Atlantic County, City of Somers Point, The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey’s Art Gallery, Dance Company and Experimental Theatre.

“These grant applications are reviewed by independent panels, usually culled from outside the County,” explained Michael Cool, Executive Director of the Stockton Performing Arts Center and co-chairman of the Atlantic County Cultural and Heritage Advisory Board. “We provide the organizations with workshops on grant writing so they can build really strong proposals. This year those workshops were mandatory and it was gratifying to see how much more solid many of the presentations were.”

For more information contact the Atlantic County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs at (609) 646-8699 ext 6314 or email: cmaonpurdie@aclsys.org.

To learn more about arts organizations in Atlantic County visit: www.aclink.org/culturalaffairs/openup

Learn more about Atlantic County arts organizations