COLORADO JOBS IN THE ARTS RECEIVE $568,040

COLORADO JOBS IN THE ARTS RECEIVE $568,040
IN AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT (ARRA) FUNDS

DENVER, CO ­— September 10, 2009 — The Colorado Council on the Arts (CCA), the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs (DOCA), and the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) today announced 47 Colorado non-profit arts organizations will receive $568,040 in federal recovery funds to preserve or restore 313 salaried and contract positions.

The grants, administered by CCA, DOCA, and WESTAF, are part of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds allocated to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to help combat job loss in the arts due to declining philanthropic and other support in the current economic climate. This one-time funding allocation allowed CCA, DOCA, and WESTAF to distribute grants according to narrow federal guidelines designed to ensure jobs preservation and restoration in the arts and cultural sector over the next year.

These grants have significant impact on arts organizations statewide:

Organizations in 15 counties and 17 cities received ARRA funding.
More than 300 jobs, including contract positions, will be preserved or reinstated.
47 grantee organizations include theatre, music, dance, visual arts, film, and arts festivals.
Many of these jobs are key leadership positions critical to the daily operation of each organization. Other positions will allow organizations to continue to provide innovative and educational programs and services that greatly benefit numerous Colorado communities.

CCA, DOCA and WESTAF reconciled their individual grant award process to maximize the impact of stimulus support, and to ensure that each grantee organization receives funds from only one source—a condition of the NEA. Recipients of ARRA funds include:

Colorado Council on the Arts

Adams State College Alamosa $10,000

Anderson Ranch Arts Foundation Snowmass Village $10,000

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Aspen $10,000

Bas Bleu Theatre Company Fort Collins $10,000

Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra Boulder $10,000

Bravo! Colorado at Vail-Beaver Creek Inc. Vail $10,000

City of Longmont – Museum Longmont $10,000

Colorado Children’s Chorale Denver $10,000

Colorado Dragon Boat Festival Wheat Ridge $10,000

Colorado Film Society Boulder $10,000

Colorado Springs Philharmonic Orchestra Colorado Springs $10,000

Colorado Symphony Association Denver $10,000

Creede Repertory Theatre Creede $10,000

Delta Montrose Youth Services, Inc. Montrose $10,000

Denver March Powwow, Inc. Denver $10,000

Downtown Aurora Visual Arts Aurora $10,000

Durango Latino Education Coalition Durango $10,000

Fort Lewis College Theatre Durango $10,000

Gunnison Council for the Arts Gunnison $10,000

Imagination Makers Unlimited Boulder $10,000

Int’l Institute for Indigenous Resource Mgmt. Denver $10,000

Koshare Indian Museum, Inc. La Junta $10,000

PlatteForum Denver $10,000

Rocky Mountain Children’s Choir Denver $10,000

Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival Colorado Springs $10,000

San Juan Symphony Durango $10,000

University of CO at Boulder – Shakespeare Festival Boulder $10,000

University of CO at Colorado Springs – THEATREWORKS Colorado Springs $10,000

Vail Jazz Foundation, Inc. Vail $10,000

Western Colorado Center for the Arts Grand Junction $10,000

YMCA of Boulder Valley Boulder $10,000

Total: $310,000

Denver Office of Cultural Affairs

ArtReach Denver $12,000

Friends of ArtStreet Denver $10,660

Chicano Humanities & Arts Council Denver $12,000

Colorado Chamber Players Denver $8,500

Curious Theatre Company Denver $21,000

Denver Art Museum Denver $20,000

Denver Botanic Gardens Denver $16,640

The Denver Brass Denver $17,200

Harmony A Colorado Chorale Denver $8,500

Lighthouse Writers Workshop Denver $20,000

Mizel Arts and Culture Center Denver $10,000

Museo de las Américas Denver $24,000

Museum of Contemporary Art|Denver Denver $25,000

PHAMALY (Physically Handicapped Actors & Musical Artists League) Denver $12,000

The Spirituals Project Denver $7,500

Total: $225,000

Western States Arts Federation

El Centro Su Teatro Denver $33,040

ARRA funds are restricted to eligible nonprofit organizations to preserve jobs in the arts through salary support for one or more positions that are critical to an organization’s artistic mission and that are in jeopardy or have been eliminated as a result of the current economic climate. Funds may also be used for fees for previously engaged artists and/or contractual personnel to maintain or expand the period during which such persons would be engaged.