Sacramento Office of Arts + Culture awards $950,000 in grants to local arts and culture organizations
The City of Sacramento’s Office of Arts and Culture recently awarded $950,000 in grants to 69 local nonprofit organizations.
The Cultural Arts Awards grants assist with general operating expenses to cultural organizations, art service organizations and community organizations with arts programming.
"The program aims to increase the quality of life in Sacramento through the support of public programs and activities for Sacramento’s diverse communities, said Melissa Cirone, the City’s grants program manager.
Awardees represent a diverse array of Sacramento’s arts and culture organizations and include many key players and up-and-coming creative organizations. The 69 awarded organizations have carried out programs at 690 different venues spanning across the region.
Sol Collective office in Sacramento - image courtesy of solcollective.org
“The grant awardees showcase the breadth of reach these organizations have into our communities and how vital they are to Sacramento,” Cirone said.
The window to apply for the grants opened in December 2021; awardees were confirmed in April.
Awardees include organizations such as music and theater performance venue B Street Theatre, the art, culture and activism group Sol Collective and community-based Hmong Youth and Parents United. Twenty four of the awarded organizations are new to the program.
Mayor Steinberg visiting HYPU center on Hmong New Year in 2019
“Cultural heritage preservation also means to provide opportunities for teaching, practicing, and performing cultural arts and traditions,” said grant recipient Metta Xiong, director of health and human services of Hmong Youth and Parents United. “By receiving this grant, it allows us to continue preserving cultural artforms, empower the community’s understanding of the Hmong history, and support the youths’ identity, cultural appreciation, and creativity. ”
The Cultural Arts Awards grant program is administered by the City of Sacramento’s Office of Arts and Culture and is a partnership with the Sacramento County. The grants are funded by the City’s Measure U tax and general fund dollars and by Sacramento County.
“Here is another example of how Measure U is giving us the tools to invest in our communities and neighborhoods,” said Mayor Darrell Steinberg.
Applications for grants were reviewed and scored by a diverse panel comprised of arts and nonprofit professionals from throughout the country. Awarded organizations met standards of diversity and equity, cultural and community impact and show sound management and financial accountability.
