NEWS & VIEWS - November

Around the country, major funders and other local arts agencies like ours are developing new grantmaking strategies to address the issues of equity, inclusion, and sustainability within our sector. The steps organizations like Grantmakers in the Arts and the Ford Foundation are taking signal a progressive shift in the way that cultural funds are awarded.

In keeping with this movement, we’ve recently announced some exciting changes to our own grants program that will create new efficiencies and opportunities for our cultural community. To learn more about these changes, take a look at our recently published FY17 grants guidelines and listen to a recording from our community-wide conference call where these changes were first announced. We will be hosting a series of free workshops and webinars to assist grant applicants with the new application process. To register for one of these upcoming events, click here.

As always, thank you for supporting the arts and humanities and for sharing our commitment to building a more equitable, inclusive, and vibrant cultural community here in Montgomery County.

Sincerely,

Montgomery County's Arts and Humanities Community Celebrated

(Above) First Lady Catherine Leggett, Lifetime Impact Award Winner Joel Snyder, PhD. and County Executive Isiah "Ike" Leggett

On October 26th, Montgomery County's art and humanities community celebrated the remarkable accomplishments of nine recipients of the County Executive's Awards for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities. "Each of these honorees -- in one way or another -- has made the arts and humanities a lifelong passion," said County Executive Ike Leggett. The evenings top awards were presented to Joel Snyder, recipient of the Lifetime Impact Award for his work in arts accessibility and Millie Shott, who was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to Bethesda's visual arts community. The presentation of these awards included special performances from the Akhmedova Ballet Academy, the Jazz Academy of Music, the Sutradhar Institute of Dance & Related Arts, Alejandro Lucini, and Cynthia Farrell Johnson.

Click HERE for a full list of award recipients

Click HERE to watch an online recap of these awards

FY17 Grant Guidelines Now Available

The FY17 Grant Guidelines are available online and include exciting changes in the Advancement, Mid-Size Organizations, Wheaton Cultural Grants, Small Organizations and Groups, and Individual Artist & Scholars Project grant categories. To learn more and to sign up for a free grant preparation workshop visit www.creativemoco.com/grants/.

FY17 General Operating Support Grants
for Large Organizations

Letter of Intent Deadline:
Monday, November 30, 2015 - 11:59 p.m.

All organizations planning to apply for General Operating Support Grants to Large Arts and Humanities Organizations must submit a Letter of Intent through AHCMC’s online grant application system at http://creativemoco.culturegrants.org no later than 11:59pm on November 30, 2015. To access the grant guidelines and submit your Letter of Intent, CLICK HERE.

Please contact Nabil Ghachem, Grants Manager, at nabil.ghachem@creativemoco.com or 301-565-3804 for assistance with grants related inquiries.