IN THIS ISSUE: Grants Available for Harford Arts Programs and Operations ....... Grants 101 ....... Maryland Poet Laureate Grace Cavalieri Visits Harford County for a Teen Poetry Writing Workshop and Arts Gathering for all ages ....... Deadline to apply for an Arts in Education Grant for this fiscal year ...... Embracing Best Practices: Strengthening Your Nonprofit with the Standards for Excellence, presented by Maryland Nonprofits .... Ten Reasons to Support the Arts
Grants Available for Harford Arts Programs and Operations
Harford County Cultural Arts Board is pleased to announce over $100,000 is available to nonprofits presenting or producing the arts in Harford County. Applications are now being accepted for matching grants to support local arts programs and operations within the period of July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021. The deadline to apply is Monday, April 20, 2020 at 11:59 PM EST.
Jessica Cleaver, Coordinator, explains, “The Community Arts Development matching grant program is the foremost means by which the Harford County Cultural Arts Board invests in the development of arts and culture in Harford County.”
Harford County Cultural Arts Board review panels rate applications on the basis of artistic merit, service to the community, and organizational effectiveness. Applications are accepted on an annual basis for support of (1) general operating costs of nonprofit arts organizations in Harford County, Maryland and (2) direct costs of arts programming located in Harford County, benefitting the general public, presented by nonprofits incorporated in Maryland other than arts organizations; units of government, colleges, universities, and religious institutions are also eligible.
To learn more about grant-seeking and -writing for all fields, but especially for the arts, humanities, and education fields, Harford County Cultural Arts Board welcomes Christina McLoughlin, Grants Director, Port Discovery Children’s Museum / Grants Consultant, McAllister & Quinn and Maryland Symphony Orchestra to present Grants 101. Information about Harford County Cultural Arts Board's grant programs will also be provided by Jessica Cleaver, Coordinator. This program will be offered two times during March 2020.
Eligible applicants who apply for a FY21 grant, register, pay, and attend may receive full reimbursement of registration cost to attend Embracing Best Practices: Strengthening Your Nonprofit with the Standards for Excellence, presented by Maryland Nonprofits on Monday May 4 at 6:00 PM at the Abingdon Library. Space is limited and registration is required.
FY21 grant award announcements will be made during the final week of June 2020. For more information, including definitions of terms, eligibility, requirements, and review criteria, go to CulturalArtsBoard.org to review the full guidelines publication and access the online application.
The following is adapted from a blog post published February 25, 2019 by Randy Cohen, Vice President of Research Americans for the Arts --
10 Reasons to Support the Arts
The arts are fundamental to our humanity. They ennoble and inspire us—fostering creativity, goodness, and beauty. The arts bring us joy, help us express our values, and build bridges between cultures. The arts are also a fundamental component of a healthy community—strengthening them socially, educationally, and economically—benefits that persist even in difficult social and economic times.
Arts improve individual well-being. 69 percent of the population believe the arts “lift me up beyond everyday experiences,” 73 percent feel the arts give them “pure pleasure to experience and participate in,” and 81 percent say the arts are a “positive experience in a troubled world.”
Arts unify communities. 72 percent of Americans believe “the arts unify our communities regardless of age, race, and ethnicity” and 73 percent agree that the arts “helps me understand other cultures better”—a perspective observed across all demographic and economic categories.
Arts improve academic performance. Students engaged in arts learning have higher GPAs, standardized test scores, and college-going rates as well as lower drop-out rates. These academic benefits are reaped by students regardless of socio-economic status. Yet, the Department of Education reports that access to arts education for students of color is significantly lower than for their white peers. 91 percent of Americans believe that arts are part of a well-rounded K-12 education.
Arts strengthen the economy. The production of all arts and cultural goods in the U.S. (e.g., nonprofit, commercial, education) added $804 billion to the economy in 2016, including a $25 billion international trade surplus—a larger share of the nation’s economy (4.3 percent) than transportation, tourism, and agriculture (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis). The nonprofit arts industry alone generates $166.3 billion in economic activity annually—spending by organizations and their audiences—which supports 4.6 million jobs and generates $27.5 billion in government revenue.
Arts drive tourism and revenue to local businesses. Attendees at nonprofit arts events spend $31.47 per person, per event, beyond the cost of admission on items such as meals, parking, and babysitters—valuable commerce for local businesses. 34 percent of attendees live outside the county in which the arts event takes place; they average $47.57 in event-related spending. Arts travelers are ideal tourists, staying longer and spending more to seek out authentic cultural experiences.
Arts spark creativity and innovation. Creativity is among the top 5 applied skills sought by business leaders, per the Conference Board’s Ready to Innovate report—with 72 percent saying creativity is of high importance when hiring. Research on creativity shows that Nobel laureates in the sciences are 17 times more likely to be actively engaged in the arts than other scientists.
Arts drive the creative industries. The Creative Industries are arts businesses that range from nonprofit museums, symphonies, and theaters to for-profit film, architecture, and design companies. A 2017 analysis of Dun & Bradstreet data counts 673,656 businesses in the U.S. involved in the creation or distribution of the arts—4.01 percent of all businesses and 2.04 percent of all employees. (Get a free local Creative Industry report for your community here.)
Arts have social impact. University of Pennsylvania researchers have demonstrated that a high concentration of the arts in a city leads to higher civic engagement, more social cohesion, higher child welfare, and lower poverty rates.
Arts improve healthcare. Nearly one-half of the nation’s healthcare institutions provide arts programming for patients, families, and even staff. 78 percent deliver these programs because of their healing benefits to patients—shorter hospital stays, better pain management, and less medication.
Arts for the health and well-being of our military. The arts heal the mental, physical, and moral injuries of war for military servicemembers and Veterans, who rank the creative arts therapies in the top 4 (out of 40) interventions and treatments. Across the military continuum, the arts promote resilience during pre-deployment, deployment, and the reintegration of military servicemembers, Veterans, their families, and caregivers into communities.
The mission of the Cultural Arts Board is to Preserve, Enhance, and Promote the Culture of Harford County, Maryland. As the government-appointed local arts agency, Harford County Cultural Arts Advisory Board is the premier local resource for arts organizations, independent artists, and the residents of Harford County, Maryland. The Board provides advocacy and administrative support, sponsors workshops, events, and promotional opportunities to the community, and distributes grants to local nonprofit organizations and schools.
