Fewer cuts, more culture for ASC

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Fewer cuts, more culture for ASC

By The Charlotte Observer – July 13, 2011

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By Steven Brown
sbrown@charlotteobserver.com

For the first time since the recession took hold, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Arts & Science Council isn't having to deal out across-the-board funding cuts to the cultural groups it supports.

The ASC will give $7.6 million to more than 60 cultural organizations during the budget year that starts this month, it announced Monday. Most of the 25 groups that get the bulk of the money will receive the same amount they did last year - a welcome change after two years of squeezes.

"It's a great feeling to be able to keep their gifts stable," ASC President Scott Provancher said Monday. "Now we can start talking about how we can grow that" in the future.

The ASC, which helps raise money for arts groups across Mecklenburg County, is working with about $7.3 million from its annual fund drive last winter - roughly the same amount it raised in its 2010 campaign. The ASC will add money from other sources, such as income from its endowment fund.

The ASC's main 25 beneficiaries will receive a total of $7,339,316 for their general operations. This includes $191,890 for the Harvey B. Gantt Center.

It will give an additional $276,510 to more than 40 other organizations that qualify as community and diversity projects. Recipients include:

Organization	Grant purpose	Amount
Inspire the Fire	to support X-Perience, a week long training of 400 inner city youth in voice , dance and theater in order to produce a professional show.	$7,500
LATIBAH Collard Green Museum -affiliate program of ADEPT ARTIST Inc. 501[c] 3	to provide mass marketing, Rental Subsidy with A/V equipment and Actor's subsidy for "LATIBAH Alive", a theatrical re-enactment series by LATIBAH Collard Green Museum.	$7,440
Oneaka Collective Inc	to produce a African Dance revue highlighting the cumulative dance and music learnings of 25 African and Latin American youth ages 12-17.	$7,500
100 Black Men of Charlotte, Inc.	100 Robotics Program (working title) is to initiate a STEM component in our 20 year old mentoring program with a pilot robotics program for 50 African American mentees.	$4,000
Charlotte Area Science Network	to produce a 4-day summer camp that will teach at-risk 4th and 5th graders how Science intersects with Music, Arts, Reading and Theater, e.g. S.M.A.R.T. Camp.	$3,117
First Baptist Church West Community Services Association	The Clara H. Jones Summer Institute@First Baptist-West is a six-weeks fine arts and academic program for at-risk students in grades 1 - 8 in West Charlotte.	$5,000