Community Foundation Announces 14 Recipients of Arts Regrant Funding Totaling $260,000 in Grant Awards

The North Dakota Shakespeare Festival is a 2022 Arts Regrant Program recipient.

In its initiative to direct funds toward local creative and cultural endeavors, the Community Foundation of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks and Region has named the recipients of the 2022 Arts Regrant Program.
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The Arts Regrant Program offers financial support for local arts and culture organizations who seek to educate, entertain, and inspire the community with their creative vision. This year’s grant program consisted of funding from two separate pools, evaluated independently from one another:

• $135,000 in funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) to help the arts and cultural sector recover from the pandemic.
• $122,999.94 in funding for operations from the City of Grand Forks to support nonprofit arts- and/or culture-based organizations with principal operations in Grand Forks, ND.

Combined funding totaling $257,999.94 was distributed among 14 nonprofit organizations including:

• Arts for Vets
• ArtWise
• Empire Arts Center
• Grand Cities Children's Choir
• Grand Forks Chorales
• Greater Grand Forks Community Theatre
• Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra
• ND-MB District Met Opera Auditions
• North Dakota Ballet Company
• North Dakota Museum of Art
• North Dakota Shakespeare Festival
• Northern Valley Youth Orchestras
• Summer Performing Arts Company
• UND Writers Conference

 
"The Arts Regrant Program works diligently to support programs that offer low-cost educational and artistic experiences to Grand Forks families, to increase access for both artists and diverse audiences, and to encourage the growth our community’s creative and cultural sectors," said the Community Foundation’s Executive Director Becca Baumbach.
 
Baumbach says the Arts Regrant Program investments have created ripples of hope across the community, especially given that the arts sector was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. Organizations had to think critically and creatively to survive, and many are rebuilding capacity as audiences have begun to return.
 
ArtWise, an organization that saw dramatic change in their funding levels from 2020-2022, said receiving Arts Regrant funding allowed them to restructure their programming and open a new facility in the Columbia Mall, taking on gallery shows and educational opportunities to support local artists and families.

The Northern Valley Youth Orchestras is a 2022 Arts Regrant Program recipient.

The North Dakota Ballet Company’s Executive Director, Laura Arneson, also talked positively about the impact of the arts both during the pandemic and as restrictions continue to lift. “The positive influence of our programming over the past two years has been most prominent on our young artists as these uncertain times have created increased isolation and depression. It was important for the North Dakota Ballet Company to continue to provide this outlet for our dancers, as well as encourage the community as they ease back into in-person experiences.”
 
With the return to some normalcy and the availability of additional funding, many applicants to the Arts Regrant Program shared their enthusiasm to return to pre-pandemic audience numbers while implementing the lessons learned and the new ideas generated over the past two years.
 
“The Arts Regrant Program supports so much of the quality of life we enjoy in Grand Forks,” said Baumbach. “From artists receiving professional opportunities, to children thriving because of creative outlets, to audiences and visitors supporting our economy, this grant program has a huge impact.”
 
Over the next 12 months, it is projected grantees will offer opportunities to 6,440 professional artists and aspiring creatives and will welcome over 60,800 visitors and audience members to their facilities.