Commission on Culture & Tourism Awards
$300,000 to Preserve Arts Jobs

Hartford, Conn. (July 24, 2009) - The Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism (CCT) announced today that it has awarded a total of $300,000 in grants to eighteen Connecticut nonprofit organizations through its Arts Jobs Preservation Program. CCT received the funds from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.

The one-time grants are specifically intended to help preserve jobs in a nonprofit arts sector threatened by declines in philanthropic and other support during the current economic downturn. Eligible organizations could apply to fund salaries, fringe benefits and fees for administrative and artistic personnel whose jobs were recently eliminated, or threatened to be eliminated or reduced in hours.

"The national recession has touched every corner of our economy, including the arts. Theater and concerts are enjoyable, relaxing outings and certainly add to the quality of life in any community and to the local economy," Governor M. Jodi Rell said. "The nonprofit arts industry employs more than 27,000 people in Connecticut and these stimulus funds will help the industry through tough economic times."

"Arts and cultural nonprofits are struggling in this economy," noted Karen Senich, executive director of CCT. "They are experiencing revenue shortfalls both in contributions from foundations, corporations and individual donors, and on the earned side, where admissions are down and enrollments are dropping. They’ve been extremely resourceful, and most have made significant cutbacks in staff already. These funds come at an opportune moment to save jobs that would otherwise be lost."

Organizations receiving funds represent a broad array in terms of size, artistic discipline and geographic location. In every case, the position funded is critical to carrying out the core work of the organization, and further contributes not only to the organization’s well-being, but also to the community and region which it serves.

Each recipient organization underwent a review process that evaluated the significance of the position identified for support, its impact on the organization’s ability to serve the public, and the organization’s readiness to utilize the funding. The process was highly competitive, with more than 90 organizations submitting requests totaling nearly $1.6 million.

Connecticut arts organizations are also due to receive ARRA stimulus funds from two other sources. The National Endowment for the Arts earlier announced that it awarded four grants totaling $150,000 directly to Connecticut organizations, and the New England Foundation for the Arts will soon announce its ARRA grants to Connecticut applicants for salary and fee support.

The 18 organizations receiving Arts Jobs Preservation Program grants, listed by town, appear below:

Organization	City/Town	Position	Grant
Charter Oak Cultural Center	Hartford	Managing Director	$20,000
Guakia, Inc.	Hartford	Executive Director	$20,000
Hartford Stage	Hartford	Senior Dramaturg	$10,000
Hartford Symphony Orchestra	Hartford	Director Education/Community Progs.	$20,000
Judy Dworin Performance Project	Hartford	Administrative Director	$10,000
Oddfellows Playhouse	Middletown	Tech. Director/Production Manager	$20,000
New Britain Museum of American Art	New Britain	Coordinator of Adult Programs	$20,000
Trinity on Main	New Britain	Executive Director	$20,000
Silvermine Guild of Artists, Inc.	New Canaan	Gallery Director	$20,000
Creative Arts Workshop	New Haven	Program Director	$20,000
Elm Shakespeare Company	New Haven	Director of Education	$10,000
New Haven Folk, Inc.	New Haven	Director	$10,000
Garde Arts Center	New London	Production Manager	$10,000
Kente Cultural Center	New London	Art Instructor	$10,000
Lyman Allyn Art Museum	New London	Museum Registrar	$20,000
Connecticut Ballet, Inc.	Stamford	Director of Education	$20,000
Curtain Call	Stamford	Education Director	$20,000
Joyful Noise	Torrington	Project Coordinator/Office Manager	$20,000
			$300,000

CONTACTS:
Karen Senich
Executive Director
Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism
(860) 256-2727 (Leigh Johnson)

An-Ming Truxes
Arts Division Director
Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism
(860) 256-2722

Jenny Smith/Zachary Munroe
Pita Communications
(860) 293-0157, exts. 15/29
jenny@pitacomm.com
zach@pitacomm.com