Foundation offers Expansion Arts Program grants

PERFORMERS FROM the Cambodian Society of Rhode Island play at a ceremony celebrating the last class of organizations to go through the Rhode Island Foundation's Expansion Arts Program. The deadline to apply for new program grants is Sept. 3. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND FOUNDATION
PERFORMERS FROM the Cambodian Society of Rhode Island play at a ceremony celebrating the last class of organizations to go through the Rhode Island Foundation's Expansion Arts Program. The deadline to apply for new program grants is Sept. 3. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND FOUNDATION

PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Foundation is offering capacity-building grants through its Expansion Arts Program to small arts and cultural organizations from the minority community.
The foundation will award up to four organizations $10,000 a year over the course of a three-year program. Priority is given to start-up groups. The deadline to apply is Sept. 3.
Recent graduates of the program include the Cambodian Society of Rhode Island, the Center for the Arts and Culture of the Americas, Eastern Medicine Singers, RPM Voices of Rhode Island and the Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum.
“Applying was a big step for my organization, but I felt like we were ready to grow. The encouragement, training and mentoring that we received has made a world of difference as we developed our organization to thrive not just survive in the 21st century,” said Lorén Spears, Tomaquag’s executive director.
The grant program targets emerging organizations whose programs and missions center on the cultural practices and traditions of Rhode Island’s diverse communities. In addition, consultants will work with the groups to help them build knowledge and expertise in the areas of financial management, marketing and audience development, leadership development and strategic collaborations.
“We believe in the importance of nourishing the artistic and cultural traditions of communities of color. This is an important part of our strategy to foster diverse participation in the arts,” said Daniel Kertzner, the Foundation’s grantmaker in the arts sector.
The program is a joint effort with the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. It’s intended to foster connections across the arts and humanities as well as provide leadership and professional development for more arts and cultural organizations.
“Expansion Arts has been a cornerstone for many years of Rhode Island’s support for arts organizations from diverse communities,” said Randall Rosenbaum, RISCA’s executive director. “We are working to improve the essential organizational skills of emerging arts organizations serving people of color, and by so doing helped to ensure that these organizations would remain strong and sustainable.”

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