Regional Arts & Culture Council Awards $1.7 Million to 48 Local Arts Organizations

Portland, September 14th, 2013. The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) has awarded a total of $1,745,354 in grants to 48 local arts organizations. Portland Art Museum the received the biggest grant, a total of  $194,396. Awarded annually, these grants provide general operating support to 501(c)(3) arts organizations that deliver year-round programs and have at least $80,000 in annual revenues. 

“RACC is honored to invest public and private dollars in these outstanding organizations,” said executive director Eloise Damrosch. “They make significant and varied contributions to the cultural and economic vitality of the region, including Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties.” 

Grant recipients are selected in a rigorous application review process that includes a panel of community volunteers and RACC staff. Applicants are evaluated on artistic excellence and fiscal responsibility, and must demonstrate broad community support including a stable base of audiences and donors. The $1.7 million total is a slight increase over last year because of an increase in contributions through RACC’s workplace giving program, Work for Art.

Organizations receiving RACC general operating support in 2013-14 are:

Artist Repertory Theatre, $57,576
Bag & Baggage Productions, $11,600
Blue Sky Gallery, $13,890
Bodyvox, $25,546
Broadway Rose Theatre Company, $36,740
Cappella Romana, Inc., $13,350
Chamber Music Northwest, $53,450
Children’s Healing Art Project, $12,760
Do Jump! Extremely Physical Theatre, $30,396
Ethos Music Center, $17,700
Friends of Chamber Music, $21,796
Hollywood Theatre/Film Action Oregon, $17,970
Imago Theatre, $30,406
Independent Publishing Resource Center, $12,136
Lakewood Center for the Arts, $37,320
Literary Arts, Inc., $45,726
Live Wire!, $12,710 Metropolitan Youth Symphony, $30,986
Miracle Theatre Group, $30,646
Northwest Children’s Theatre, $28,390
Northwest Dance Project, $16,000
NW Documentary Arts & Media, $12,136
Oregon Ballet Theatre, $85,900
Oregon Children’s Theatre, $60,936
Oregon Repertory Singers, $26,630
Oregon Symphony Association, $144,516
PHAME Academy, $12,136
Playwrite, Inc., $17,386
Portland Art Museum, $194,396
Portland Baroque Orchestra, $25,500
Portland Center Stage, $91,216
Portland Chamber Orchestra, $15,710
Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra, $14,090
Portland Gay Men’s Chorus, $16,790
Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, $29,656
Portland Opera, $140,716
Portland Piano International, $15,630
Portland Taiko, $37,420
Portland Youth Philharmonic, $31,706
Profile Theatre Project, $23,360
Tears of Joy Theatre, $31,966
The Portland Ballet, $19,166
Third Angle New Music Ensemble, $11,500
Third Rail Repertory Theatre, $13,400
White Bird, $52,116
Wordstock, Inc., $15,436
Write Around Portland, $20,796
Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington, $28,050

RACC receives funding from a variety of public and private partners to serve artists, arts organizations, schools and residents throughout tri-county region. The City of Portland provides the majority of support at nearly $1.1 million, with additional funding from Work for Art donations as well as Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington Counties.

These 48 organizations have combined purchasing and payroll power of $86.7 million and an extended economic impact of $151 million annually, including all of the audience-related spending that occurs before and after an arts event. Their total combined attendance last year was 2.9 million, including 679,000 K-12 students.

Organizations interested in participating in the 2015 grant application process can visit www.racc.org/grants for information including guidelines, application deadlines, and additional contact information.

A note on the City of Portland’s Arts Education & Access Fund

The City has not yet distributed to RACC any proceeds from the new Arts Education & Access Fund, so these grant awards do not include any “arts tax” money. RACC funding from all sources currently represents 2% of the grantees’ annual revenues, including an average of 1.3% funding from the City of Portland general fund. RACC expects to receive its first proceeds from the Arts Education & Access Fund next spring, and at that time can begin working toward the goal of providing qualified arts organizations with 5% public support. Funded organizations will still rely on ticket sales, contributions, and other income to make up the other 95% of their budgets.

About RACC

RACC provides grants for artists, nonprofit organizations and schools; manages an internationally acclaimed public art program; raises money and awareness for the arts through workplace giving; convenes forums, networking events and other community gatherings; provides workshops and other forms of technical assistance for artists; and oversees a program to integrate arts and culture into the standard curriculum in public schools throughout the region through “The Right Brain Initiative.” For more information visit us online at www.racc.org.