National Endowment for the Arts Announces $12 Million in Grants to Expand Access to Arts in Communities Nationwide

Wilmington Based Non-Profit, Four Youth, Awarded Funding

Statewide, DEL. (October 2, 2024) - The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is pleased to announce 112 organizations recommended for awards under ArtsHERE-a new pilot program in partnership with South Arts and in collaboration with the other five U.S. Regional Arts Organizations-designed to expand access to arts participation across the nation. These nonprofit organizations, each with demonstrated commitment to equity within their practices and programming, are recommended for non-matching grants of $65,000 to $130,000, totaling $12.356 million, to fund specific projects that will strengthen the organizations' capacity to sustain meaningful community engagement and increase arts participation for underserved groups and communities. Grant recipients will also take part in peer-learning and technical assistance opportunities, and the NEA will report on lessons learned from this initiative.

In Delaware, Wilmington based non-profit, Four Youth, was awarded $89,190 in funding. The ArtsHERE grant will help Four Youth implement a newly built three-year plan, which includes building capacity and expanding reach. Support will allow for expended staffing, professional development, program evaluations, and visual storytelling. Four Youth leads underserved students on a journey that inspires intellectual and creative growth by providing education in a stable, safe, and supportive environment where youth from diverse backgrounds thrive throughout their formative years.

In addition to grant awards, ArtsHERE grant recipients will also participate in quarterly peer learning workshops, monthly cohort sessions, and one-on-one meetings with technical assistance coaches and field experts. These meetings are designed for knowledge sharing, learning, and capacity-building, to help reinforce the initiative's opportunities for cross-sector engagement.

Read more about the grant recipients and their projects.

"The National Endowment for the Arts is thrilled to provide resources to a group of exceptional organizations through ArtsHERE, a program to help deepen meaningful and lasting arts engagement in underserved communities," said Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. "Everyone should be able to live an artful life, and ArtsHERE is an important step in ensuring we are strengthening our nation's arts ecosystem to make this a reality."

"We are thrilled to announce that we've received the ArtsHere grant," says Four Youth Executive Director Theresa Emmett. "This essential funding expands our arts programs to more students in underserved communities and strengthens our organization's capacity. It empowers us to achieve our goal of inspiring the next generation of artists while deepening their connection to the environment. We are deeply grateful for this support, as it boosts our ability to celebrate nature through art."

"We are incredibly proud to congratulate Four Youth on receiving this well-deserved ArtsHERE grant from the National Endowment for the Arts," says Jessica Ball, Director of the Delaware Division of the Arts. "This recognition not only highlights the vital work being done by Four Youth to uplift and inspire young minds through the arts, but it also ensures that Delaware, the nation's first state, is represented among nationwide organizations doing such impactful community engagement. We look forward to seeing how this grant strengthens their capacity to engage underserved communities and expand arts participation in our state."

Historically underserved groups and communities-those whose opportunities to experience the arts have been limited by factors such as geography, race or ethnicity, economics, or disability-frequently report lower rates of participation in various arts activities than other groups do. Managed by South Artsthe NEA announced the ArtsHERE pilot grant program in 2023 in recognition that engaging in the arts is essential to individual, social, civic, and economic well-being and in response to President Biden's Executive Order that put forward a government-wide effort to advance equity for all Americans.

Recommended grant recipients are from all 50 states, DC, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. ArtsHERE aims to address disparities in arts participation through grants that help organizations better serve and reach their communities.

As a pilot program, ArtsHERE will be documented and evaluated by the NEA to better understand the project activities supported by this program and how grantees approached the work. These insights may inform the future of ArtsHERE and similar funding programs in the future.

More than 4,000 organizations applied for ArtsHERE funding in late 2023 and early 2024. Applications were reviewed by multiple review panels based on published review criteria, including the applicant's organizational capacity and their capacity-building project, alignment with ArtsHERE's commitment to equity, and engagement with historically underserved communities. The selected organizations will receive funding to support their projects, which will take place between October 2024 through June 2026.

ArtsHERE is also supported by The Wallace Foundation through matching funds to the Regional Arts Organizations in support of this program.

About the National Endowment for the Arts
Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent federal agency that is the largest funder of the arts and arts education in communities nationwide and a catalyst of public and private support for the arts. By advancing equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, the NEA fosters and sustains an environment in which the arts benefit everyone in the United States. To learn more, visit arts.gov or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

About South Arts
South Arts advances Southern vitality through the arts. The nonprofit regional arts organization was founded in 1975 to build on the South's unique heritage and enhance the public value of the arts. South Arts' work responds to the arts environment and cultural trends with a regional perspective. South Arts offers an annual portfolio of activities designed to support the success of artists and arts providers in the South, address the needs of Southern communities through impactful arts-based programs, and celebrate the excellence, innovation, value and power of the arts of the South. For more information, visit www.southarts.org.

About the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations
The United States Regional Arts Organizations (USRAOs)-Arts Midwest, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Mid Atlantic Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, South Arts, and Western States Arts Federation-are a collective of six nonprofit arts service organizations committed to strengthening America's infrastructure by increasing access to creativity for all Americans. They serve the nation's artists, arts and culture organizations, and creative communities with programs that reflect and celebrate the diversity of the field in which they work. They partner with the National Endowment for the Arts, state arts agencies, individuals, and other public and private funders to develop and deliver programs, services, and products that advance arts and creativity. Together, the USRAOs work to activate and operate national arts initiatives, encourage and support collaboration across regions, states, and communities, and maximize the coordination of public and private resources invested in arts programs. In Fiscal Year 2023, they invested over $18.4 million across the United States and Jurisdictions, through nearly 2,400 grants that reached more than 1,000 communities. For more information, visit usregionalarts.org.

About the Delaware Division of the Arts
The Delaware Division of the Arts is an agency of the State of Delaware. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. Funding for Division programs is provided by annual appropriations from the Delaware General Assembly and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278.

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