Grants

INVESTING IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES

In 2019, ArtsWestchester distributed over $1.3 million in funding to organizations and individual artists across Westchester and Rockland. ArtsWestchester’s grants programs are supported by funding from Westchester County Government and New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), and are designed to increase organizational capacity, enhance cultural and educational programming, and support individual artists in the creation of new work. In total, 228 grants were awarded in 2019. Education programs that were funded with these grants in 2019 include art workshops for youth and adults at the Pelham Art Center (Pelham), a summer conservancy program for aspiring opera singers led by Taconic Opera (Yorktown Heights), and performing arts training for youth and teens at the Tarrytown Music Hall (Tarrytown). In Fall 2019, 51 arts organizations participated in the Art$WChallenge matching grant program, which leveraged County funding to raise $353,189 in new, private donations. ArtsWestchester also provided in-depth technical assistance and professional development opportunities to the cultural community, including programs on legal and

copyright law for artists, strategy and planning for small organizations, and funding opportunities presented by A.R.T. NY and New York Foundation for the Arts. *See page 20 for the full list of 2019 grantees.

THE ARTS BOOST THE ECONOMY

The nonprofit arts industry alone generates $166.3 billion in economic activity annually in the U.S. 5

THE ARTS

DRIVE TOURISM

68% of tourism in the U.S. is driven by art. Research shows that cultural tourists spend nearly twice as much as other tourists do. 6