A diverse array of arts projects produced by 15 New Hanover County organizations will garner grant support from the state’s Grassroots Arts Program, the Arts Council of Wilmington and New Hanover County announced in a news release Wednesday. The grants will support dance, visual arts, theatre and music projects.
 
The bulk of the total grant funds - $44,763 - comes from the North Carolina Arts Council. The Wilmington/New Hanover arts council has kicked in just over $5,000 to bring the available grant pool to $50,000, Rhonda Bellamy, executive director of the Arts Council of Wilmington & NHC, said Thursday. The local arts council administers the funds and decides how to allocate them.
 
“Local arts councils are allowed to keep 20 to 50 percent for administration, but we subgranted out everything,” Bellamy said, adding that her organization received more than $80,000 in requests in this grant cycle.
 
Each Grassroots grant must be matched dollar-for-dollar by the recipient organization, Bellamy said.
 
“Applicants have to send in three years of financials and show that they can effectively plan and execute that particular project,” she added, explaining that all Grassroots grants must be used for a project and the grantees must report on the project – including attendance figures – when it is complete. Monies cannot be used for general operations support.
 
“We want to be very careful as stewards of state money,” Bellamy said.
 
Two new organizations, Wilmington Jewish Film Festival and Opera Wilmington, received grants although they do not have a three-year financial history. Both groups successfully funded their first seasons in 2014 and showed the ability to carry out their next projects, according to Bellamy.
 
The state arts council stipulates that a certain percentage of Grassroots money must go to support multicultural programming. The minimum New Hanover County could spend for multicultural projects this year was $8,505. Two recipients – the Black Arts Alliance and Thalian Hall – received a combined $10,000. The Alliance will use its $5,000 grant to underwrite the cost of producing the 14th annual N.C. Black Film Festival, while Thalian Hall’s $5,000 will help defray expenses of presenting Thursday’s concert by Yue-Lin Ceramic Music.
 
A complete list of grant recipients and their projects is here. 

Because of the multiplier effect, grant monies generate additional economic activity, Wayne Martin, executive director of the N.C. Arts Council, said in the news release.
 
“Every grant dollar invested by the state leverages an additional $17 from businesses, foundations and local government. The support of the statewide grants program by the General Assembly demonstrates the role the arts play in our economy and our quality of life,” said Wayne Martin, executive director of the N.C. Arts Council. “Nonprofit arts organizations employ workers, stimulate commerce, generate tax revenues and help communities retain their vibrancy.”