FORT WAYNE, INDIANA, MARCH 2, 2022  – Arts United announced the final distribution of the Arts & Culture Nonprofit Resilience Fund with $250,000 of Recovery Grants distributed to 15 nonprofit arts and culture organizations. The final round of funding was made possible by a grant from the English-Bonter-Mitchell Foundation at PNC Bank to support the recovery of nonprofits that restarted or amplified live programming from July 2021 through December 2021 but have yet to fully recover earned revenue due to smaller audiences and/or lower than typical participation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Organizations receiving Recovery Grants are as follows:

  • ARCH – $12,755
  • Artlink – $16,673
  • Audiences Unlimited, Inc. – $16,883
  • Embassy Theatre – $21,533
  • FAME – $12,935
  • Fort Wayne Ballet – $19,870
  • Fort Wayne Children’s Choir – $17,531
  • Fort Wayne Cinema Center – $12,036
  • Fort Wayne Civic Theatre – $19,612
  • Fort Wayne Dance Collective – $18,026
  • Fort Wayne Philharmonic – $17,900
  • Fort Wayne Youtheatre – $16,769
  • The History Center – $18,137
  • Science Central – $15,223
  • UNITY Performing Arts Foundation – $14,117

Arts United’s board initiated the Resilience Fund in June 2020 to invest in the future of our community by supporting anchor arts and culture nonprofits as they reopened and reimagined their programs in a world informed by the realities of COVID-19. With support from the Edward D. & Ione Auer Foundation, The James Foundation, McMillen Foundation, Chuck and Lisa Surack and Sweetwater, Arts United Board of Directors, Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne, and others, a total of $3,076,292 has been distributed to 18 anchor arts and culture organizations serving greater Fort Wayne.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with local foundations and families to help these outstanding arts and culture nonprofits stay financially resilient and continue to serve the Fort Wayne community through the pandemic,” said Bart Shaw, Arts United board member and chair of the Resilience Fund Review Committee. “Now, we are excited to move forward with a new grant program that will help arts and culture nonprofits rebuild and grow their impact in the community.”

Arts United also announced the launch of the new Regional Arts Council Capacity Grant Program. The Capacity Grant Program is intended to provide funding to members of the Regional Arts Council for one or more of the following purposes:

  • Improving artistic or educational quality
  • Developing, growing and/or reaching new audiences
  • Building or expanding a fundraising program or donor base
  • Engaging, training, or retaining staff and/or volunteers
  • Taking action steps toward IDEA (inclusion, diversity, equity, or access)

Grants are available to members of the Regional Arts Council, a networking forum for area artists and nonprofit administrators facilitated by Arts United. The Regional Arts Council, comprising more than 50 member organizations throughout the 12 county region of Northeast Indiana, provides business services, grant programs, professional networking and development opportunities, and visibility and promotion activities to assist nonprofits in achieving their goals, and to help further public awareness of the arts in Northeast Indiana.

Applications for Regional Arts Council Capacity Grants are due April 29, 2022. Learn more about this and other grant opportunities at artsunited.org.