It’s a capacity building grant so it comes at a great time. PFAC will be hitting the 50-year mark next season and this (2-year) funding will help us strengthen our organization, develop some new programming and initiatives and fine-tune our existing programming as we approach the anniversary.”

PFAC Executive Director Tim Ruland

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Sept. 24, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced 112 organizations across the United States recommended to receive funding from a $12 million grant program under ArtsHERE. Each organization will receive a non-matching rant of $65,000 to $130,000 to fund specific projects that will boost arts participation among their communities and sustain meaningful engagement with underserved groups. Among the selected organizations is the Pinedale Fine Arts Council, which will receive $67,000 in funding. PFAC Executive Director Tim Ruland said Wednesday, “We were really excited! It was a pretty competitive grant process. They had over 4,000 applicants nationwide and only selected 112.”

The 112 applicants were reviewed by multiple 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 timing couldn’t be better for PFAC, Ruland added. “It’s a capacity building grant so it comes at a great time. PFAC will be hitting the 50-year mark next season and this (2-year) funding will help us strengthen our organization, develop some new programming and initiatives and fine-tune our existing programming as we approach the anniversary.”

This grant will also support PFAC’s staff development and promotional efforts. Additionally, funds will help the nonprofit to expand a part-time employee's role, cover extensive marketing costs, celebrate the 50th anniversary with new branding and develop a local radio show/podcast.

The ArtsHERE pilot program in partnership with South Arts and in collaboration with five U.S. Regional Arts Organizations, is designed to expand access to the arts and participation in them across the country. “The ArtsHERE grant was designed to help organizations with long track records within their communities and PFAC certainly fits that bill,” Ruland explained. “From a programming standpoint, we’re all over the map. We present a traditional five-show auditorium season but we also produce a summer music series and offer school and community art programs year-round. It’s a really unique organization, but with the amount of programming we do, new ideas often fall by the wayside. This funding will allow some of those ideas to come to life.”

“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.

For more information about PFAC and its programs, visit https://pinedalefinearts.com/.