GRANTS

RACC grants take artists and audiences to the next level

AN ANNUAL BOOK and literary festival, choral music from the cathedrals and monasteries of Byzantium, Handel’s Messiah, painter Eric Stotik’s tiny dreamscapes, short theater performances at TriMet stops, portraits of local gypsy-jazz bands, and a play inspired by a “dreamboat” Jane Austen character may seem to come from different planets, but in Portland they’re all part of the fabric of the city—and last year they all got a boost from RACC’s increased funding for organizations and individual artists.

In 2011, 44 nonprofits received $1.6 million in general support grants, which provide vital working capital to help groups continue producing or presenting unique arts experiences for the community. These grants include funding from the City of Portland, Metro, the Oregon Arts Commission, and Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington Counties. Helping add to the total were more than 60 companies—from large corporations like Portland General Electric to small shops like Cupcake Jones—that raised funds through RACC’s Work for Art program with employee giving campaigns, matching gifts, and other donations.

On a smaller scale, communication and web assistance are often part of requests for RACC’s professional development grants. Artists might need help marketing their work or upgrading their website so they can maintain it themselves. “It’s a small amount of money that can go a long way,” says Helen Daltoso, RACC’s grants officer, who adds that professional development grants can also help people build their artistic skills through classes, residencies or mentorships: “We are supporting that key activity that’s going to help take someone to the next level.”

Sometimes arts organizations need help in a hurry. Throughout the year, RACC provides special funding for unforeseen circumstances through its opportunity & emergency grant program funded by the City of Portland. In 2011, such grants included $20,000 to help the Oregon Symphony perform at the Spring for Music festival at New York’s Carnegie Hall, $20,000 for Wisdom of the Elders to help produce the first ever Gourd Dance Portland, and $10,000 to help Portland Opera simulcast its Big Night to an outdoor audience.

RACC increased its support for project grants between 2011 and 2012, funding $535,806 in projects produced in 2011, and $692,268 for projects in 2012. From a field of more than 300 applicants, volunteer panels selected 153 individuals and organizations to receive grants to further their work. Eighty-one of them were first-time recipients, and Daltoso credits outreach efforts for some of the increase in applicants.

The volunteer evaluators, like the applicant pool, come from different parts of the tricounty area, represent a range of ages, and are a mix of established and emerging artists. Most important, the grants staff seeks discipline diversity for the panels. “We’ve got to have people representing the range of the discipline in each panel in order to evaluate the technical aspects of what’s being proposed,” says Daltoso.

Recent recipients range from the Alliance Française’s community participation programs to musician and performance artist Holcombe Waller to Disjecta, helping fund the Portland 2012 biennial. RACC funding helps keep events like these affordable and accessible to the public.