ASI awards $32,000 in 'Give for Greatness' grants to WNY cultural organizations

Arts Services Initiative of Western New York will award 32 “Give for Greatness” grants of $1,000 – up from 25 in 2018 – to 32 arts and cultural nonprofit organizations based in Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and Allegany counties. Recipients will be presented with checks at a ceremony at 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 12, at the Buffalo History Museum (1 Museum Court). The ceremony is free to attend and open to the public.

The 32 organizations were selected from 78 total applications by a panel of local leaders in the arts and cultural sector. They include:

• 1891 Fredonia Opera House
• Allegany Arts Association
• Amherst Bel Canto Choir Inc.
• Amherst Chamber Ensembles
• Art for Rural America
• Beaver Alley Studios Inc.
• Brazen-Faced Varlets
• Buffalo Choral Arts Society
• Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art
• Buffalo International Film Festival Inc.
• Buffalo Is Creative
• Buffalo Jazz Collective
• Buffalo Opera Unlimited
• Buffalo Society of Artists
• Carnegie Art Center
• Cynthesis Studios
• Devi Bollywood Performing Arts
• El Museo Francisco Oller y Diego Rivera
• Fountain Arts Center Inc.
• Lock City Glee Club Inc.
• Lockport Public Arts Council
• North Shore Arts Alliance Inc.
• Nusantara Arts Inc.
• Olean Theatre Workshop
• Pappy Martin Legacy – Masten Jazz Festival
• Second Generation Theatre Co.
• Starlight Studio and Art Gallery
• Starring Buffalo
• Unique Theatre Company
• Verve Dance Studio
• West Falls Center for the Arts
• WNY Book Arts Center

“Give for Greatness” is a program administered by ASI every December in anticipation of year-end goals and the holiday season. Since its inception in 2014, ASI has distributed more than $100,000 through the program to over 100 regional arts and cultural organizations.

“ ‘Give for Greatness’ awards grassroots cultural organizations for their important work by providing support for their general operating efforts,” ASI Executive Director Jen Swan said. “These organizations serve as critical cultural hubs across Western New York’s urban and rural communities, often operating on an annual budget of less than $20,000, and with nearly all-volunteer staff.”

“Give for Greatness” is funded by money ASI raises throughout the year and is supported by “Fund for the Arts,” “Lawyers for the Arts,” “Lawyers for the Arts: Classical Edition,” and The Rupp Family Foundation.

ASI is a resource hub for the Western New York arts and cultural sector. It empowers the region's artists and arts organizations with connections to funding, learning opportunities, and community access to the arts.