Community Foundation announces 2022 Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Arts & Culture Initiative grantees

The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo announced the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Arts & Culture Initiative awards totaling $500,000 to support more than 75 small to mid-sized arts organizations serving the eight counties of Western New York, plus Monroe County, through its inaugural 2022 competitive grants process.

The criteria for the first year of grant funding was developed from input from over 100 arts and cultural representatives across the nine counties, and the selection of the grantees was through a committee of arts and cultural leaders representing all the counties.

“We are grateful to the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation for recognizing the important role that the arts and culture sector plays in a thriving and vibrant Western New York regional economy and supporting it through an endowment forever,” said Betsy Constantine, executive vice president, Community Foundation. “Community input was essential to the process, and we will continue to listen and engage as we carry out this transformational investment.”

Jim Boyle, vice president of programs and communications for Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, said, “When we established the endowment to support Western New York’s arts and culture sector, we did so out of the foundation’s economic development focus area. These organizations, both large and small, are key economic drivers in their neighborhoods, communities, and the broader region. This investment is our unique and long-term contribution to the arts and culture sector. We look forward to witnessing the amazing work to come from these new grantees.”

The funding was awarded in two categories:

Category 1: Single arts and culture nonprofit organizations for which the funding awarded will make a meaningful impact on their annual operations:

• 1891 Fredonia Opera House
• 540WMain Inc.
• Alfred University
• Allegany Area Historical Association
• Alleyway Theatre Inc.
• Arcade Historical Society
• Art For Rural America
• Arts Council for Wyoming County
• Arts Services Initiative of Western New York
• Ballet Artists of WNY Inc. (Neglia Ballet)
• BOA Editions
• Buffalo & Brandy Inc.
• Buffalo Arts Studio 
• Buffalo Center for Arts and Technology
• Buffalo Chamber Players
• Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art
• Buffalo International Film Festival
• Buffalo Opera Unlimited
• Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus
• Buffalo String Works
• Carousel Society of the Niagara Frontier
• Cattaraugus County Living Arts Association 
• Center for Exploratory and Perceptual Arts Inc.
• Community Music Project Inc.
• Danceability Inc.
• Dog Ears Literacy Center
• El Museo Francisco Oller y Diego Rivera
• Explore Buffalo
• Fenton Historical Society of Jamestown, New York
• Flower City Arts Center
• Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives
• Garth Fagan Dance
• Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council
• Gowanda's Historic Hollywood Theater Ltd.
• Grupo Cultural Latinos En rochester Inc.
• Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center
• Hamburg Natural History Society Inc.
• Infinity Visual and Performing Arts Inc.
• Karen Society of Buffalo
• Lewiston Council on the Arts Inc.
• Locust Street Neighborhood Art Classes Inc.
• Music is Art
• Niagara Arts and Cultural Center
• Niagara University
• North Park Theatre of Buffalo Inc.
• Olean Community Theatre Inc.
• Preservation Buffalo Niagara 
• Publick Musick
• PUSH Physical Theatre Inc.
• Rochester City Ballet
• Rochester Oratorio Society
• Rock Autism
• Roger Tory Peterson Institute
• Shake on the Lake
• South East Area Coalition (SEAC)
• Springville Center for the Arts
• Squeaky Wheel | Buffalo Media Resources
• Stitch Buffalo Inc.
• The Cobblestone Society
• The Fountain Arts Center Inc.
• The Kavinoky Theatre (D’Youville University)
• Tonawandas' Council on the Arts/Carnegie Art Center
• Tri-County Arts Council
• Visual Studies Workshop
• WAHI Studio Inc.
• West Falls Center for the Arts
• WNY Book Arts Center
• Writers & Books
• Young Audiences WNY (dba Arts for Learning WNY)
• Youngstown Free Library

Category 2: Multiple arts and culture organizations with collaborative efforts that have a meaningful impact on inclusion and for which small to mid-sized arts and culture organizations receive the majority of the funding requested:

•Good Causes Inc. for Teaching Artists ROC, and Rochester Public Library, All Together Now

•Kenan Center and Challenger Learning Center of Orleans, Niagara & Erie Counties; STEAM at Kenan

•Shakespeare in Delaware Park and Raices Theatre Company, Access and Audience Development for Multi-lingual Communities

•The Foundry and Galactic Tribe Inc., Wakanda Alliance, Collaborative Afterschool Programming with The Foundry and Wakanda Alliance

•Ujima Company Inc. and Second Generation Theatre Company, The Color Purple The Musical

In December 2021, the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation announced a gift to support arts and culture in the eight counties of Western New York, plus Monroe County, in recognition of the key role arts and culture organizations play in a thriving economy. Part of that announcement includes $500,000 in annual funding to be awarded primarily to support small to mid-sized arts and culture organizations in the nine counties.

To learn more, visit www.cfgb.org/nonprofits/grants/ralph-c-wilson-jr-foundation-arts-culture-initiative/.

About the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo

For more than a century, the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo has enhanced and encouraged long-term philanthropy in the Western New York community. A 501 (c)(3) organization, the Community Foundation’s mission is: Connecting people, ideas and resources to improve lives in Western New York. Established in 1919, the Community Foundation has made the most of the generosity of individuals, families, foundations and organizations who entrust charitable assets to the Community Foundation’s care. Learn more at cfgb.org.

About the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Arts & Culture Initiative

The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Arts & Culture Initiative was established at the Community Foundation to support arts and culture in the eight counties of Western New York, plus Monroe County, in recognition of the key role arts and culture organizations play in a thriving economy. Part of that announcement includes $500,000 in annual funding to be awarded primarily to support small to mid-sized arts and culture organizations in the nine counties.