The Akron Community Foundation is throwing a financial lifeline to Akron's art community.

It has approved quarterly grants totaling $1,666,085. That includes 31 community fund grants totaling $474,000, with $421,000 for arts and culture programs.

The foundation reports that it is assisting struggling arts groups with grants for operational needs during the economic downturn.

The foundation also set aside funds for those in need of food assistance. It approved $25,000 to establish the Food Pantry Capacity Fund. The effort will help Summit County food pantries buy the equipment they need to store and distribute fresh food.

''A vital part of Akron Community Foundation's mission is to respond to needs in the community as they arise,'' said foundation President and CEO John T. Petures Jr. in a prepared statement. ''The Food Pantry Capacity Fund does exactly that and, together, we will better position area food pantries to serve individuals and families who need it most.''

The foundation also granted 232 grants totaling $1,192,085 from 79 designated and donor-advised funds.

The Akron Community Foundation was founded in 1955.

Downtown Chandler plans to have a bang-up Mardi Gras celebration in February, one that will draw celebrants from across metro Phoenix.

The party was announced Thursday at the annual meeting of the Downtown Chandler Community Partnership held at the Crowne Plaza San Marcos Golf Resort.

Also announced at the meeting was the formation of the Downtown Chandler Community Foundation to raise funds and provide grants to non-profits for projects that will benefit downtown.

A foundation membership drive has begun. The first deadline for grant applications is Sept. 15. An application will be on the DCCP Web site Aug. 1. Grants will be given out in amounts up to $2,000.

"Orchestras are not funded by ticket sales," Beaudoin said. "I don’t think people understand what it costs."

"Given the months of preparation that have already gone into this concert, this was a very difficult decision," Behrens said. "It is part of a package of decisions relating to personnel, future programming, development, and marketing strategy designed to keep the orchestra solvent and set it on a firm foundation for the future."

Similar issues surround the cancellation of the summer holiday concerts.

In Beloit, the Stateline Community Foundation and businesses sponsored the holiday show. The Stateline Community Foundation was hard hit by the stock market plunge, as well.

The symphony is already preparing for the fall 2009-2010 season and is on "solid ground," Beaudoin said.

Madison Repertory Theatre Dissolved

Madison Community Foundation manages all kinds of funds, including the endowment funds for seven arts groups that reside at the Overture Center.

Foundation president Kathleen Woit said the Rep did not receive any endowment dollars this year from the Great Performance Fund because it did not have a "business plan," including a line of credit, for producing plays in 2009.

The Rep dissolved last month after canceling the last two shows of its 2008-09 season.

As contemporary American playwrights know all too well, getting a play produced is a formidable task. Even those who manage to have their work staged often find that the production lasts not much longer than the hourslong life of a mayfly. After the “world premiere,” no other theaters want to touch what they perceive as second best.

With that in mind, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation recently awarded nearly $10 million to playwriting organizations and theaters in the hopes of getting more fresh voices before an audience. (more…)

As the Saratoga County Arts Council gears up for its fall fundraising season, executive director Joel Reed doesn’t know what to expect.

He’s not alone.

With the economy in free fall, area arts organizations are preparing for uncertainty. They anticipate that their grant funding will decline, donations will fall off and ticket sales and attendance will dip. But they’re also guardedly optimistic about their ability to weather the storm.

(more…)

The Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation has earmarked three areas to benefit from the $1 million donation made by Pfizer Inc. as it announced that it would close it's operation in the city.

(more…)

In honor of October, Family History Month, the Marshall District Library is proud to announce the official unveiling of our online newspaper database. Historic Marshall newspapers from 1838 through 1930 are currently available at the library on the Marshall District Library's website at www.marshalldistrictlibrary.org. Persons can access this link at the library for free or outside the library for a fee, $100 per year or $14 per month.

(more…)

“I didn’t know as much about LOGAN as I wished I did,” photographer Scott Bourdon says, “but a lot of people I saw there, I had seen before.”

That’s when Bourdon, the South Bend-based photographer whose 20-year-old daughter Haley is both deaf and developmentally disabled, knew the assignment would be profoundly personal.

(more…)

Alpine Bank has issued a challenge to the Rock River Valley – raise $50,000 from now until Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. in order to secure the Kresge Foundation Grant for the Connecting Our Future Capital Campaign, and the remaining

$50,000 – the last amount needed for the grant – will be matched and donated by Alpine Bank.

(more…)