Sue Nelson
Program Officer

9 JUNE 2020

The Community Foundation Awards Nearly $100,000 in Support of the Arts

WAUSAU, WI —The Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin recently distributed nearly $100,000 through its Community Arts Grant Fund to 24 local organizations to assist them with their arts-related programming.

This year, in addition to traditional programming grants of up to $5,000, special funding was designated for Community Arts COVID-19 Response Grants for organizations needing immediate relief due to the effects of COVID-19 on those organizations. Of the $98,545 awarded, $39,000 was for COVID-19 related aid and $59,545 was awarded for traditional programming requests.

Projects designed to complement, enhance, or expand new or existing cultural activities throughout Marathon County were eligible to receive funding. To qualify, some portion or outcome of the project must be open to the public.

Funding for the Community Arts Grant program has been provided through the Wisconsin Arts Board, a state agency, the B.A. & Esther Greenheck Foundation, and the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin’s Wausau Marathon County Fund.  The Wisconsin Arts Board awarded an $18,600 grant to the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Wisconsin Arts Board, to bring decision-making on arts funding to the local level. Partnered by a $31,400 grant from the Foundation’s Wausau Marathon County Fund, and a $50,000 match by the B.A. & Esther Greenheck Foundation this program will continue to make a tremendous impact on the Arts within Marathon County in the upcoming year.

The deadline to apply for a Community Arts Grant in 2021 is April 15, 2021.  Contact Sue Nelson, Program Officer at the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin at 715-845-9555 for grant guidelines and application instructions.

Traditional Community Arts Grants

Community Arts Grants, totaling 59,545, were awarded for projects and programs that enhance the quality and diversity of the Marathon County arts community.

CenterStage Band and Show Choir: $5,000
Annual show and community outreach 2020

Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra: $1,620
Dorothy Vetter Memorial Educational Concerts

Festival of Arts: $5,000
2020 Wausau Festival of the Arts

Indian Society of Central Wisconsin: $5,000
Diwali Festival of Lights Celebration

Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum: $5,000
It’s Milliner Time!

Marathon County Public Library: $5,000
Central Wisconsin Book Festival

NAOMI of Wausau: $1,425
Community Book Read with Facilitated Discussion

Opera for the Young: $1,500
Opera for the Young in area schools

Performing Arts Foundation: $5,000
Access For All Program at The Grand 2020/21 Season

River Valley Jazz Society: $5,000
11th Annual Sid Kyler River Valley Jazz Festival

Robert W. Monk Gardens: $5,000
Alice in the Gardens

UWSP at Wausau: $5,000
8th Annual Vocal Jazz Festival

Wausau School District: $5,000
Wausau West Music Department 2020 Winter Concert and Wisconsin Singers Clinic & Performance

Wausau Symphony and Band: $5,000
2020-21 Concert Series

Community Arts COVID-19 Response Grants

Community Arts COVID-19 Response Grants, totaling 39,000, were awarded to address the immediate needs of the agencies due to the effects of COVID-19.

319 Gallery: $3,700
319 Gallery relief funding

Center for the Visual Arts: $4,400
When Life Gives You Lemons, Learn to Juggle

LuCille Tack Center for the Arts: $4,000
2020-21 Arts Adventure Educational Series

Marathon County Historical Society: $3,400
Safer at home shutdown relief

Rise Up Central Wisconsin: $4,100
2020 programming

Wausau Community Theatre: $3,900
Royalties assistance

Wausau Conservatory of Music: $4,100
Tuition assistance and spring programming

Wausau Events: $3,600
2020 programming

Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art: $4,000
2020 Exhibitions

Wausau River District: $3,800
2020 programming