Grants Available For Arts & Cultural Programs In Erie County

Local government officials are making some public funding available for organizations in Western New York looking to build up, maintain, or otherwise improve some of their infrastructures.

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During his 2022 State of the County Address, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced he was increasing support to arts and cultural organizations in Erie County.

As I said when announcing this Program during my State of the County address, we need ties that bind us together so we are not so easily torn apart. One of those ties is our incredible arts and cultural community... Arts and culture bring people together physically and help enrich our lives. This funding is intended to strengthen these organizations so that they can continue to be places of inspiration, inclusion, creativity, education and entertainment in our community.
-Mark C. Poloncarz, Erie County Executive

In a Facebook post, Mr. Poloncarz expanded on the promise he made during the county-wide address.

Erie County is making $25 million available under a new Erie County Cultural Capital Grant Program. This new source of funding is designed to help organizations make some improvements that they would not normally be able to make without the grant. The ultimate goal is to help increase the capacity of these programs so they can continue to serve the people of Erie County. Officials are also planning for this new grant program to last multiple years to help organizations gain stability.

The Erie County Department of Environment & Planning will be managing this new program and County officials are hosting an information session on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. This will be an opportunity for people to find out more about the grant parameters, and for people to ask questions.

You can click here to sign up for the information session.