‘Year of Extraordinary Support’ Continues with Funding for Arts Education Programs

Posted by: Linnea Bailey

December 15, 2023

The Cultural Council for Palm Beach County’s new arts and cultural education fund to benefit youth programs in The Palm Beaches will be funded through a generous donation from the Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation.

A game changer for the arts and cultural sector in 2024, applications are now open for the first round of the Cultural Council Arts & Cultural Education Fund to be awarded to organizations with arts and cultural enrichment programs. Grant awards will range from $20,000 to $200,000 over a two-year period. Funds will support organizations and programs offering arts integration and enrichment, opportunities for students to learn or improve skills in the arts, field trips, classes, and residencies in conjunction with arts and cultural organizations.

“We are honored to partner with the Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation for this new and impactful grant program for the cultural sector,” said Dave Lawrence, president and CEO of the Cultural Council. “The Cultural Council has an extensive history of grantmaking for the cultural sector. We’ll bring that knowledge and expertise to creating this new program to educate young minds in and through arts and culture.”

The new initiative is part of the Cultural Council’s recently announced Year of Extraordinary Support, or YES! campaign, which is poised to provide more funding for Palm Beach County’s arts and cultural sector over the next 12 months than it has at any single point in its 46-year history.

The YES! campaign is the culmination of planning and the creation of new funding initiatives supported by the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners, Palm Beach County Tourist Development Council, the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, the Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation, and individual philanthropists that combined now total nearly $12.6 million to support the cultural sector in Palm Beach County.

The YES! campaign includes new grants and programs for cultural organizations and creative professionals across all disciplines, as well as increased funding for some existing programs. Due to the Council’s advocacy efforts and record-high tourism in the county since the pandemic, organizations who receive Category B and CII (funded by hotel bed tax through the Tourist Development Council) and CI grant funding (funded by ad valorem tax) will all receive funds from pools that have recently increased.

The Cultural Council has also partnered with Palm Beach County to introduce a new $3 million capital grant program utilizing American Rescue Plan funds, with eight organizations chosen to receive grant dollars for infrastructure, capital improvements, and other construction projects through the Palm Beach County Cultural Capital Fund.

Other new Cultural Council programs include an Arts Administrator of Color Fellowship program, a 10-month program meant to amplify new and diverse voices in arts and culture, build a leadership pipeline of arts administrators and graduate students interested in careers in the arts, and provide career enhancement opportunities.

Applications are also now open for a third round of the Council’s Artist Innovation Fellowship program, funded by the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation. This program provides $7,500 grants to 10 artists across all artistic disciplines that will allow for the creation of new works, to conduct research, participate in retreats or workshops, study with master artists in their field, or travel to gain new insight and inspiration for new work.

Coming next fall is an Emerging Artist Prize that will be open to all artistic disciplines and focused on professional development. Five artists will be paired with Artist Innovation Fellows as mentors and gain access and introductions to cultural organizations, public art professionals and galleries, as well as funding for materials or supplies. The Cultural Council has also commissioned three new Artist Ambassadors to help explore ways to support the sector and reach new organizations and artists. These new programs and funding initiatives were informed by a county-wide Cultural Sector Needs Assessment Survey that was completed by the Council in 2022.

To harness the excitement of YES! and provide an opportunity to broaden the initiatives and provide even more funding to organizations and artists, the Council will unveil the YES! Fund in January. Arts patrons, philanthropists, and corporate partners will have a way to join in the extraordinary support for the sector by contributing to the YES! Fund.

For those who would like to help the Cultural Council’s work go even further, the YES! Fund will directly support many of the Cultural Council’s initiatives. Details can be found on the Council’s new website, www.palmbeachculture.com.

About the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County
The Cultural Council for Palm Beach County is the official support agency for arts and culture in The Palm Beaches, Florida’s Cultural Capital®. Headquartered in the historic Robert M. Montgomery, Jr. building in Downtown Lake Worth Beach, the Council presents exciting year-round exhibitions and performances featuring artists who live or work in Palm Beach County. The Council also features work by Palm Beach County-based professional artisans in its Roe Green Uniquely Palm Beach Store and offers complimentary resources for visitors in its Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf Visitor Information Center. The Council is open to the public Tuesdays through Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more information and a comprehensive calendar of cultural events in The Palm Beaches, visit palmbeachculture.com.

The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation
The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation was created in 1997 by the late Fred DeLuca, co-founder of the global Subway® restaurant chain, to empower individuals on their path toward self-sufficiency. Since its inception, the foundation has provided educational scholarship opportunities and grants to community-based organizations in the state of Connecticut. Today, the foundation invests in projects accelerating economic mobility, educational attainment, and health, to enhance the lives of youth and families throughout South Florida, Connecticut, and across the nation. To learn more, visit www.delucafdn.org.

###
Media Contact:
Linnea Bailey (561) 713-0673
pr@palmbeachculture.com