Arts Council Silicon Valley Receives $750,000 for Local Grant Making

John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Awards Major Gift

 San Jose, CA, December 17, 2003 – Arts Council Silicon Valley, the largest nonprofit arts council in the state, will receive $750,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation over the next three years to support its grant making programs. The sizeable gift will allow the Arts Council to expand its funding to the more than 130 small to mid-sized arts and cultural organizations it funds annually in Santa Clara County . The maximum award amounts made to organizations and the number of grants given to individual artists will increase as a result. This is one of the largest single gifts the Arts Council has received in its 20-year history. If funding projections are met, the gift will allow the Arts Council to increase its core grants program by 22% over last year, and initiate a new grants program.

“We’re extremely pleased that the Knight Foundation chose the Arts Council as a partner for investing in the local arts community,” said Steve Kottmeier, Arts Council Silicon Valley Board President. “This gift comes at a fortuitous time and will help bridge the funding gap of decreased support from public and private sources.”

The Knight Foundation grant will be used for two purposes: 1) to grow the PARTNERS grants program, the Arts Council’s core re-granting program; 2) to establish a new multi-year “stabilization” grants program. The Knight Foundation joins a prestigious list of funders in the PARTNERS program, including the County of Santa Clara, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, and Peninsula Community Foundation. Funds are pooled from these partners, along with endowment interest and individual contributions, to award grants to small and mid-sized arts and cultural groups through a competitive application process.

The establishment of a stabilization grants program will allow the Arts Council to offer multi-year funding for the first time and will provide stability to a limited number of organizations in the arts community during these challenging times. A select group of mid-sized arts organizations will have the opportunity to apply for multi-year funding in the amounts of $10,000 to $20,000. It is anticipated that the process will be highly competitive.

The Arts Council has a 19-year history of grant making to local arts and cultural organizations. Despite a stagnant economy in 2003, the Arts Council increased its total award amount by 8% over 2002, granting nearly $420,000 for theatre, dance, music, and visual and literary art forms.

Incorporated in 1983, Arts Council Silicon Valley is celebrating its 20 th anniversary as a nonprofit, regional arts agency, providing funding, advocacy, marketing and fundraising services to the region’s arts organizations and artists. As the official state/local partner with the California Arts Council and the County of Santa Clara, Arts Council Silicon Valley is now the largest nonprofit arts council in the state. Over the past 11 years, the Arts Council has distributed $6.5 million to local arts and cultural organizations, individual artists, schools and community groups.