City officials found some gold at the end of the rainbow for Portland’s creative community after a spring of stormy financial news.
The city of Portland’s Office of Arts & Culture announced on Wednesday, June 25, that it will split more than $170,000 among 25 of its 2024–25 fiscal year grant recipients, choosing from a pool of 46 applicants asking for a combined $378,000.
OAC acknowledged in its statement the financial burden the city’s artistic and cultural institutions face, specifically noting Portland’s budgetary shortfalls and the last-minute rescinding of awards by both the National Endowment for the Arts at the behest of the Department of Government Efficiency. The newfound pot comprises underspent general fund dollars earmarked for contracts and administrative needs.
“Our arts and culture organizations are navigating a difficult funding landscape, with uncertainty at the local and federal levels,” OAC director Chariti Montez said in the statement. “We hope that this grant opportunity helps lift some of that burden in Portland.”
Seven organizations—Alberta Abbey Foundation, CoHo Productions, My Voice Music, PassinArt. Portland Playhouse, Portland Street Art Alliance, and Write Around Portland—received the pool’s largest award of $10,000 each. A dozen additional organizations received more than $5,000 each, while six groups received less. The Portland Jazz Festival received an unround $2,112 while the vocal ensemble Cappella Romana was awarded $600.
“We are incredibly grateful for the support from the Office of Arts & Culture which will help fill a $12K hole caused by the National Endowment for the Arts terminating our grant from last year,” Amy Sabin, executive director of My Voice Music, said via email. “NEA grants are invoicing grants, so it’s on the organization to cover costs and collect the funding after the fact. A sudden and unexpected large amount of cash disappearing that we were counting on is a big deal for an organization like ours.”
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