This year the Central Cariboo Arts and Culture Society is offering a wide variety of grants for both individuals and organizations.
In addition to its usual project grants program, with grants ranging from $300 to $3,000 depending on the project or non-profit organizations size, the CCACS is offering CCACS support grants first piloted last year. Four of these support grants of $1,000 each are currently available for small community groups or independent artists for the purpose of supporting and developing arts and culture within the lakecity.
Executive director Leah Selk said CCACS has been offering project grants for the last eight years, funded by the City of Williams Lake and the Cariboo Regional District. These new support grants are in their infancy, however, and are directly funded by the CCACS itself.
Read More: CCACS announces Support Grants award recipients
“The support grant program endeavours to bridge the gap between the fees for services agreement and the project grants program,” Selk said, explaining the fees for services agreement provides funding to long-standing service providers in the community, like the Station House Gallery, while the project grants provide funding for a project to be completed in a year.
“The support grants program bridges the gap in the way that, we’re trying to recognize that not all projects may not be new or innovative. Sometimes they just need some funding to do what they always do,” Selk said. “It’s also new, in the sense, that we are beginning to offer funding to individual artists, so this is branching out into individual artist support as well through professional development.”
Christina Mary, a Horsefly artist, was one of the first to receive this new grant last year. She used her $1,000 to supplement a trip to a basket-weaving workshop in Saskatchewan and plans to shortly begin offering basket-weaving classes to the community.
Read More: Horsefly woman eager to share basket-weaving techniques
The potential to give back directly to the community is key for artists thinking of applying for this grant, according to Selk. Those who do are required to submit material showing how they will use the money to directly, or indirectly benefit the community and increase the arts and culture available in Williams Lake and the surrounding region.
“We’re finally at the day and age where people recognize arts and culture is important and it is the foundation to vibrant communities,” Selk said. “We’re very fortunate to have a thriving arts and culture community and over 70 arts and culture groups in the region that make that all possible.”
Check out the CCACS website of e-mail Leah Selk at info@centralcaribooarts.com for more information on how and where to apply. Applications for activities happening between Jan. 1, 2019 to June 30, 2019, is due Nov. 22, 2018, while applications for activities taking place from July 1, 2019 to Dec. 31 2019 is May 30, 2019.
patrick.davies@wltribune.com
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