NAA receives grant to support staffing

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As a result of the economic downturn, the NAA had recently cut hours for Executive Director Terry Foreman and Assistant Annalisa Ekbladh. Now, that has changed, thanks to a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

"The Newark Arts Alliance is very grateful to receive this funding,” says Foreman. “The $20,000 we are to receive for salary support will go a long way to helping us survive these difficult economic times.

“Our organization supports the livelihood of over 75 artists who sell their work through our organization. We also employ 10-15 teachers in the arts who work as needed on classes and workshops throughout the year. This support will have the wonderful trickledown effect of preserving several smaller incomes, as well as continuing to offer much needed arts programming for the community."

The NAA’s grant was awarded through the Delaware Division of the Arts. A total of $290,400 was given to 11 organizations to support 14 positions in the state. In addition to the NAA, they are:

  • Christina Cultural Arts Center, Wilmington ($20,000)
  • Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington ($50,000)
  • Delaware by Hand, Statewide ($10,000)
  • Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington ($40,000)
  • Delaware Division of Parks & Recreation, Statewide ($35,000)
  • Delaware Institute for Arts in Education, Statewide ($5,000)
  • Delaware Theatre Company, Wilmington ($40,000)
  • The New Candlelight Theatre, Ardentown ($22,500)
  • OperaDelaware, Wilmington ($27,900)
  • Wilmington Drama League, Wilmington ($20,000)

Additionally, the National Endowment for the Arts and Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation awarded one grant each in Delaware, representing another $80,000 and preserving one more position each at the Delaware Symphony Orchestra ($50,000) and the Grand Opera House ($30,000), respectively.

In announcing the grants for 13 Delaware arts organizations, Governor Jack A. Markell said, “Arts organizations are a major economic engine in Delaware and play a vital role in attracting new businesses to our state. Today’s announcement underscores that the arts and culture industries are an important part of the solution to Delaware’s economic recovery and long-term health.”

The federal ARRA legislation allocated $50 million to the NEA to “preserve jobs in the nonprofit arts sector threatened by declines in philanthropic and other support” during the current economic downturn. Forty percent of those funds were allocated for distribution to the state arts agencies and regional arts organizations, with the remainder being distributed via direct NEA grants.

These one-year, one-time grants are limited to salary support for existing positions that are in jeopardy or have been eliminated as a result of the current economic climate. A few organizations were eligible to apply directly to the federal and regional agencies, as well as the Delaware Division of the Arts, but grants could only be accepted from a single ARRA funding source.