By Barb Van Atta
At a news conference today (March 16), the Broome County Arts Council (BCAC) awarded $232,815 in United Cultural Fund (UCF) grants to 22 local arts organizations, community non-profits and individual artists. UCF monies will help provide general operating support for seven major arts organizations in the community and will fund 15 specific projects ranging from classes to concerts to film festivals, said BCAC Executive Director Laura Knochen-Davis.

Recipients of 2016 United Cultural Fund General Operating Support and Project Grants

Recipients of 2016 United Cultural Fund General Operating Support and Project Grants

Established to sustain the arts in Broome County, the UCF is the only active, locally-funded, combined campaign for the arts in south-central New York and one of only seven such programs in entire state. The 2016 campaign raised a total of $278,459, 85 percent of which was allocated to this year’s grant awards. The BCAC, located at 81 State St., Binghamton, receives 15 percent for administration. (In 2015, the UCF campaign raised $282,953, and the BCAC awarded $239,575 in grants. The same seven arts organizations received general support. Fourteen non-profits and individuals received project grants.)
Major donors who invested in this year’s campaign include the Hoyt Foundation, Broome County Government, the Decker Foundation, the Gaffney Foundation, M&T Bank and IBM, as well as other local businesses and corporations and a host of individuals. Representatives of both the donor organizations and the recipients attended this morning’s announcement at the DoubleTree Hotel in downtown Binghamton.
Investments in the arts pay a financial as well as a cultural dividend, according to Knochen-Davis and BCAC Board President Frederick R. Xlander, who made the grant announcements. Last year’s recipients collectively returned more than $4.6 million to Broome County’s economy, up $600,000 from 2014.
The following organizations received general operating support:
ART Mission & Theater                          $12,000
Binghamton Philharmonic                       $52,000
Cider Mill Playhouse                               $11,500
Endicott Performing Arts Center             $20,000
Goodwill Theater                                     $10,000
Roberson Museum & Science Center      $56,000
Tri-Cities Opera                                       $56,000
 
The following non-profit organizations and individuals received project grants:
• Binghamton Center for Writers               $1,000 The Binghamton Poetry Project
• Binghamton Community Orchestra        $1,000 STMTA Concerto Competition   Winners Contest
Binghamton Downtown Singers             $1,000 Downtown Singers Spring Concert 2016
Binghamton Youth Symphony                $1,000 Annual Spring Concert
Boys & Girls Clubs of Binghamton        $1,000 Exploring Careers in Photography: After School Program for Underserved Youth
Brian Murphy                                             $900 Transient Visions: Festival of the Moving Image
Deposit Performing Arts Center             $1,000 Danceability – Tina Christina-Price and Rik Daniels
Kopernik Society of Broome County         $500 EXPOSURE: a screening of art films with astronomical images
Madrigal Choir of Binghamton                  $900 “Tanzen und Singen: Music in Motion”
Phelps Mansion Museum                        $1,000 Chamber Music Series at the Phelps
Preservation Association of the Southern Tier   $900 Everyone Has a Hometown
SPARE Productions                                   $600 SPARE Productions presents “Letter Writing”
SRO Productions III                                $1,000 SRO Productions Presents: “Evita”
Vestal Museum                                       $1,000 Musical Memories Series
Windsor Whip Works Art Center           $1,000 Ceramic Sculpture & Pottery Workshop
For more information, call 607-723-4620, e-mail lkdavis@broomearts.org or visit BroomeArts.org.