The Broome County Arts Council (BCAC) today (March 16) announced it has awarded $271,000 in United Cultural Fund (UCF) grants for 2011. Speaking to a morning news conference, BCAC Chairman Fred Xlander thanked “donors large and small” to this year’s United Cultural Fund Campaign. Xlander said that, in approving new grants, the board was “serious” about making sure that “precious charitable dollars” for the arts are “carefully distributed” and “soundly managed.” Executive Director Sharon Ball declared the $271,000 grant total a “major victory,” in light of the tough economy. She called it proof of the arts’ importance to Greater Binghamton and Broome.
General operating support recipients are:

  • The ART Mission & Theater, $13,200;
  • Binghamton Philharmonic, $62,500;
  • Endicott Performing Arts Center, $25,500;
  • Goodwill Theatre Inc., $10,500;
  • Roberson Museum & Science Center, $73,500, and
  • Tri-Cities Opera, $75,500.

Project grants recipients are:

  • Binghamton Downtown Singers, $1,000 for their 2011 Spring Concert;
  • Binghamton Youth Symphony, $1,000 for their 2011 Spring Concert;
  • Boys & Girls Club of Binghamton, $1,000 for “A positive outlet or self-expression: An after-school performing arts program for disadvantaged youth”;
  • Deposit Community Theatre and Performing Arts Center, $800 for “Little Old Lady Laugh Out Loud” (theater production);
  • Mario Moroni, $1,000 for the “Crossroads” international literary festival;
  • Phelps Mansion Museum, $1,000 for its “Second Sunday at the Phelps” concert series;
  • Santino DeAngelo, $1,000 for a production of “Blood Wedding” (play by Frederico Garcia Lorca);
  • St. Ambrose Church in Endicott, $1,000 for performances by the Basically Bach Ensemble;
  • Summer Savoyards Inc,. $1,000 for a 2011 production of Patience (operetta by Gilbert & Sullivan);
  • Susan Rambo, $1,000 for the Window on the Arts Music & Art Festival in Windsor, and
  • Windsor Whipworks Art Center, $500 for Art Alliance marketing materials.
Major contributors to the BCAC’s United Cultural Fund include the Broome County government, the Hoyt Foundation, the Decker Foundation, the Gaffney Foundation and the M & T Charitable Foundation, as well IBM Corp. and other corporations, local businesses and individuals. For a complete list of BCAC donors, visit  www.bcartscouncil.com.

Well, that was the official press release. Now let’s, as they say, “talk amongst ourselves.” Are you a past recipient who can offer testimony to the value of these grants? Or are you a 2011 recipient anxious to provide details about the project? What do you have to say about the UCF grants? Post a comment, and join in our online conversation about the arts.