Funding to Strengthen Organizational Capacity of 16 Diverse Arts Organizations Statewide

 

TRENTON, N.J. – Advancing its ongoing commitment to ensuring a stable and healthy cultural industry, the New Jersey Cultural Trust has announced $541,427 in FY 2023 Institutional and Financial Stabilization grant awards to 16 qualified arts organizations statewide. The Cultural Trust Board voted to approve these awards at an open public meeting held virtually on January 23, 2023. With the FY 2023 awards, the Cultural Trust has now awarded over $9.6 million in funding for financial stabilization and historic preservation projects across New Jersey to date.

“The work of the New Jersey Cultural Trust is critical to maintaining New Jersey’s celebrated cultural and creative industry,” said New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way. “Financially and operationally stable cultural organizations are the ones that have the capacity to contribute the most to their communities. Especially in such unpredictable times, we are proud that the Cultural Trust is able to make these essential, focused investments in the sustainability of our state’s cultural assets."

Unique among the other grant programs within the Department of State, Cultural Trust grant funding is not the result of a direct budget appropriation, but rather derives from the interest earnings accrued annually by the Trust Fund, which was created by the Cultural Trust Act of 2000. The purpose of the legislation was to provide an additional, permanent funding source for arts, history, and cultural institutions, with a concentration on initiatives that build long-term resilience.

Pursuant to the Cultural Trust Act, annual Cultural Trust grants are awarded following a third-party, independent peer review process by qualified persons employing uniform evaluation criteria. Awards are based on recommendations from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, New Jersey Historical Commission, and the New Jersey Historic Trust.

For FY 2023, recommendations were made by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Awards of up to $40,000 were available for projects that addressed the financial, operational, and capacity challenges that have a significant impact on organizations’ ability to serve their communities. Eligible projects for consideration included proposals for deficit reduction, capacity building, establishing working capital, establishing cash reserves, strategic planning, professional development, and technological advancements, among others.

To learn more about the work of the New Jersey Cultural Trust, visit nj.gov/state/culturaltrust/.

To learn more about the varied programs and services under the purview of the Department of State, visit www.state.nj.us/state/.

The FY 2023 Cultural Trust Institutional and Financial Stabilization grant recipients are listed below:

Organization	Project	Town/City	County	Award Amount
Algonquin Arts	Cash reserve	Manasquan	Monmouth County	$40,000
Appel Farm Arts and Music Center	Technology upgrade	Elmer	Salem County	$40,000
Camden FireWorks, Inc.	Cash reserve	Camden	Camden County	$40,000
Camden Repertory Theater	Cash reserve	Camden	Camden County	$40,000
coLAB Arts	New staff position	New Brunswick	Middlesex County	$31,200
Jazz House Kids	Capital campaign and fundraising planning	Montclair	Essex County	$36,000
John Walter Cape Community Band	Technology upgrade	North Wildwood	Cape May County	$13,846
New Jersey Arts Education Partnership	Strategic planning	Burlington	Burlington County	$37,000
New Jersey Performing Arts Center	New staff position	Newark	Essex County	$40,000
New Jersey Repertory Company	Technology upgrade	Long Branch	Monmouth County	$16,421
New Jersey Theatre Alliance	New staff position	Allenhurst	Morris County	$40,000
North Jersey Concert Band, Inc.	Equipment purchase	Oakland	Bergen County	$14,960
South Street Theater/The Community Theatre	Technology upgrade	Morristown	Morris County	$40,000
Symphony in C	Diversity, equity, and inclusion planning	Collingswood	Camden County	$32,000
Trenton Music Makers	Equipment purchase	Trenton	Mercer County	$40,000
Vanguard Theater Company	Cash reserve	Montclair	Essex County	$40,000