Commission awards $22K grant to Yuma Art Center

The Arizona Commission on the Arts is awarding a $22,000 Community Investment Grant to the Yuma Art Center, as part of a $2.65 million allocation from the state’s budget to boost arts and culture throughout Arizona.

The Yuma Art Center, located at 250 S. Main St., will use the grant funding in active support of its mission: to provide artistic opportunities and programs to the Yuma community.

Derived from the interest that accrued on Arizona’s Rainy Day Fund, the $2 million allocation was approved in May as part of the state’s $10.4 billion fiscal year 2019 budget. The ACA is awarding 233 grants to arts organizations, festivals and programs throughout Arizona this month.

More than $52,000 in grants will go to arts organizations and programs in the region, including the Yuma Art Center.

“This strong fiscal recognition from the state proves that the arts are a meaningful investment in Yuma,” said Lindsay Benacka, the Yuma Art Center’s arts and culture program manager. “We are honored to receive this significant amount of funding from the Arizona Commission on the Arts and feel it recognizes the impact we have in our community. Over the past few years the Yuma Art Center has seen rapid growth in annual attendance, classes, programs and special events and it is because we serve a community that is hungry and supportive of the arts.”

The Yuma Art Center is receiving the maximum amount for an organization of its level, which is nearly double the amount of funding received in the most recent two grant cycles.