National Endowment of the Arts awards $10,000 grant to Lake County Arts Collaborative
LAKE COUNTY >> The Lake County Arts Consortium ( LCAC), the Lake County Rural Arts Initiative (LCRAI) and the Middletown Arts Center ( MAC) recenlty collaborated to receive a $10,000 Challenge America grant from the National Endowment of the Arts.
LCAC Executive Director Barbara Clark said that the grant’s purpose is to “support a collaborative marketing campaign to promote arts activities in Lake County.” Clark wrote the grant on behalf of the three agencies and said that the grant runs from January through December of this year. She went on to say that a match of $10,000 was required in order to receive the grant.
Bicoastal Media, the County of Lake, the Lake County Chamber of Commerce and the Lake County Wine Alliance contributed a total of $2,700 matching funds. MAC donated an inkind cost of $2,100 for a videographer. LCRAI provided a cash match of $4,000 and the rest of the match, totaling $1,200 was provided by LCAC for in-kind services to manage the grant.
Clark emphasized that this grant is a true collaborative and any potential changes will be discussed by all parties involved. LCAC’s part of the grant is to provide management services and oversee the budget. Clark said she plans to visit other organizations, both inside and outside of Lake County, in order to inform them about what Lake County has to offer. She added that she also plans to place advertisements in visitor centers, create print and radio ads and utilize the power of online marketing tools, all to promote Lake County as an arts destination.
Martha Mincer, board member and one of the founders of LCRAI, said that she was very pleased that the grant was successful and looked forward to further collaboration with LCAC and MAC. Mincer said that one of LCRAI’s major initiatives is to promote Lake County as an arts destination and the intention of this grant is a perfect fit. Kim Lewis, board member and webmaster, said that LCRAI’s part of the grant is to create and promote an events calendar for any art-based activity happening in Lake County. The site is “live” now and can be found at artslakecounty.org. LCRAI’s plan, according to Lewis, is to “embed the calendar into multiple online websites and resources throughout the County and beyond”. Clark said that LCAC and MAC have already embedded the events calendar into their websites, for the first time providing one calendar for locals and tourists to find any art events happening in Lake County. Lewis said that the calendar is interactive and organizations can input their events through a submission form. Mincer said “We’re trying to help all artists in Lake County get recognized”.
Lisa Kaplan, director of MAC, said that MAC will be “creating a video that highlights a variety of Lake County’s many arts offerings”. She is also looking forward to collaborating with the other two organizations.