Wheatland Music Organization is grateful for recent awarded grants that will help support some identified goals.
In June, an award valued at $1,000 from Arts Midwest was awarded to support attendance at the 2012 Midwest Arts Conference that took place in Grans Rapids, Michigan, September 12th -15 of 2012. Two representatives from Wheatland Music attended. For more information see www.artsmidwest.org.In October, the Outreach Fund of the Country Dance and Song Society (CDSS) of Easthampton, Massachusetts awarded $500 to help support contra dance instruction, training for beginning contra dance callers, and a rapper sword workshop at the 25th annual Traditional Arts Weekend scheduled for May 24-26, 2013. CDSS is a national leader in promoting participatory dance, music and song that have roots in English and North American culture. For more information see www.cdss.org
In November, Wheatland Music Organization was pleased to be awarded a $2,000 Mecosta County Community Foundation grant toward a project called “Saving Lives.” It includes the purchase and installation of a new automatic external defibrillator (AED) unit in the Gladys Wernette Building where activities occur throughout the year. Wheatland is grateful for their assistance in being proactive and prepared for cardiac incidents – as every minute counts! For more information see www.mecostagives.com.
In December, Wheatland was named a recipient of a Program for Operational and Project Support or POPS grant toward a project called CARRY IT ON! This nine month 2013 activity is supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts. The $15,000 grant will be used to help support training and workshops, a new choreographed work, four generations of Michigan dancers in training as well as professional dancers and musicians from across the country, and culminating in a multi-disciplinary production to be premiered at the 2013 40th anniversary Wheatland festival. For more information see www.michiganadvantage.org/Arts.
In December, Wheatland was named a recipient of a Professional and Organizational Development $1,500 grant designed to help arts organizations acquire services or skills to strengthen the administrative infrastructure. The grant will be used to secure a web consultant to conduct an analysis, propose an action plan to build aesthetics, efficiencies, more user friendly ways of accessing information while building the skills of the staff and volunteers charged with publicity. The grant was administered by LowellArts! as Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs’ Region 8 representative. For more information seewww.lowellartsmi.org.
