Art For All Grant Awards $11,450 to Local Nonprofits

A ceramics workshop creates confidence in a mother recovering from substance use disorder. A jingle dress-making class empowers a girl to explore her Indigenous heritage. A drum circle inspires an at-risk teen to finish high school.

These are some of the expected outcomes that will soon be a reality at six local human service-focused nonprofit organizations, thanks to $11,450 in grants awarded by The Arts Partnership through its Art for All grant program.

Art for All Grants are funded by Choice Bank, a longstanding supporter of local arts in the Metro. Awardees received funding anywhere from $750 to $1,750 to initiate art-focused projects that positively impact their clients. The grantees are a diverse group in terms of mission, populations served, size, and length of time they have been serving the area. Nearly all the program applicants directly serve underserved audiences, including those who qualify for financial aid.

Tania Blanich, executive director of The Arts Partnership, said, “The organizations receiving funding have recognized the healing powers that the arts possess and these grants can help them incorporate the arts into the important, mission-driven work they do.”

For Choice Bank, the inaugural funder for these grants, this program is a natural extension of their core value to “Better the places we live.” The goal of The Arts Partnership is for additional businesses in the community to join Choice Bank in supporting the arts community.

“We are proud to support initiatives that bring the transformative power of the arts to those who need it most,” said Eddie Sheeley, Fargo Market President at Choice Bank. “These grants not only enrich the lives of individuals but also strengthen the fabric of our community. We look forward to seeing the positive impact these projects will have on the participants and the broader community.”

Awardees

• Boys and Girls Clubs of the Red River Valley: $1,750 to give youth attending the Boys & Girls Clubs’ summer programming an opportunity to experience a live performing arts production.
• ESHARA (Ethnic Self-Help Alliance for Refugees Assistance): $1,750 toward costs for the Somali Culture Festival, featuring Somali American artists and culture bearers, providing a unique opportunity for cross-cultural learning and relationship building.
• Indigenous Legacy: $1,750 toward a project to allow Indigenous youth the opportunity to create traditional items, such as jingle dresses and hand drums, working with Indigenous elders.
• Lake Agassiz Habitat for Humanity: $1,750 to provide families moving into a new house with a watercolor painting by a local artist of the home to acknowledge how the families’ lives have changed.
• New American Consortium for Wellness and Empowerment: $1,750 to engage immigrant youth, aged 12 to 15, in photography, storytelling, spoken word, and written poetry as part of the organization’s Behavioral Health Wellness program.
• Red River Human Services Foundation: $950 toward supplies for weekly ceramic classes for people with intellectual disabilities, adapted for the individual needs of each participant.

The Arts Partnership (TAP) cultivates community through the arts. Founded in 1970, TAP is a nonprofit arts organization that supports the endeavors of arts organizations and artists in the communities of Fargo and West Fargo, ND, and Moorhead, MN. TAP propels its vision by communicating about the arts, advocating for the arts, and providing funding and other support to artists and organizations that make our community a vibrant place to live, work, and play. Contact communications@theartspartnership.net for more information.