Greensboro Symphony to get stimulus money
GREENSBORO — The Greensboro Symphony Orchestra will be able to keep two of its full-time staff jobs, thanks to $50,000 in federal stimulus money.
The symphony is among seven nonprofit arts organizations in North Carolina that will receive grants totaling $325,000 through the National Endowment for the Arts. The money comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The NEA received $50 million to preserve nonprofit arts jobs threatened by declines in support during the economic downturn.
The symphony and Triad Stage were the only groups in Guilford County eligible for direct NEA grants because they had received NEA funding in the past four years. Each had sought $50,000.
Triad Stage did not receive a grant, an NEA spokeswoman said.
The downtown professional theater had sought money to help keep four production positions. It will have to find other sources of funding to keep those staff members, said Steven Box, sales and marketing director.
Lisa Crawford, symphony president and CEO, called its grant “a big, big help.”
It will enable the symphony to maintain its full-time marketing director and education manager, two of its four full-time positions.
But more challenges are ahead, Crawford said.
The orchestra came up $52,000 short in balancing its budget for the fiscal year that ended May 31, despite cutting costs and a special fundraising campaign. Reserves covered the shortfall.
This fiscal year, it has a $1.8 million budget to balance.
“We are still holding our breath,” Crawford said. “Our corporate sponsors, playbill advertising, subscription sales — everything has to come together for us to balance the budget.”
Other state groups awarded grants are American Dance Festival in Durham, $50,000; EnergyXchange in Burnsville, $50,000; Museum of the New South in Charlotte, $50,000; North Carolina Dance Theatre in Charlotte, $50,000; North Carolina Folklife Institute in Durham, $25,000; and Penland School of Crafts in Penland, $50,000.
Statewide, the grants will help preserve jobs for 30 arts professionals, said Nancy Trovillion, deputy director of the North Carolina Arts Council.
Because it didn’t receive a direct NEA grant, Triad Stage is eligible to receive one through the state arts council, media relations manager Bridgette Lacy said.
The council received $339,100 in NEA stimulus money. It will award sub-grants ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 to preserve critical jobs and artists’ contracts.
Those grants will be announced in August.
Contact Dawn DeCwikiel-Kane at 373-5204 or dawn.kane@news-record.com
Accompanying Photos
Photo Caption: Dmitry Sitkovetsky conducts the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra.
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