HARTFORD, Conn. (March 1, 2010) - The Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism (CCT) announced that ninety-six arts organizations from across the state have received grants totaling $852,200 in earnings from the Connecticut Arts Endowment Fund. The Fund was established by the State Legislature in 1988 to stimulate the development of private sector funding resources and help stabilize arts institutions.

Interest earnings from the Arts Endowment Fund principal are distributed annually to eligible organizations. Non-profit organizations whose primary function is to create, perform, present or otherwise promote the visual, performing or literary arts in the state may apply for a share of the earnings. Awards are calculated based on a statutory formula which rewards organizations reporting a substantial increase in the amount of private sector contributions received in their most recently concluded fiscal year. Organizations may apply grant funds toward capital expenses, administrative costs, programming, or to build their own endowments.

The Arts Endowment Fund investments are managed by the Office of the State Treasurer.  Distribution of Fund proceeds is administered by CCT.

“Helping to sustain Connecticut’s nonprofit arts organizations, which contribute immeasurably to our state’s quality of life and economic well-being, is an important function of CCT,” said Karen Senich, the agency’s executive director. “The Endowment Fund has been a precious source of public funding that helps leverage substantial contributions from the private sector.”

The 96 organizations receiving awards are as follows:

Connecticut Arts Endowment Fund FY 2010 Distribution
Organization	Town	Grant
After School Arts Program	Washington Depot	$1,756
Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum	Ridgefield	$9,054
Amistad Center for Art & Culture	Hartford	$5,672
Arte	New Haven	$895
ARTFARM	Middletown	$1,781
Artists Collective	Hartford	$4,762
Arts Council of Greater New Haven	New Haven	$11,729
Artspace	New Haven	$2,081
Ballet School of Stamford	Stamford	$889
Bruce Museum	Greenwich	$12,980
Bushnell Center for Performing Arts	Hartford	$12,980
Center for Contemporary Printmaking	Norwalk	$22,864
Charter Oak Cultural Center	Hartford	$6,865
CONCORA	New Britain	$1,844
Connecticut Early Music Society	New London	$719
Connecticut Grand Opera & Orchestra	Stamford	$5,283
Connecticut Guitar Society	Hartford	$1,015
Connecticut Lyric Opera	New London	$754
Connecticut Storytelling Center	New London	$915
Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra	New Britain	$1,027
Creative Arts Workshop	New Haven	$4,683
Crescendo	Lakeville	$497
Curtain Call	Stamford	$2,461
Danbury Music Centre	Danbury	$2,029
Dandelion Productions (CT Free Shakespeare)	Bethany	$2,866
Eastern Connecticut Symphony	New London	$3,253
Eli Whitney Museum	Hamden	$2,476
Elm Shakespeare Company	New Haven	$5,167
Eugene O'Neill Theater Center	Waterford	$12,083
Fairfield Arts Council	Fairfield	$965
Fairfield County Chorale	Fairfield	$1,088
Fairfield Theatre Company	Fairfield	$2,381
Florence Griswold Museum	Old Lyme	$64,189
Garde Arts Center	New London	$12,344
Goodspeed Opera House	East Haddam	$47,140
Greater Bridgeport Symphony	Bridgeport	$5,572
Greater Hartford Arts Council	Hartford	$12,980
Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz	Hartford	$1,514
Greenwich Ballet Academy	Greenwich	$534
Greenwich Music Festival Company	Greenwich	$1,663
Greenwich Symphony Orchestra	Greenwich	$2,492
Guilford Art Center	Guilford	$1,490
HartBeat Ensemble	Hartford	$5,906
Hartford Children's Theatre	Hartford	$3,667
Hartford Chorale	Hartford	$3,028
Hartford Jazz Society	Hartford	$497
Hartford Stage	Hartford	$64,901
Hartford Symphony Orchestra	Hartford	$15,515
Hill-Stead Museum	Farmington	$7,582
Hygienic Art	New London	$2,690
Joyful Noise	Torrington	$4,657
Judy Dworin Performance Project	Hartford	$2,167
Levitt Pavilion for Performing Arts	Westport	$27,972
Little Theatre of Manchester	Manchester	$1,039
Long Wharf Theatre	New Haven	$64,901
Lyman Allyn Art Museum	New London	$6,808
Mark Twain House & Museum	Hartford	$55,979
Mattatuck Museum	Waterbury	$23,764
Music & Arts Center for Humanity	Bridgeport	$7,581
Music for Youth	Westport	$1,451
Music Mountain	Lakeville	$1,169
Mystic Art Center	Mystic	$2,725
National Theatre of the Deaf	West Hartford	$2,052
Neighborhood Music School	New Haven	$9,471
New Britain Museum of American Art	New Britain	$12,980
New Britain Symphony Orchestra	New Britain	$2,504
New England Carousel Museum	Bristol	$327
New Haven Ballet	New Haven	$394
New Haven Chorale	New Haven	$1,168
New Haven International Fest. Arts & Ideas	New Haven	$19,369
New Haven Symphony Orchestra	New Haven	$12,980
Norwalk Symphony Orchestra	Norwalk	$1,503
Norwalk Youth Symphony	Norwalk	$1,361
Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts	Torrington	$460
Oddfellows Playhouse	Middletown	$2,556
Original Works	Bridgeport	$1,396
Palace Theater	Waterbury	$8,834
Performing Arts of Northeast Connecticut	Pomfret	$670
Pilobolus	Washington Depot	$8,038
Pro Arte Chamber Singers of CT	Stamford	$849
Real Art Ways	Hartford	$8,607
Ridgefield Playhouse	Ridgefield	$13,905
Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra	Ridgefield	$5,418
Salt Marsh Opera	Stonington	$2,806
Seven Angels Theatre	Waterbury	$2,643
Shakespeare on the Sound	Norwalk	$7,587
Shakesperience Productions	Waterbury	$1,143
Shoreline Arts Alliance	Guilford	$2,233
Shubert Theater (CAPA)	New Haven	$5,706
Stamford Center for the Arts	Stamford	$33,044
Stamford Symphony Orchestra	Stamford	$9,161
Tri-State Center for the Arts	Sharon	$6,023
Warner Theater (Northwest CT Assn. Arts)	Torrington	$10,450
Westport Arts Center	Westport	$5,653
Westport Country Playhouse	Westport	$50,461
Young Audiences of Connecticut	Hamden	$717
	Total	$852,200

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About the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism

The Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism brings together tourism, history and the arts. Its mission is to preserve and promote Connecticut’s cultural and tourism assets in order to enhance the quality of life and economic vitality of the state. For more information, log on to www.cultureandtourism.org.

Contacts:

Karen Senich
Executive Director
Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism
(860) 256-2727 (Leigh Johnson)