CAC Match Fund Supports 18 Projects, Reaches More Residents
CLEVELAND (September 16, 2019) – Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) has awarded $50,000 in matching funds to 18 community arts organizations through ioby (in our backyards). Cuyahoga Arts & Culture piloted a partnership with ioby to provide 1:1 matching funds up to $5,000 on ioby crowdfunding campaigns that aimed to bring arts and culture to Cuyahoga County residents.
The Cuyahoga Arts & Culture Match Fund was open to individuals, artists, informal groups of residents, and nonprofits making our county more vibrant and creative. The CAC board approved the funding at the February 2019 board meeting, and the program launched in April.
Examples of funded projects include:
- Rec-It, which works with youth to create anti-bullying music videos.
- Garden Valley Neighborhood Center (GVNC), which trained youth to participate in the production of a documentary highlighting the rebirth of the Garden Valley Neighborhood Center and to use the media pieces as a sustainable fundraiser for the center.
- Never, Ever Give Up – CLE, which collects one-page, handwritten, anonymous stories from folks in Northeast Ohio all answering the question: What is the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do? The project shares all the stories on its Instagram account.
“We were excited by the response from residents and surprised how quickly we exhausted our matching funds. The enthusiasm for the program demonstrates there’s a need for small-scale funding for meaningful work that’s led by residents who are responding to needs in their communities,” said Jill M. Paulsen, interim CEO + executive director of Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. “By partnering with ioby, we were able to get dollars into the hands of artists and grassroots organizations, but also help them build their long-term fundraising capacity and to build a donor base to fund their future work.”
Dawn Arrington, ioby Cleveland’s action strategist, said the partnership with CAC was one of ioby’s largest match funds. “We have taken CAC’s $50,000 investment and helped neighbors and organizations leverage that into $102,580 and counting in total funding. These are local projects, from local artists, that benefit residents in their communities. We’re excited to be part of that,” she said.
Although the CAC matching funds are exhausted, several projects still seek crowdfunding donations. To learn more about the CAC-funded projects and to view projects that still need funding, visit ioby.org/cac.
ioby is a nonprofit crowdfunding platform that gives neighbors the training and support they need to crowdfund successfully in their communities and make our neighborhoods healthier, greener, more livable, and more fun. Projects that crowdfund on ioby can collect tax-deductible donations, look for volunteers, and receive one-on-one fundraising coaching. Learn more at ioby.org.
Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) is one of the largest local public funders for arts and culture in the nation, helping hundreds of organizations in Cuyahoga County connect millions of people to cultural experiences each year. Since 2006, CAC has invested more than $182 million in more than 400 organizations, making our community a more vibrant place to live, work and play. For more information, visit cacgrants.org.
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CAC Staff