JUNE 2021

Arcade Comedy Theater (Allegheny) – $25,000 – To better serve new and existing theater community members of color via DEAI consultants and the new Manager of New Programming.

Barebones Productions (Allegheny) – $25,000 – To make the necessary upgrades to HVAC system to reopen the theater safely.

SLB Radio Productions (Allegheny) – $25,000 – To make website more equitable by removing inadvertent bottlenecks for users without high-end computers, thus improving access and equity for all.

Steeltown Entertainment (Allegheny) – $21,000 – To expand reach with disciplined and creative marketing and fundraising to support creating an equitable path to a more diverse film industry.

Assemble (Allegheny) – $10,000 – To help overcome the digital divide by providing laptops to youth in our programs and their homes.

Slowdanger (Allegheny) – $2,110 – To purchase equipment to sustain prolonged digital engagement and production.

MAY 2021

Neighborhood North Museum of Play (Beaver) – $23,250 – To create playful learning in community spaces that engage children and parents or guardians in learning new reading and math skills wherever they are.

Hiawatha Project (Allegheny) – $23,126 – To purchase projection equipment that will increase Hiawatha Project’s touring marketability in a COVID-19 conscious theater industry.

Pittsburgh Area Cooperative of Theaters (Allegheny) – $20,000 – To support Pittsburgh Area Cooperative of Theatres in sharing resources and training to build more equitable community theatres.

Texture Contemporary Ballet (Allegheny) – $6,100 – Purchase a marley floor, traditional flooring used for dance, and vital for dancing en pointe.

APRIL 2021

The Union Project (Allegheny) – $25,000 – To hire ArtsPool to consult with AFC member organizations on a shared services model that benefits small to midsize arts organizations in Pittsburgh.

The Genesis Collective (Beaver) – $24,882 – To strengthen the arts sector and increase its diversity by building an artist network and providing resources to creators in Beaver County.

Kente Arts Alliance (Allegheny) – $16,765 – To begin the process of rolling out a program highlighting African American artists after a year-long shutdown due to COVID-19.

Sabira Cole Film Festival (Allegheny) – $10,000 – To engage Pittsburgh’s BIPOC filmmakers to submit to SCFF’s juried film competition and attract diverse audiences to our screenings.

Funsch Dance Experience (Butler) – $3,000 – To purchase a laptop computer, video camera, and consultants to assist with our live-streaming event scheduled for May 22, 2021.

MARCH 2021

Daisy Wilson Artist Community/August Wilson House  (Allegheny) – $25,000 – To stabilize August Wilson House and build capacity in a post Covid-19 environment to insure maximum community impact when the August Wilson House doors open in 2022.

Keystone State Music Theater Association (Butler) – $25,000 – To create an outdoor stage to hold events and classes that increase capacity.

25 Carrick Ave Project / Community Cohort (Allegheny) – $14,420 – Our program is geared to decrease the events industry’s racial and gender inequalities by providing training and entry level employment.

Met Opera National Council (MONC) Pittsburgh (Allegheny) – $8,500 – To virtually provide and produce fundraising events to attract new donors, re-engage existing donors, and to facilitate the processes involved.

Shana Simmons Dance (Allegheny) – $7,900 – To support diversity and inclusion training for company and board members, supporting speaker series with experts, and supporting board development.

South Park Theatre (Allegheny) – $7,000 – To increase capacity of the outdoor stage by supporting equipment and structural upgrades and expansions.

Gallery on Gazebo (Cambria) – $6,000 – To re-brand and introduce Gallery on Gazebo as a vibrant and relevant entity in Downtown Johnstown, with energy reaching out to include others.

FEBRUARY 2021

Bunker Projects (Allegheny) – $25,000 – To engage with a fundraising consultant to help meet financial demands that have arisen due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Handmade Arcade (Allegheny) – $25,000 – To hire consultant(s) to do an organizational assessment and create a strategic plan for Handmade Arcade’s year-round sustainability.

The Tull Family Theater (Allegheny) – $18,000 – To maintain and expand existing technology for reemerging activities and obtain financial expertise to receive federal funding through Shuttered Venues Act.

Geyer Performing Arts Center (Westmoreland) – $10,000 – To recreate our arts education program to be a robust, pandemic-proof program that is sustainable and increases BIPOC inclusion and participation.

Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra (Westmoreland) – $9,500 – To develop new strategies and improve our ability to sell digital tickets to our digital concert series.

The Battle of Homestead Foundation (Allegheny) – $9,100 – To complete an urgent website upgrade to help deliver online programs and associated online marketing due to pandemic-required program shifts.

Incidental Chamber Players (Allegheny) – $4,480 – To present the Elements concert series online and reach a wider audience.

JANUARY 2021

PICT Classic Theatre (Allegheny) – $25,000 – To hire a dramaturg of color to support our content leading into our 25th season and fund necessary anti-racism training.

The Legacy Arts Project (Allegheny) – $22,000 – To create a strategic plan that incorporates the input of the Legacy community and provides clarity for moving the organization forward post pandemic.

Associated Artists of Pittsburgh for SPACE (Allegheny) – $16,500 – To support the Small Pittsburgh Arts Coalition for Equity (SPACE) in sharing resources and fostering collaborations to become more equitable and sustainable.

Society to Preserve Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka (Allegheny) – $16,350 – To create VR360 video of the Vanka Murals for earned revenue, and to enhance current programming and increase accessibility.

Community Theater Project Corporation (Kelly-Strayhorn Theater) (Allegheny) – $15,000 – To increase staff capacity and improve performance through new computer system not upgraded since 2011.

PearlArts Studios (Allegheny) – $13,000 – Equipment to boost online programming and tools for donor management to leverage donors gained during the pandemic.

DECEMBER 2020

Hatch Arts (Allegheny) – $25,000 – Upgrades to assist in converting planned theater programming to a safe, partially- or fully-digital model.

Balafon West African Dance Ensemble (Allegheny) – $14,028 – To acquire technology, training, and consulting needed to develop virtual programming and improve online learning materials, content and marketing.

Casey Droege Cultural Productions (Allegheny) – $10,974 – To bolster and streamline our online presence for our organization and contributing artists. 

Creative Citizen Studios (Allegheny) – $10,000 – To create a sustainable fundraising and development plan for the next 2 years of operations.

When She Thrives (Allegheny) – $10,000 – To support continued efforts to reach sustainability and ensure African American single mothers can share their stories.

International Free Expression Project (Allegheny) – $9,500 – To re-launch website to display online performances, forums and exhibitions, and to build audiences via social media. 

Washington Symphonic Orchestra (Washington) – $7,300 – To incorporate archival footage into new performance videos that can be distributed online in lieu of in-person performances.

Little Lake Theatre (Washington) – $7,000 – For board diversification consultants to assist in developing our community diversity initiatives.

Chamber Music Pittsburgh (Allegheny) – $5,500 – To produce high-quality, in house content for virtual concerts and promotion to provide excellent, cost-saving, capacity building opportunities.

NOVEMBER 2020

Washington County Historical Society (Washington) – $18,000 – To acquire necessary video camera equipment, microphones, and video editing software) to expand video programming in lieu of in-person events.

Fine Art Miracles (Allegheny) – $16,500 – To accelerate transformation from a solely ‘on-site’ business model to a hybrid ‘on-demand’ model to serve clients.

Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks (Allegheny) – $15,000 – To purchase new equipment such as a dedicated laptop, new printer, and upgraded marketing platform subscriptions.

Prime Stage Theatre (Allegheny) – $12,000 – To purchase software and hire a technology consultant to ensure best practices and implementation of remote performances and educational programming.

WZUM (Pittsburgh Public Media) (Allegheny) – $12,000 – To pay for database management software and training to improve communication with members and donors.

RealTime Interventions (Allegheny) – $11,000 – To better understand and serve audiences’ changing needs through assessment and equipment while staying financially afloat. 

Artsmiths of Pittsburgh Arts & Cultural Center (Allegheny) – $8,725 – To increase marketing capacity to increase holiday sales to offset the loss of revenue from Covid19.

Indiana Arts Council (Indiana) – $7,498 – To move traditional face-to-face programming into a modern, digital environment.

Renaissance City Choir (Allegheny) – $5,900 – To develop and deploy online outreach education for our members and community, and to commission a work to highlight inclusion and justice.

Pittsburgh Savoyards (Allegheny) – $5,500 – To enable artists to teach online classes from an established performance work space.

OCTOBER 2020

Alumni Theatre Company (Allegheny) – $23,500 – To contract with DRE|media and PR Specialist Sahaar Lyles to professionally record and digitally distribute 11 projects.

Arcade Comedy Theater (Allegheny) – $23,000 – To support the hiring of consultants to improve Arcade’s DEAI initiatives and better serve new and existing theater community members of color.

Radiant Hall Studios (Allegheny) – $23,000 – To hire a professional fundraising consultant to help redefine fundraising strategy and support development efforts in 2021.

Open Up (Allegheny) – $20,000 – To develop ADA compliant and inclusive virtual spaces for social skills and community building activities through improvisational theater games.

Shana Simmons Dance (Allegheny)  – $10,500 – To enhance the quality of SSD films and continue serving people through art during Covid, while establishing Simmons as a dance-for-film choreographer.

SEPTEMBER 2020

Radioactive Events Center (Armstrong) – $20,000 – To purchase new equipment for producing and streaming live video.

Write Pittsburgh (Allegheny) – $20,000 – To develop a virtual program that serves young writers with a strategy of inclusive, accessible tools and methods, with trainings for our team.

Style 412 (Allegheny) – $14,500 – To create a digital showroom platform for local artists in the fashion space to share + sell their garments.

Pittsburgh Festival Orchestra (Allegheny) – $5,500 – To increase ability to market, stay technologically current, and render a safe performance space.

You Are Here (Westmoreland) – $1,000 – To purchase roll up plexiglass shields to facilitate safe distancing to reconfigure space as needed for classes, visitors and other small events.