“In Our Neighborhood” Grant Program

Last year CultureSource and the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation worked to launch the “In Our Neighborhood” grant program, which aspired to support arts and culture projects in Washtenaw County “neighborhoods”, and have a positive impact on the local economy. The Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation is particularly interested in “neighborhoods” of geography, identity, or affinity, that exist outside of the dominant narrative of arts and culture in Washtenaw County.

The 2018 In Our Neighborhood grant award winners were:

• Youth Arts Alliance: Workshops and Camps for Young Cultural Leaders, offering restorative opportunities to artists transitioning from the juvenile justice system as artistic educators of their younger peers.
• Ballet Chelsea: “Adaptive Dance Program,”promoting the enjoyment of dance for those with physical, mental and cognitive disabilities through performances, workshops, and classes, while engaging the wider community to see that dance is possible for everyone irrespective of age and ability.
• Julie Quiroz, Maria Ibarra, Desiraé Simmons, Catalina Rios, and Tanya Reza: “Untold Stories of Liberation and Love,”a network-based participatory narrative & culture shift project that gathers local women of color in collective creativity through community workshops, readings, and creation of an Anthology of Untold Stories by Washtenaw women writers and artists of color.
• Yen and Nick Azzaro, in partnership with students at Ypsilanti Community Schools: “Y-Fi: Amplifying Voice with Fidelity,”Citywide art happenings in Ypsilanti that speak to the social, racial, economic, and other themes in the students’ lives. A website with live streaming, video, and photography by the students will document and share the happenings.

The program went so well that a second round of funding is now open!

The foundation invites proposals from interested individuals and nonprofits for ideas and projects that support arts and culture projects in your “neighborhood” and have a positive impact on the local economy. AAACF is particularly interested in “neighborhoods” that exist outside of the dominant narrative of Arts and Culture in Washtenaw County. CultureSource is again helping the foundation roll out this program and support grant award winners.

We hope you will be able to attend one of the four information sessions in the coming weeks. Attendance at an information session is not required in order to submit a proposal, though it is highly recommended.

Information Session 2: Thursday, October 17 from 10:00-11:30am
Ypsilanti District Library (Whitaker Location)
5577 Whittaker Rd, Ypsilanti

Information Session 3: Saturday, October 19 from 11:00-12:30pm
The Back Office Studio – Tucker’s Garage Room
13 N. Washington St., Ypsilanti

Information Session 4: Tuesday, October 29 from 10:30-12:00pm
Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation Offices – 301 N. Main St, Ste. 300, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(On the northwest corner of Miller and Main Streets, with the entrance on Miller.)

Good luck and please feel free to be in touch with me, Jane Linn, if you have any questions: [email protected] or (313) 831-1151.