Mayor Brown Announces Recipients Of Cultural And Antiviolence Funding Awards

October 1, 2014 – Mayor Byron Brown today announced the awards for the Common Council and Mayor’s Cultural and Antiviolence Grant Funding Program.  The $200,000 allocation will help further support 66 of the city’s dynamic cultural and antiviolence organizations, enabling them to continue or expand in order to ensure that city residents reap the benefits of enhanced programming.

“Buffalo is entering a new era of opportunity and by continuing to bolster cultural and anti-violence programming within the city, we will further strengthen our great neighborhoods and artistic assets that make Buffalo a great place to live, work and invest,” said Mayor Brown. “Today’s awardees are a vital part of the community, enriching and strengthening our neighborhoods through their presence and their work.”

Grant funding will be awarded to those organizations whose applications are deemed most meritorious, with the goal of maximizing positive community impact. Under no circumstances will an organization receive grant funding in an amount greater than $7,500.

“Cultural and anti-violence organizations enrich our entire city by their presence and hard work,” said Council President Darius Pridgen.  “By continuing to further support the promotion and expansion of the city’s dynamic cultural and anti-violence programming, we will allow this good work to continue for the benefit of all city residents.”

In total, 66 eligible organizations submitted proposals to the City of Buffalo after Mayor Brown and the Common Council issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) in June 2014. 48 cultural and 18 antiviolence organizations submitted applications. Upon extensive review, a panel unanimously decided to award some amount of funding to each eligible applicant.  This funding award program is a competitive selection process; the work of each applicant is reviewed carefully by the panel each year.

Grant amounts were determined based on factors including, but not limited to, program budget information, the target community to be served and the need within that community for enhanced programming, the extent of the organization’s past collaborations with other non-profits, and the quality of the programming itself.

The cultural and antiviolence funding budget had previously been set at $200,000, as designated in this fiscal year’s adopted budget, and the panel was able to award the entire amount to highly qualified organizations.  Individual grants ranged from $500 to $7,500 and will make a considerable difference in the programming efforts of these organizations, as evidenced by the outpouring of gratitude each organization demonstrated upon hearing of their grant awards.