Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund

Overview | Eligibility & Process | Grant Recipients | FAQs | External Resources

2005 Recipients:

Alternate ROOTS
Atlanta Boy Choir
Atlanta Celebrates Photography
Cultural Arts Council of Douglasville/Douglas County
DeKalb Symphony Orchestra
Georgia Shakespeare
Madison-Morgan Cultural Center
Moving in the Spirit
Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (MOCA GA)

Click here for a listing of recipients from other years.

Alternate ROOTS (Link)
This 250-member organization of artists is dedicated to helping themselves and other Southeastern artists who are creating original work in, with, by, for and about communities. Alternate ROOTS provides grants to individual artists, workshops, performance festivals and residencies for artists; helps create distribution networks through touring and publication; and offers opportunities for enhanced visibility and financial stability. In 2003, Alternate ROOTS received an Arts Stabilization Toolbox award from the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund to develop a comprehensive three-year strategic plan. This plan determined that Alternate ROOTS' current staff of two could work much more effectively with the help of an administrative support person. A $50,000 grant from the Arts Fund will establish and support this new position for two years.

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Atlanta Boy Choir (Link)
Since 1957, the internationally known Atlanta Boy Choir has helped more than 3,000 boys from all economic and ethnic backgrounds develop a lifelong appreciation of music, self-discipline, respect for themselves and others, and leadership abilities. Just since 2000, the number of choristers has nearly doubled (to 120) and the number of choirs has increased from three to five. While this growth is a positive development, it has added considerable strain to the organization’s full-time artistic director and two part-time staff members. Atlanta Boy Choir is ready to add a new, full-time executive director to focus on fundraising, marketing and public relations activities that will help the Choir continue its growth. The Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund will help by providing a two-year, $75,000 grant to support the new executive director position.

^ Back To Listing ^

Atlanta Celebrate Photography (Link)
Atlanta Celebrates Photography (ACP) is perhaps best known as a festival, but it is also an organization dedicated to promoting education, networking and appreciation for the photographic arts in the Atlanta region. As the program grew in popularity and demand increased, its Board began to carefully plan and implement strategies for growth. To supplement the activities of its sole staff person, the executivedirector, ACP wishes to add a new staff position to concentrate on marketing and development efforts. A $60,000, two-year grant from the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund will help make this new position a reality.

^ Back To Listing ^

Cultural Arts Center of Douglasville/
Douglas County (Link)
This organization’s goal is to nurture, guide and stimulate the enjoyment of and participation in the arts among residents and visitors to Douglas County . The Council offers exhibits, classes, performances and meeting spaces in its Cultural Arts Center , the renovated historic Roberts/Mozley house in downtown Douglasville. It also takes art into the surrounding community, supporting 12 satellite arts groups and providing school-based and Center-based programs to more than 6,000 students each year. Located in one of the metro areas fastest growing cities, the Council is a hub for a growing amount of arts activity, and as a result the Cultural Arts Center is under pressure to expand. Using a $35,000 grant from the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund, the Council will hire a well-known architectural firm to create a master campus plan to expand and update its space. The Arts Fund grant will also fund a feasibility study in preparation for a capital campaign.

^ Back To Listing ^

DeKalb Symphony Orchestra (Link)
The DeKalb Symphony Orchestra (DSO) masterfully blends the talents of paid musicians and talented volunteers to produce at least 14 affordable, diverse concerts each year for more than 16,000 listeners in DeKalb County and beyond. The DSO has grown wisely over the past 41 years, thanks in part to a carefully crafted strategic plan funded by an Arts Stabilization Toolbox Grant in 2001. To date, the DSO’s music director has also played the role of executive director, dividing his time between artistic and administrative matters. DSO’s strategic plan calls for the division of artistic and administrative responsibilities through the addition of a full-time executive director position. A two year, $70,000 grant from the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund will help support that position as DSO works to cultivate other sources of funding that will cover the executive director’s salary in the future.

^ Back To Listing ^

Georgia Shakespeare (Link)
Georgia Shakespeare continually delights audiences with the excitement, mystery and fun of live theater. It also educates more than 35,000 children and adults about Shakespeare, playwriting and production, acting, and more through 12 different educational programs. While highly regarded, Georgia Shakespeare has faced escalating costs in recent years. Shakespearian productions require a larger-than-averagenumber of cast members, technicians and support staff for each production. And although happy with its current home in the Conant Performing Arts Center at Oglethorpe University, the company is limited to only 12 weeks of performances (and therefore only 12 weeks of ticket revenue) each year and must lease additional space for set and costume construction. Georgia Shakespeare has worked hard over the past several years to build new earned income mechanisms, but it must retire long-term debt to prepare for new opportunities for growth. The Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund grant of $50,000 will be used to help achieve this goal.

^ Back To Listing ^

Madison-Morgan Cultural Center (Link)
Located in Madison , Georgia , the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center (MMCC) offers permanent and temporary exhibitions, as well as performances, in a rare and impressive historic former school building. MMCC attracts more than 23,000 visitors each year and has nearly 900 members — in a county with a population of only 15,000. MMCC was savvy enough to build a $1.7 million operating endowment in the early 1980s and has done an admirable job of keeping operating expenses down while increasing revenues over the past three years. Now, however, its 109-year-old building is in need of renovation, particularly in the areas that house the visual art galleries. The costs of necessary upgrades to lighting and security, purchase of environmental monitoring equipment, painting and general construction are beyond the capacity of MMCC’s operating funds and require an additional infusion of capital. MMCC has raised approximately one-third of the nearly $90,000 needed for renovations to date, and a $35,000 grant from the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund will put the organization even closer to its goal.

^ Back To Listing ^

Moving in the Spirit (Link)
Moving in the Spirit (MITS) teaches Atlanta ’s urban young people (ages 3-19) commitment, accountability and responsibility through the art and discipline of dance. Perhaps most importantly, MITS gives its young participants a voice and a way to express themselves. This helps them to develop a positive self-image — often in the midst of challenging life circumstances. MITS is one of only two organizations in Georgia to be recognized by the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities as one of the top 50 youth development programs in the nation, an honor it has received for six consecutive years. In the wake of programmatic successes and growth, MITS also faces the challenge of increasing its fundraising efforts to support its expanding activities. For the first time ever, MITS will be able to hire a full-time development director with the help of a three-year, $75,000 grant from the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund. The development director will be able to strengthen MITS’ relationships with supporters, enhance marketing efforts, tap new sources of support and stabilize its funding for the long term.

^ Back To Listing ^

Museum of Contemporary Arts of Georgia (Link)
The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia ( MOCA GA ) showcases the work of Georgia artists and artists from around the world in an effort to promote the visual arts to diverse audiences. Its growing permanent collection includes more than 300 pieces and represents the work of 135 Georgia artists from the mid 1940s to present. Every exhibition is accompanied by educational programming, from curator talks to artist demonstrations, and the museum’s Education/Resource Center houses valuable archives of images, oral histories and more. As a relatively new institution (founded in 2000), MOCA GA recently transitioned from the support of a primary patron to a more diversified funding base that now allows it to be financially independent. However, in the transition, the organization accumulated a $50,000 balance on a line of credit. With a one-time $50,000 grant from the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund, MOCA GA will be able to eliminate this debt and direct its fundraising toward the ongoing support and growth of its programs.

^ Back To Listing ^

Learn More About Grants:

Grants Overview
Eligibility & Process
Frequently Asked Questions
External Resources


	Overview \| Eligibility & Process \| Grant Recipients \| FAQs \| External Resources 2005 Recipients: Alternate ROOTS Atlanta Boy Choir Atlanta Celebrates Photography Cultural Arts Council of Douglasville/Douglas County DeKalb Symphony Orchestra Georgia Shakespeare Madison-Morgan Cultural Center Moving in the Spirit Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (MOCA GA) Click here for a listing of recipients from other years. Alternate ROOTS (Link) This 250-member organization of artists is dedicated to helping themselves and other Southeastern artists who are creating original work in, with, by, for and about communities. Alternate ROOTS provides grants to individual artists, workshops, performance festivals and residencies for artists; helps create distribution networks through touring and publication; and offers opportunities for enhanced visibility and financial stability. In 2003, Alternate ROOTS received an Arts Stabilization Toolbox award from the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund to develop a comprehensive three-year strategic plan. This plan determined that Alternate ROOTS' current staff of two could work much more effectively with the help of an administrative support person. A $50,000 grant from the Arts Fund will establish and support this new position for two years. ^ Back To Listing ^ Atlanta Boy Choir (Link) Since 1957, the internationally known Atlanta Boy Choir has helped more than 3,000 boys from all economic and ethnic backgrounds develop a lifelong appreciation of music, self-discipline, respect for themselves and others, and leadership abilities. Just since 2000, the number of choristers has nearly doubled (to 120) and the number of choirs has increased from three to five. While this growth is a positive development, it has added considerable strain to the organization’s full-time artistic director and two part-time staff members. Atlanta Boy Choir is ready to add a new, full-time executive director to focus on fundraising, marketing and public relations activities that will help the Choir continue its growth. The Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund will help by providing a two-year, $75,000 grant to support the new executive director position. ^ Back To Listing ^ Atlanta Celebrate Photography (Link) Atlanta Celebrates Photography (ACP) is perhaps best known as a festival, but it is also an organization dedicated to promoting education, networking and appreciation for the photographic arts in the Atlanta region. As the program grew in popularity and demand increased, its Board began to carefully plan and implement strategies for growth. To supplement the activities of its sole staff person, the executivedirector, ACP wishes to add a new staff position to concentrate on marketing and development efforts. A $60,000, two-year grant from the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund will help make this new position a reality. ^ Back To Listing ^ Cultural Arts Center of Douglasville/ Douglas County (Link) This organization’s goal is to nurture, guide and stimulate the enjoyment of and participation in the arts among residents and visitors to Douglas County . The Council offers exhibits, classes, performances and meeting spaces in its Cultural Arts Center , the renovated historic Roberts/Mozley house in downtown Douglasville. It also takes art into the surrounding community, supporting 12 satellite arts groups and providing school-based and Center-based programs to more than 6,000 students each year. Located in one of the metro areas fastest growing cities, the Council is a hub for a growing amount of arts activity, and as a result the Cultural Arts Center is under pressure to expand. Using a $35,000 grant from the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund, the Council will hire a well-known architectural firm to create a master campus plan to expand and update its space. The Arts Fund grant will also fund a feasibility study in preparation for a capital campaign. ^ Back To Listing ^ DeKalb Symphony Orchestra (Link) The DeKalb Symphony Orchestra (DSO) masterfully blends the talents of paid musicians and talented volunteers to produce at least 14 affordable, diverse concerts each year for more than 16,000 listeners in DeKalb County and beyond. The DSO has grown wisely over the past 41 years, thanks in part to a carefully crafted strategic plan funded by an Arts Stabilization Toolbox Grant in 2001. To date, the DSO’s music director has also played the role of executive director, dividing his time between artistic and administrative matters. DSO’s strategic plan calls for the division of artistic and administrative responsibilities through the addition of a full-time executive director position. A two year, $70,000 grant from the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund will help support that position as DSO works to cultivate other sources of funding that will cover the executive director’s salary in the future. ^ Back To Listing ^ Georgia Shakespeare (Link) Georgia Shakespeare continually delights audiences with the excitement, mystery and fun of live theater. It also educates more than 35,000 children and adults about Shakespeare, playwriting and production, acting, and more through 12 different educational programs. While highly regarded, Georgia Shakespeare has faced escalating costs in recent years. Shakespearian productions require a larger-than-averagenumber of cast members, technicians and support staff for each production. And although happy with its current home in the Conant Performing Arts Center at Oglethorpe University, the company is limited to only 12 weeks of performances (and therefore only 12 weeks of ticket revenue) each year and must lease additional space for set and costume construction. Georgia Shakespeare has worked hard over the past several years to build new earned income mechanisms, but it must retire long-term debt to prepare for new opportunities for growth. The Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund grant of $50,000 will be used to help achieve this goal. ^ Back To Listing ^ Madison-Morgan Cultural Center (Link) Located in Madison , Georgia , the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center (MMCC) offers permanent and temporary exhibitions, as well as performances, in a rare and impressive historic former school building. MMCC attracts more than 23,000 visitors each year and has nearly 900 members — in a county with a population of only 15,000. MMCC was savvy enough to build a $1.7 million operating endowment in the early 1980s and has done an admirable job of keeping operating expenses down while increasing revenues over the past three years. Now, however, its 109-year-old building is in need of renovation, particularly in the areas that house the visual art galleries. The costs of necessary upgrades to lighting and security, purchase of environmental monitoring equipment, painting and general construction are beyond the capacity of MMCC’s operating funds and require an additional infusion of capital. MMCC has raised approximately one-third of the nearly $90,000 needed for renovations to date, and a $35,000 grant from the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund will put the organization even closer to its goal. ^ Back To Listing ^ Moving in the Spirit (Link) Moving in the Spirit (MITS) teaches Atlanta ’s urban young people (ages 3-19) commitment, accountability and responsibility through the art and discipline of dance. Perhaps most importantly, MITS gives its young participants a voice and a way to express themselves. This helps them to develop a positive self-image — often in the midst of challenging life circumstances. MITS is one of only two organizations in Georgia to be recognized by the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities as one of the top 50 youth development programs in the nation, an honor it has received for six consecutive years. In the wake of programmatic successes and growth, MITS also faces the challenge of increasing its fundraising efforts to support its expanding activities. For the first time ever, MITS will be able to hire a full-time development director with the help of a three-year, $75,000 grant from the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund. The development director will be able to strengthen MITS’ relationships with supporters, enhance marketing efforts, tap new sources of support and stabilize its funding for the long term. ^ Back To Listing ^ Museum of Contemporary Arts of Georgia (Link) The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia ( MOCA GA ) showcases the work of Georgia artists and artists from around the world in an effort to promote the visual arts to diverse audiences. Its growing permanent collection includes more than 300 pieces and represents the work of 135 Georgia artists from the mid 1940s to present. Every exhibition is accompanied by educational programming, from curator talks to artist demonstrations, and the museum’s Education/Resource Center houses valuable archives of images, oral histories and more. As a relatively new institution (founded in 2000), MOCA GA recently transitioned from the support of a primary patron to a more diversified funding base that now allows it to be financially independent. However, in the transition, the organization accumulated a $50,000 balance on a line of credit. With a one-time $50,000 grant from the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund, MOCA GA will be able to eliminate this debt and direct its fundraising toward the ongoing support and growth of its programs. ^ Back To Listing ^ Learn More About Grants: Grants Overview Eligibility & Process Frequently Asked Questions External Resources
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