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Northwest Folklife Receives Grant from National Endowment of the Arts

Posted December 15, 2009 by Molly Haas

Northwest Folklife Receives Grant from National Endowment of the Arts

Seattle, July 10, 2009—Northwest Folklife is among the 20 nonprofit arts organizations in Washington state to receive a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The NEA recognizes the impact of the current economic recession on nonprofits and will award nearly $30 million to 631 organizations nation-wide who will apply the funding toward the retention or creation of jobs in the arts. Northwest Folklife will use the $50,000 grant to improve existing programs and create new opportunities through the rehiring of a full-time Outreach Coordinator.

Northwest Folklife is a year-round organization whose influence within the Pacific Northwest region encompasses more than just the annual Folklife Festival, its largest and most recognized event. The Outreach Coordinator will manage the existing Rhythm and Moves afterschool program, which provides newly immigrated secondary school students with opportunities to express themselves through music and dance while building self-esteem. This program could not have been continued without a dedicated staff member to coordinate it. Northwest Folklife will build upon this program’s success and plan new, mission-driven projects to help the organization develop and grow.

The Outreach Coordinator will help strengthen Northwest Folklife’s existing relationships within local ethnic and cultural groups and forge new ones with communities the organization has yet to reach. The funding from the NEA comes at a particularly opportune time as the 2010 Northwest Folklife Festival will focus on the concept of community. The Outreach Coordinator joins other programming department staff in doing fieldwork within the more than 60 ethnic and cultural communities already featured at the Festival and in exploring communities that are underrepresented or not represented at all. “The ARRA grant funds are an encouraging recognition of Northwest Folklife’s worth in our community and a tremendous boon to the ongoing work of the organization,” says Robert Townsend, Executive Director. “Bringing back our Outreach Coordinator enables us to engage more meaningfully with the rich diversity of the local communities with whom we collaborate.”

The Board of Directors and staff of Northwest Folklife thank the National Endowment for the Arts for their generous funding. The awarding of the NEA grant coupled with the recently received $50,000 allocation for the second year of our Paul G. Allen Family Foundation grant award will further enable Northwest Folklife to carry out its mission of creating opportunities for individuals and communities of the Pacific Northwest to celebrate, share and sustain the vitality of folk, ethnic and traditional arts for present and future generations.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Volunteer Applications Online Now!

Here's what's coming up:

March 19, 7:30: Birth DIY Fest at the VERA Project, sponsored by Northwest Folklife
March 20, 2:00PM-4:00PM: Accordi-O-Rama III at Town Hall, presented by Town Hall Seattle and Northwest Folklife
March 21: Folklife Presents at the Tractor Tavern - featuring Clinton Fearon!
April 23: Folklife Masters featuring Kane Mathis and Mirah at Empty Sea Studios
May 28-31: The 39th Annual Northwest Folklife Festival at Seattle Center
November 13: 2nd Annual A Night for Folklife, a benefit for Northwest Folklife

This calendar is reserved for events hosted, presented, or sponsored by Northwest Folklife or events that benefit our organization. To post community events please visit our Forums.