Arts and Culture Trust Fund committee reports $1.06 million in cycle-2 awards, outreach and accessibility efforts

Committee members from the Jersey City Arts and Culture Trust Fund presented a summary of Cycle 2 grant awards and outreach efforts to the municipal council.

Elizabeth Phillips Lorenzo, chair of the Trust Fund committee, said Cycle 2 covers July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, and that the committee increased outreach to applicants across all wards. The fund distributed $1,063,484 in Cycle 2 awards, an increase of more than $200,000 over Cycle 1, the committee said.

Sandy Martini, committee secretary, reported that the Trust Fund awarded $414,996 in general operating grants to 19 Jersey City-based arts organizations (average grant $21,841), 84% of which offer arts-education programming. The committee said those 19 grantees reached approximately 244,000 people in person through funded programs.

The committee awarded $548,488 to 49 program and arts-education grantees — a 72% increase over the prior cycle — with average awards of $11,193 and reported in-person reach of about 30,000 people and an additional 11,000 online.

The Jersey City Arts Council administered $100,000 in individual artist fellowships (20 awards of $5,000 each) as part of the fund; the committee said 80% of the fellowship grantees used the awards for new works and 50% used funds to pay other artists or collaborators. Committee members noted accessibility efforts including training, multilingual application materials, library computer access, and office hours to increase participation across wards.

Committee members encouraged residents to apply for future cycles and to volunteer for the independent grant-review panels.

(Ending) Committee members said the third cycle has just closed and the council will receive its report soon; they also invited residents to self-nominate to serve on the committee or volunteer as reviewers.