ORLANDO, Fla. — Funding for the arts tends to end up on the chopping block, but Orange County commissioners votes to continue the investment through a grant program.
What You Need To Know
Orange County commissioners approved a $5.16 million grant for arts and culture groups
39 organizations will receive the money, up to $190,000
The grant is funded through the Tourist Development Tax and given to groups who bring tourists into Orange County
This week, commissioners approved a $5.16 million (exact number $5,164,747) grant funded through the Tourist Development Tax (TDT) for arts and culture groups in the county.
Vicki Landon, an administrator with the county’s Arts and Cultural Affairs office, said last year they distributed $4.6 million.
“Orange County really continues to be a leader in public funding for the arts at a time when other public funding sources are really uncertain,” said Landon.
Thirty-nine groups will receive a piece of the funding, up to $190,000. Since the money comes from the TDT, it is awarded to organizations who generate tourism through art.
“Orange County’s investment of about $5.1 million of TDT is going to generate over $120 million of economic impact in the county and support over 2,000 full time jobs,” Landon said.
New Generation Theatrical and Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras (FSYO) are both first-time recipients of the grant. They are receiving $55,000 each.
Creative Director of New Generation Theatrical Michael Knight said the group plans to use the money for marketing, renovations and paying local actors.
“If we can bring people in for an experience, that would be amazing. So this cultural tourism grant, this grant of money that would help us grow that audience and provide a service for those people coming in to do tourism in Orlando, we wanted to seize upon that,” said Knight.
Meanwhile, FSYO executive director Abigail Tran explained they previously planned on applying and made sure to track their requirements.
“We took the application from that year and we started implementing more protocols and feedback surveys and gathering data points from our current audience base to get us ready for the next application cycle,” said Tran.
FSYO staff says it plans to use its grant to fund concerts and expand marketing, because they have students from nine counties participate in their ensembles.
“They come to concerts, they bring their families, they bring their family members from out of town, grandparents, aunts, uncles, all of that to come to central Florida. They’ll stay in the hotels and they’ll eat dinner after our concerts and make a whole weekend out of it,” said development coordinator Cameron Frye.
Landon said the rigor of the application increases with the amount of money that each group requests.