June Member Spotlight on Cuyahoga Arts & Culture

Submitted by Abigail on June 3, 2013

In June, the photo banner features groups and projects supported by GIA member Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. CAC was approved by Cuyahoga County voters in 2006, and since 2007, has invested over $95 million in more than two hundred Cuyahoga County arts and cultural organizations. CAC’s vision for its first ten years of public funding is to help build stronger, more resilient arts and culture organizations, create vibrant and energetic neighborhoods infused with culture, and establish Cuyahoga County as a hub of creative activity and a destination for artists.

Cuyahoga Arts & Culture funds arts and culture organizations through two main grant programs: General Operating Support and Project Support. Below, in their own words, CAC staff share the highlights of their recent Report to the Community.

At Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, we’re excited to have released our new Report to the Community, titled Your investment. Strengthening Community. The Report to the Community demonstrates that CAC is helping to enrich community, support our extraordinary quality of life, enhance education for learners of all ages, and advance economic opportunities for the region.

CAC’s impact reaches every corner of Cuyahoga County. In 2012, arts and culture organizations funded by CAC offered programs in nearly two thousand unique locations in nearly all of Cuyahoga County’s 59 municipalities. And our community has felt the impact of CAC in meaningful ways:

CAC enriches our community by improving our quality of life. In 2011, CAC-funded arts and culture organizations served more than 6.1 million residents and visitors, with 50 percent free admissions.
CAC enhances education for people of all ages, from Pre-K programs to grade schools to senior centers. In 2011, CAC-funded organizations served more than 1.4 million children.
CAC contributes to our local economy. In 2011, CAC-funded organizations supported a workforce of nearly nine thousand, and for every $1 CAC invested in arts and culture, nearly $20 was pumped back into our economy.

“At Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, we perform our work on behalf of a community that believes and invests in creativity, and we are excited by the results,” said CAC’s executive director, Karen Gahl-Mills. “We’re pleased to share the impact of these investments and detail taxpayers’ dollars at work in our community through this Report to the Community.”

Image: Zygote Press. Photo: Jen Craun. Courtesy Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.