Support the Arts License Plate Advisory Committee awards over $79K in funding

Grant program seeks to promote the arts in Alabama, with focus on arts education

MONTGOMERY, Ala., (January 13, 2023) — The Alabama Arts License Plate Advisory Committee recently awarded 41 grants totaling $79,325. This round of grants will support arts education and community arts projects occurring between January and September 2023.

Through the grant program, proceeds from the sale of the Support the Arts license plate are used to fund arts programs, organizations, and activities across the state. Since 2004, over $2 million in grants has been awarded to schools, municipalities, and arts organizations across Alabama.

The recent grants respond to applications submitted at the December 15, 2022, deadline and represent the first round of grants awarded in the 2023 fiscal year. Lisa Blach Weil (Montgomery) chairs the six-member committee, which includes: Allison Dillon-Jauken (Huntsville), Jane Kohl (Guntersville), Andy Meadows (Montgomery), Donna Russell (Gadsden), and Cynthia Thrash (Opelika).

Committee members are appointed according to directives in the enabling legislation and meet twice annually. The committee’s primary responsibility is to evaluate grant applications and award grants that support art programs and arts education throughout Alabama. Members serve voluntarily, and one member is appointed by each of the following organizations or individuals: the Alabama State Council on the Arts, Alabama Arts Alliance, the State Department of Education, the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Nonprofit organizations, municipalities, universities, and schools can apply for Arts License Tag grant funding at arts.alabama.gov. The next application deadline June 15, 2022.

Alabama residents are encouraged to join the effort to fund the arts by purchasing a Support the Arts plate via their county’s vehicle licensing office. More information at revenue.alabama.gov.

For more information about a particular grant, contact Donna Russell, Executive Director of the Alabama Arts Alliance, at 334-269-1435 or drussell@alartsalliance.org.

*Statewide Programming Services

For more information about the Alabama State Council on the Arts, please visit arts.alabama.gov.

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About Alabama State Council on the Arts
The Council on the Arts is the official state agency for the support and development of the arts in Alabama. The Council works to expand and preserve the state’s cultural resources by supporting nonprofit arts organizations, schools, colleges, units of local government, and individual artists. Arts programs, assisted by Council grants, have a track record of enhancing community development, education, cultural tourism, and overall quality of life in all regions of the state. Alabama State Council on the Arts grants are made possible by an annual appropriation from the Alabama Legislature and additional funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Learn more at arts.alabama.gov.