Roxbury Arts Group has received a $30,000 grant from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York Foundation for the Arts to establish a financial reserve fund.
The organization is one of 59 arts organizations statewide selected for the NYSCA Reserve Fund Grants program, which awarded a total of $1.76 million in its second year. The recipients were selected from 771 eligible applications and represent a range of artistic disciplines and regions, with 59% located outside New York City. Eighty percent of the recipients will establish a reserve fund for the first time.
The program helps nonprofit arts organizations establish or expand financial reserves to address the industry’s financial uncertainties, including rising costs, declining philanthropic support and unpredictable income. Reserve funds can help organizations manage unexpected expenses, withstand revenue shortfalls, strengthen their financial position to attract funders and support long-term planning.
Roxbury Arts Group Executive Director Patrick Barnes said the reserve fund would help the organization plan for the future and maintain the music, art and cultural connections that communities depend on, regardless of unexpected challenges.
Roxbury Arts Group is a nonprofit, multi-arts organization serving the Western Catskills. It offers programming at the Roxbury Arts Center in Roxbury, Headwaters Arts Center in Stamford and the Old School Baptist Church in Denver. Like many community arts organizations, it relies on a combination of grants, donations and ticket revenue that can fluctuate from year to year.
The new reserve fund will provide a financial cushion to cover unexpected costs or revenue declines without interrupting concerts, exhibits, workshops and other community programming.
NYSCA Executive Director Erika Mallin said the program helps organizations prepare for unexpected challenges, adapt when necessary and plan for the future. The financial support and technical assistance are intended to strengthen the organizations’ stability and help them serve their communities for years to come.
The program was open to New York-based nonprofit arts organizations that received direct NYSCA funding within the past three years and had operating budgets between $150,000 and $3 million. Grants ranged from $15,000 to $50,000, depending on each organization’s operating budget.
Michael Royce, CEO of the New York Foundation for the Arts, said the program recognizes the central role arts organizations play in creative communities and invests in their long-term stability and the people they serve.
In addition to grant funding, recipients will receive one year of technical assistance from Advance Collaborative focused on organizational sustainability and financial management. Services include a one-hour virtual workshop on reserve funding and long-term sustainability strategies, a one-hour individual consulting session and monthly office hours where recipients can ask questions and share concerns.
More information about the grant program and the full list of recipients is available at nyfa.org/news
