Aug. 30, 2023 By Carlotta Mohamed
Flushing Town Hall has been awarded a major $300,000 grant from the Howard Gilman Foundation to administer a new regrant program to support Queens-based arts and culture nonprofit organizations.
With the Gilman Foundation’s funds, Flushing Town Hall will award 25 grants of $10,000 each for General Operating Support — free from restrictions and able to be used by cultural nonprofits on expenses that include, but are not limited to, staff salaries, space/office rent, marketing costs, supply and equipment purchases and costs related to programs and events.
“We are so grateful to the Howard Gilman Foundation for their staunch support of the arts and the Queens community,” says Dan Bamba, director of Arts Services at Flushing Town Hall. “With this new program, we look forward to continuing our support of Queens-based arts organizations that contribute so much to the vibrancy and identity of our borough.”
General Operating Support can be hard for nonprofits to come by but is often the most effective form of support they can receive, as it enables nonprofit leadership to direct funding wherever it is needed most. Oftentimes grant makers award restricted funding to support a singular program or aspect of the nonprofit’s work that aligns most closely with the grant maker’s own priorities.
With this new funding, together the Howard Gilman Foundation and Flushing Town Hall can help sustain local nonprofits and further promote their growth and creativity as they recover from the impacts of COVID and its economic fallout.
“For the past eight years, the Howard Gilman Foundation has been supporting New York City based performing arts organizations with budgets over $250,000 — a gratifying and worthy endeavor,” a spokesperson from the foundation said. “Now, however, with our programming and our processes firmly established, we are ready to broaden our reach. We know that organizations with smaller budgets, whether they are emerging or long-established, are a vital part of Queens’ arts ecosystem. We are so pleased to be able to partner with Flushing Town Hall to help distribute funding to these organizations, and we know that Flushing Town Hall’s experience and expertise will only enrich our grantmaking goals. We look forward to working with them to support the vibrant performing arts ecosystem of Queens.”
Flushing Town Hall is now accepting applications. To apply for support, or for more details on this new program, including eligibility requirements and deadlines, visit flushingtownhall.org/GOQueensGrant.php.
This will be Flushing Town Hall’s second regrant program in addition to its Arts Grants for Queens initiative, through which it serves as a regrant partner for the New York Council on the Arts (NYSCA). Arts Grants for Queens annually awards project funding to Queens artists and nonprofits; it will open for applications in late summer 2023.