With great joy, we celebrate and acknowledge the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs! Their grant programs and awards to 826michigan have helped make our free writing and publishing programs possible for school-aged students in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and Detroit.
The Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA) serves to encourage, initiate and facilitate an enriched artistic, cultural and creative environment in Michigan. This past year they awarded $9.65 million in grants to 462 recipients across the state of Michigan. These grants help fund arts education programs, capital improvements, operational expenses, regional regranting mini-grants and services to the field. Under the dedicated leadership of Executive Director John Bracey, MCACA also champions the importance of the arts in our communities, recognizing that arts and culture must be available for all people – everybody in, nobody out; are critical elements of our future quality of life; that arts education and arts in education are central to a complete education; and that arts and culture are central to human communication and collaboration.
Each year thousands of school-aged students write stories and poems and memoirs, and experience the thrill of having their work published. And while we have a lot of people power in our dedicated staff of ten and an outstanding volunteer corps of nearly 600 (!) active and creative volunteers to lead direct service with our impressive young writers, it is operating and program grant support like those from MCACA which allows us to keep stocked in paper and pencils for students, provide volunteer training, publish chapbooks and the OMNIBUS filled with new student writing, and even help us pay bills at the whimsical Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair and our soon-to-be Detroit Robot Factory where much of the artistic magic our students create happens. We are in constant supply of tremendous gratitude for the MCACA who share as much enthusiasm for our students as we do and, who through their financial generosity, provide a strong service to the thousands of young writers who benefit from 826michigan’s programming.
This year MCACA granted $30,000 in general operating support to 826michigan for the 2016 fiscal year; $4,000 in a New Leaders Grant targeted for our drop-in writing tables in Ypsilanti and Detroit this summer; and through our regional grants partner the Arts Alliance, a $2,200 gift for our staff’s professional development. Such varied support has had a far-reaching impact on 826michigan’s ability to continue to develop as a well-rounded organization that can focus on our mission to inspire school-aged students to write confidently and skillfully with the help of adult volunteers in their communities.
Thank you, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, for investing in 826michigan and helping us to contribute to an enriched, artistic, cultural and creative environment in Michigan!
