The St. Petersburg Arts Alliance is proud to announce that it has established an arts endowment fund at the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay to support St. Petersburg’s arts and cultural non-profits.
“The St. Petersburg Arts Endowment will help ensure the sustainability of our arts and cultural community,” states John Collins, Executive Director of the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance.
“During the three years the Arts Alliance has grown, we have saved $10,000 to establish the fund. It’s not much, but it’s a start — unheard of for a 3-year old organization. Now we want it to be “owned” by everyone in Tampa Bay who values the arts. It is our plan to seek donations to the fund.”
City Council Member Darden Rice states, ”The establishment of this endowment further demonstrates St. Petersburg’s commitment to the arts and its recognition of the arts as a thriving economic and centrally cultural aspect of our region.”
Wayne Atherholt, Director of the Office of Cultural Affairs adds, “Creating an arts endowment is critical to the future of the arts in St. Petersburg. It forms the foundation for all citizens who love this city to leave a legacy that will live in perpetuity to support the arts which are at the core of what makes St. Petersburg a vibrant, creative and most livable city and its growth will make St. Petersburg an even more important city in the global arts world which in turn benefits artists as well as arts organizations here.”
The Community Foundation of Tampa Bay and the Arts Alliance will seek gifts to the endowment fund. The endowment will generate annual earnings that the City’s Arts Advisory Committee may award to arts and cultural non-profits through the established grant award process.
Collins adds, “We are fulfilling a commitment made several years ago to the St. Pete Arts Funding Committee, and then to City Council and the Mayor’s Office when they approved the establishment of the Arts Alliance as a private non-profit partner. And now the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance is the umbrella organization serving all our arts and cultural community: advocating for the arts, facilitating the growth of the arts community and driving arts-related economic development in St. Petersburg.”
Photo ID L to R: Deborah Kelley, SPAA Treasurer and John Collins present the check to Molly James, Vice President of Philanthropy.