The County Board is preparing to vote on $365,810 in grant funding for individual artists and arts organizations around Arlington.
The grants, authorized annually and included on the consent agenda for the Board meeting this Saturday, are part of a program overseen by the Arlington Commission for the Arts.
A total of 31 grant applications were received, including 17 from individual artists and 14 from nonprofit organizations. After review, the commission recommended approval of four grants to artists and 14 to organizations.
Arts organizations slated to receive grants are:
- Arlington Artists Alliance, $58,208.84
- Arlington Children’s Chorus, $12,011.11
- Arlington Chorale, $16,001.72
- Arlington Philharmonic Association, $15,923.85
- Dominion Stage, $4,899.73
- Educational Theatre Company, $25,812.99
- Encore Stage & Studio, $25,958.99
- Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, $66,868.48
- National Chamber Ensemble, $15,073.67
- Prio Bangla, $4,747.92
- Study Japanese in Arlington, $1,951.30
- Synetic Theater, $25,228.98
- The Arlington Players, $16,011.10
- WSC Avant Bard, $17,111.32
Artists slated to receive $15,000 individual grants are Jaqui Falkenheim, Sushmita Mazumdar, Gina Morelli and Annie Ray.
County Board approval is expected as part of a lengthy consent agenda that will precede other business at the Sept. 19 meeting.
Free Clinic, OAR to receive grant funding
The County Board is also considering grant agreements totaling $150,000 for two safety-net organizations.
The Arlington Free Clinic will receive $100,000 to provide services to uninsured county residents, while OAR of Arlington, Alexandria and Falls Church will receive $50,000 to provide support, coaching, referrals and other programming to families of those involved in the criminal-justice system.
At the meeting, Board members are also expected to formalize an agreement announced last month with Arlington Thrive to provide $50,000 in support to families whose primary wage-earners have been impacted by federal immigration activity.
Families would receive up to $2,000 apiece under the initiative.
MOU to guide Sister City Association relations
County Board members are also expected to renew a memorandum of understanding guiding relationships between the county government and Arlington Sister City Association.
The organization, founded in 1993, takes the lead in promoting Arlington’s interactions with its five Sister Cities: Aachen, Germany; Coyoacán, Mexico (currently in “emeritus” status); Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine; Reims, France; and San Miguel, El Salvador.
The previous five-year agreement lapsed in June. The new one, which has no significant changes, will run through 2031.
As part of its fiscal 2027 budget, the county government has allocated $45,000 to support the Sister City group. Funding for future years will be determined on an annual basis.
Federal funds to support ‘Medicare Patrol’ effort
County Board members are additionally expected to approve grant documents, allowing the county government to receive federal funds for the Senior Medicare Patrol Program.
Operating since 2003, the initiative is a state-mandated program providing education and support services to Medicare beneficiaries, their families and caregivers. It is coordinated by the Virginia Association of Area Agencies on Aging.
