Posted July 31, 2009

Schenectady, NY – The Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation announced the recipients of the Emergency Salary Program for Presenting Organizations (ESPPO) grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The grants totaled $501,142 and were received by 19 institutions. Proctors received $30,000 for retention of the Education Program Manager.

ESPPO was designed to disburse economic stimulus funds received from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The goal of the program is to preserve positions crucial to the artistic mission of performing arts presenting organizations that constitute the core infrastructure for performing arts touring across the mid-Atlantic region. Presenters provide dance, music and theater artists with opportunities that help sustain their careers while exposing diverse audiences to the arts of the region, nation and world. Support through ESPPO will help to ensure the vitality of this crucial component of the arts ecology through a difficult economic period.

The program provided grants of up to $30,000 to be used towards salary for positions that were recently terminated, were in jeopardy of elimination, or whose hours had been reduced due to the current economic downturn.

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation received applications requesting a total of $1,042,514. ESPPO grants were recommended after a panel review by experienced arts professionals including:

· William Aguado, Former President, Bronx Council on the Arts (Bronx, NY)
· Michael Blachly, Director, University of Florida Performing Arts, (Gainesville, FL)
· Derek Gordon, C.E.O., Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, (Baton Rouge, LA)
· Margaret Lawrence, Director, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH)

The panel reviewed the applications according to the following criteria:

· the organization's record of programming artistic excellence and level of presenting activity;
· the importance of the organization to the performing arts touring infrastructure of the mid-Atlantic region;
· the importance of the position(s) in relationship to realizing the artistic mission of the organization;
· the ability of the organization to sustain the position after the end of the ESPPO grant term;
· the financial capacity of the organization to continue as a viable presenter of the performing arts in the foreseeable future.

The NEA allocated a portion of its stimulus funds to the regional arts organizations, state arts agencies, and selected local arts agencies for regranting. Arts organizations were limited to receiving support from only one of these four potential sources.

About Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation celebrates and supports the wealth and diversity of the region's arts resources and works to make those resources widely accessible both in the region and beyond. To learn more about MAAF, its programs and services, visit our Web site at www.midatlanticarts.org .

About the National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Endowment is the nation's largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. Website: http://arts.endow.gov

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