Fund for the Arts

Fund for the Arts Front Row: Brian Baird, Cameron and Jane Baird Foundation; Beth Gosch, The Western New York Foundation; Paul Hogan, The John R. Oishei Foundation; Back Row: Nancy Brock, The M&T Charitable Foundation; Jean McKeown, Community Foundation; Cindy Abbott Letro, Community Foundation Board Member; Nancy Davis, The Davis Family Foundation; Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker, Community Foundation

Our region’s arts and culture sector enhances the quality of life in our community and boosts our local economy. In a 2017 report compiled by the Arts Services Initiative of Western New York with the Americans for the Arts, data showed that our arts and culture sector is a $352 million industry that supports more than 10,000 jobs.

The Community Foundation currently administers a funders’ cooperative of public, private, family and corporate foundations that assesses the needs of our arts community, promotes collaboration and strengthens the sector.

 To date, the Fund for the Arts has distributed more than $2.6 million to strengthen our arts and culture sector and supported the creation of the Arts Services Initiative and Arts Partners for Learning.