Oliver G. & Sarah Sloan Bauman Fund for the Arts

Perpetuating the Appreciation of Fine Arts

The Oliver G. & Sarah Sloan Bauman Fund for the Arts was established in 1996 by Sarah Bauman Baxter as a unique way to memorialize her father by including his name in her own endowment. Mrs. Baxter and her father shared a love for the classics, including classical languages, ballet and opera. At the end of her life, she translated that love into this bequest, which Mrs. Baxter said should help “perpetuate the appreciation of such fine arts as an important and integral part of our culture.”

How to Apply

Applications are submitted electronically online through the Foundant Grant Lifecycle Manager. No paper, emailed or pdf applications are accepted.

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Grant Opportunity

Bauman support shall be in the form of a grant, preferably matching funds.

Tier 1

Awards will be prioritized first for performances of “traditional, classical ballet and opera on the living stage, and preferably of the English, European, or Russian schools.” Qualifying performances should “preserve the originality of their composition, so the ballets are presented in their traditional choreography, and operas are sung in the language in which they were composed (except certain operas which may be customarily be rendered in English and are regarded as ‘traditional’ by the Metropolitan Opera Company of New York).”

In honor of the donor’s original intent, classical is defined as the period up to the start of World War I (1914).

Tier 2

If any funds remain after awards have been made to all ballet and opera nonprofits eligible under Tier 1, awards will be prioritized for qualifying performances presented through the encouragement and support of responsible music or theater nonprofits. Qualifying works shall “preserve the high quality of performance of traditional or classical works” of music, theater, or ballet from the repertories traditionally considered classical for each medium.

Total amount available for disbursement in 2023 is approximately $32,000.

Timeline

Application available March 13, 2023
Applications due April 14, 2023, by 4 P.M.
Final decisions approximately mid-May, 2023

Eligibility

Grants are awarded only to organizations that have current Section 501(c)(3) status as determined by the Internal Revenue Service
Applicants must be located or delivering services in at least one of the eight counties of Western New York: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming.
At any given time, organizations can only have one open competitive grant with the Bauman Fund.

Contact

For more information about the Oliver G. and Sarah Sloan Bauman Fund for the Arts competitive grants process, please contact Darren Penoyer by email at darrenp@cfgb.org or at (716) 852-2857 ext. 206.

Additional Information

Please click here for the 2023 Bauman Grant Process guidelines.

Past Grant Recipients

Please click on the links below to see recent Bauman grantees.