Balmer Foundation Awards $155,000 to Spartanburg Arts Organizations
Chapman Cultural Center is pleased and honored to announce Spartanburg’s leading cultural organizations received $155,000 in emergency funding support from the Balmer Foundation. Through this gift, $130,000 went towards funding Chapman Cultural Center’s General Operating Support Grantees and $25,000 will be designated to the cost of operating Chapman Cultural Center. The Balmer Foundation trustees presented each organization with their funds at a limited capacity ceremony on June 2nd to encourage social distancing.
Chapman Cultural Center, the leading local arts agency in Spartanburg County, awards General Operating Support Grants (GOS) to cultural organizations each year that have been established as a 501(c)3 for 3 years or more, and must continue working to advance the mission of the organization. Grantees for GOS Grants are evaluated on the basis of merit, evidence of sound management and fiscal responsibility, and service to all of Spartanburg County. These awards support up to 20% of the grantees’ annual operating expenses.
The Balmer Foundation Board of Trustees offered the following statement in regards to their gift: “The current trustees of the Balmer Foundation, inspired by the historic and remarkable commitment of Hans and Lucia Balmer to proactively support the Spartanburg community, have chosen to assist key institutions in this unique time of stress and challenge. The Balmer’s loved animal education and the arts, as they did other key projects that are important to our lives (such as Spots of Pride). While the foundation does not encourage grant requests, it believes the Balmer’s would want the Foundation to commit to this contribution and thereby encourage your good work.”
In the last twenty-five years, through generous donations to the United Arts Fund, Chapman Cultural Center has awarded over $17 million in grants to strengthen, develop, and promote the cultural vibrancy in Spartanburg County in a sustainable way, and our community’s creative ecology is stronger because of it.
Emergency funding by The Balmer Foundation was awarded to the following organizations:
Artists’ Guild of Spartanburg
Ballet Spartanburg
Hatcher Garden
Hub City Writers Project
Spartanburg Art Museum
Spartanburg County Historical Association
Spartanburg Philharmonic
Spartanburg Science Center
Spartanburg Little Theatre and Spartanburg Youth Theatre
Through these unprecedented and trying times, Chapman Cultural Center is committed to providing cultural leadership and ensuring the arts and cultural community is able to recover and ultimately thrive.
About Chapman Cultural Center
Chapman Cultural Center provides cultural leadership for Greater Spartanburg by developing, strengthening, and promoting the scope, excellence and educational role of the arts, humanities and sciences, and to further their significance in the life of our community.
Chapman Cultural Center is located on East Saint John Street in downtown Spartanburg, SC. Please visit www.ChapmanCulturalCenter.org for more information.