Empowering Arts Grant Program

Painting a Brighter Future

HOW IT STARTED

Gulf Coast has invested grants in the arts since the foundation's inception. Over the years, several exceptional arts organizations have consistently earned support from Gulf Coast and our donors because of the vital and dynamic roles they play in our cultural community.

In 2014, Gulf Coast's Board of Directors adopted a new, more flexible approach to funding these groups in pursuit of their artistic missions. Gulf Coast's "Arts Appreciation Grants" offered unrestricted funding to cornerstone arts organizations to use as they best saw fit.

FOR THE FUTURE, TODAY

After ten years, Gulf Coast saw fit to conduct a review of its former Arts Appreciation Grants, which are now rebranded as the Empowering Arts Grant Program aimed to not just appreciate, but to empower the community’s world-class arts and cultural organizations to meet their full potential.

Empowering Arts Grant Recipients

Totaling $785,000 This Year

By investing in the arts as both cultural and economic drivers, the trailblazing Empowering Arts Grant Program allows us to paint a brighter, more vibrant future for our region.

Asolo Repertory Theatre

Their Mission: To engage and inspire audiences with extraordinary theatrical experiences created with vision, passion and artistry and enhanced by deeply integrated education and community engagement programs.

With legacy support from the Robert Hassmer Charitable Fund.

Embracing Our Differences

Their Mission: Through the transformative power of the arts, we educate and inspire to create a better world.

Florida Studio Theatre

Their Mission: To make theatre affordable and accessible to as many people as possible. To present theatre that challenges with as much gusto as it entertains. To create a public forum for the issues of our day that will foster positive change in our community and beyond. To operate within and for the public trust.

With legacy support from the Margaret Lehman Endowment Fund.

Hermitage Artist Retreat

Their Mission: The mission of the Hermitage is to inspire and foster the most influential and culturally consequential art and artists of our time.

With legacy support from the Welles Murphey Fund.

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

Their Mission: To provide bayfront sanctuaries connecting people with air plants of the world, native nature, and our regional history.

With legacy support from the A. Hamilton and Edith T. Gardner Fund.

Sarasota Ballet

Their Mission: To enrich lives, captivate emotions and strengthen the community through the art of dance.

With legacy support from the Katherine Naismith Witten Fund.

Sarasota Opera

Their Mission: Sarasota Opera produces impassioned opera performances true to the vision of the composer, to entertain, enrich, educate, and inspire a life-long love of opera in our diverse and growing communities.

With legacy support from the Zoe Anderson Charitable Fund.

Sarasota Orchestra

Their Mission: The mission of Sarasota Orchestra is to engage, educate, and enrich our community through high-quality, live musical experiences.

With legacy support from the Elizabeth Miller Charitable Fund.

The Circus Arts Conservatory

Their Mission: To engage and educate students using unique and innovative learning programs; to measurably improve the quality of life for individuals in care communities; and to advance the extraordinary legacy and heritage of the circus. The Circus Arts Conservatory’s extraordinary mission underscores its commitment to sharing the entertainment, education, and enrichment that Circus Arts provide.

With legacy support from the Ina L. Donnan Field of Interest Fund.

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art

Their Mission: The Ringling serves as the legacy of John and Mable Ringling—a place of art, architecture, and circus in an environment that inspires, educates, and entertains.

With legacy support from the Violetta Marchisio Charitable Fund.

Venice Symphony

Their Mission: The Venice Symphony exists to inspire and transform lives through exceptional musical experiences.

With legacy support from the John and Mary Doherty Charitable Fund.

Venice Theatre

Their Mission: To celebrate and nurture creative expression, to foster human communication and understanding, and to delight and challenge our audiences through theatre and the performing arts of the highest quality.

With legacy support from the Cousins Laning Venice Community Fund.

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe

Their Mission: To produce professional theatre that promotes and celebrates African American history and experience, engages a broad base of patrons and audiences, supports the development of a dynamic group of aspiring artists and builds self-esteem in youth of color.

With legacy support from the Helen Hamilton Fund.