January 14, 2025, Press Release from the Lima Symphony Orchestra: Lima, OH—The Lima Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is thrilled to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Challenge America award of $10,000. This generous grant will support the orchestra’s upcoming educational initiative, Found Sound Around the World. The NEA will award 272 Challenge America awards nationwide, totaling $2,720,000, as part of its recent announcement of fiscal year 2025 grants.

Elizabeth Brown-Ellis, Executive Director of the Lima Symphony Orchestra, expressed her gratitude for this recognition and support, stating, “The Lima Symphony Orchestra is deeply grateful to the National Endowment for the Arts for their generous support of Found Sound Around the World. This transformative program will engage young participants in the joy of music-making, fostering creativity, collaboration, and cultural exploration while building lasting connections within our community. We are honored to partner with the NEA to bring this empowering experience to life.”

Found Sound Around the World is a six-week educational program led by Dr. Sarah Waters, designed to introduce students to world music through drumming and cultural exploration. Participants will create instruments from found objects and learn about the histories, cultures, and arts of Africa, the Caribbean, China, and Native American tribes. The program will culminate in a celebratory community performance where students will showcase their handmade instruments, music, and dances for family and friends.

The Lima Symphony Orchestra is dedicated to preserving musical excellence as a living part of our community. Serving communities throughout West Central Ohio, the Lima Symphony annually presents five subscription concerts, a family concert, Music by Candlelight concerts, and an annual New Year’s Eve Pops concert.

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National Endowment for the Arts Awards $585,000 in Grants to Ohio 

January 14, 2025, Press Release from the Ohio Arts Council: The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has announced $585,000 in grant funding for 30 Ohio arts organizations and individuals. This is part of the NEA’s first round of funding for federal FY 2025, which includes 1,474 grants totaling $36,790,500 nationally.

“The NEA is proud to continue our nearly 60 years of supporting the efforts of organizations and artists that help to shape our country’s vibrant arts sector and communities of all types across our nation,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, Ph.D. “It is inspiring to see the wide range of creative projects taking place—those that address our past and help us consider our future, integrate arts and culture in new ways into our lives and communities, and provide powerful opportunities for people throughout our nation to come together through a shared arts experience.

For this cycle, grants were awarded through several of the federal agency’s funding programs, including Grants for Arts Projects, Challenge America, Literature Fellowships, and Research Awards.

Twenty-two of the Ohio awards were distributed through the NEA’s Grants for Arts Projects program, which the NEA media release states “provides expansive funding opportunities to strengthen the nation’s arts and culture ecosystem.” Awards for Ohio organizations range between $10,000 and $40,000. Funded projects support arts programs and initiatives across the state, including those in dance, design, film and media arts, literary arts, local arts agencies, music, opera, theatre, and visual arts.  

Five Ohio nonprofit organizations received Challenge America grants, with each award totaling $10,000. Awarded in all artistic disciplines, these grants “offer support primarily to small organizations for a wide variety of arts projects that reach historically underserved communities,” according to the NEA.

Three Ohioans received Literary Fellowships in creative writing focused on poetry. Each grant award totals $25,000. The NEA states that the grants “allow recipients to set aside time for writing, research, travel, and general career advancement.”

“The Ohio Arts Council is always proud to see federal funds come back home to be invested here to benefit Ohio’s residents and visitors,” said Ohio Arts Council (OAC) Executive Director Donna S. Collins. “Funding from the National Endowment from the Arts is a powerful recognition of the quality of Ohio’s artists, nonprofits, and arts and cultural offerings. We congratulate this round of grantees.”

A complete list of Ohio NEA grant recipients in this funding cycle follows, alphabetized by city, with recipients’ popularly used names in parentheses: 

Akron

• ArtsNow: Grants for Arts Projects—Local Arts Agencies ($40,000)

Athens

• Angela Mazakis: Literature Fellowships: Creative Writing—Literary Arts ($25,000)

Brecksville

• Rose Zinnia: Literature Fellowships: Creative Writing—Literary Arts ($25,000)

Canal Winchester & Hocking County

• Hocking County Children’s Chorus: Challenge America ($10,000)

Chagrin Falls 

• Fevered Dreams Productions (Chagrin Documentary Film Festival): Grants for Arts Projects—Media Arts ($15,000)  

Cincinnati 

• Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati: Grants for Arts Projects—Theater ($15,000)
• Cincinnati Opera Association: Grants for Arts Projects—Opera ($25,000) 
• Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park: Grants for Arts Projects—Theater ($40,000) 
• Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra: Grants for Arts Projects—Music ($30,000) 

Cleveland 

• Cleveland Play House: Grants for Arts Projects—Theater ($15,000)
• Cleveland Public Theatre, Inc.: Grants for Arts Projects—Theater ($15,000)
• Cuyahoga Community College Foundation (Tri-C Foundation): Grants for Arts Projects—Dance ($15,000)
• Cuyahoga Community College Foundation (Tri-C Foundation, on behalf of Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland): Grants for Arts Projects—Music ($25,000)
• Inlet Dance Theatre: Challenge America ($10,000)
• Musical Arts Association (The Cleveland Orchestra): Grants for Arts Projects—Opera ($20,000) 
• Zygote Press, Inc.: Grants for Arts Projects—Visual Arts ($20,000)

Cleveland Heights

• Cleveland Modern Dance Association (DANCECleveland): Grants for Arts Projects—Dance ($20,000)
• Zach Savich: Literature Fellowships: Creative Writing—Literary Arts ($25,000)

Columbus 

• Ballet Metropolitan, Inc. (BalletMet): Grants for Arts Projects—Dance ($15,000)
• Contemporary Theatre of Ohio: Challenge America ($10,000)
• Harmony Project Productions, Inc.: Grants for Arts Projects—Music ($20,000)  
• OhioDance: Grants for Arts Projects—Dance ($20,000)

Gallipolis 

• Ariel Cultural and Performing Arts Centre: Challenge America ($10,000)

Gambier

• Kenyon Review: Grants for Arts Projects—Literary Arts ($20,000)

Lima

• Lima Symphony Orchestra Association (Lima Symphony Orchestra): Challenge America ($10,000)

Oxford 

• Miami University: Grants for Arts Projects—Visual Arts ($20,000)  

Piqua

• Piqua Arts Council: Grants for Arts Projects—Local Arts Agencies ($20,000)

Solon

• Fostering Hope: Grants for Arts Projects—Visual Arts ($10,000)  

Springfield

• Westcott House Foundation: Grants for Arts Projects—Design ($25,000)

Toledo  

• Children’s Theatre Workshop of Toledo: Grants for Arts Projects—Theater ($15,000)  

View a full list of all grants awarded to all states or U.S. jurisdictions for the NEA’s fiscal year 2025 winter grant announcement.

For more information about the National Endowment for the Arts’ grant programs, visit arts.gov.