—Information compiled by Vicki LaFave—

The Michigan Arts and Culture Council (MACC) is pleased to announce that it has recently awarded a total of $666,567 in grants to U.P. arts and cultural organizations and individuals for the 2023 fiscal year.

The Upper Peninsula Arts and Culture Alliance (the Alliance) promotes MACC grants to U.P. organizations and individuals and include operating grants, which are earmarked for operating expenses of an arts and/or culture organization, capital improvement grants, mini-grants, arts in education grants, bussing grants (covering the cost of bussing students to and from arts/culture venues), arts and culture supplies and equipment grants (for school classrooms), and arts project support grants.

The following grants were awarded to the U.P. Counties listed(specific recipients noted):

• Alger: $52,580 (Munising Public Schools, Superior Central School District, U.P. Arts and Culture Alliance)
• Chippewa: $113,677 (Eastern U.P. Planning Commission, Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society, Le Sault de Ste. Marie Historical Sites, Sault Area Arts Council, Soo Locks Children’s Museum and Soo Theatre Project)
• Delta: $17,550 (The Bonifas Arts Center and Players de Noc)
• Gogebic: $51,400 (Ironwood Downtown Art Place and Ironwood Theatre)
• Houghton: $107,500 (Calumet Theatre Company, Copper Country Community Arts Council, Copper Country Suzuki Association, Michigan Technological University—Rosza Center, and Pine Mountain Music Festival)
• Iron: $15,500 (Crystal Theatre and Northwoods Music Collaborative)
• Mackinac: $51,000 (Mackinac Arts Council, Michilimackinac Historical Society, and Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum)
• Marquette: $209,712 (City of Marquette, Hiawatha Music Non-Profit, Lake Superior Theater, Liberty Children’s Art Project, Marquette City Band, Marquette County Historical Society, Marquette Maritime Museum, Marquette Symphony Orchestra, Marquette-Alger Regional Educational Service Agency, Northern Michigan University-DeVos Art Museum, Superior Arts Youth Theater, Superior String Alliance, Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum, and U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame and Museum)
• Ontonagon: $18,000 (Friends of the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park)
• Schoolcraft: $29,378 (Lake Effect Community Arts Center)

Total awarded in U.P.:$666,567

To help people in preparing their grant applications, the Alliance presented a series of free grant information workshops last summer in Marquette, Escanaba, Munising, Manistique, and Menominee.

The MACC will award $9,847,525 in arts and culture grants in Fiscal Year 2024 (10/1/23 to 9/30/24). The $666,567 that Upper Peninsula organizations and individuals have been awarded so far is approximately 6.7% of the funds. The U.P. has about 3% of the state’s population. A total of $23,466 of the grant award funds has been held back for round 2 grants.

All U.P. regions (1a, 1b, and 1c) will take part in round two for project and professional/organizational development mini-grants. Application deadline is Monday, January 15, 2024.

Guidelines can be accessed online at michiganbusiness.org/industries/macc/macc-grants/or by contacting [email protected]. All grants must be submitted using the online grant system at macc.smartsimple.com.

The U.P. Arts and Culture Alliance aims to foster and promote creativity through building connections among artists, historians, performers, audiences, arts and culture organizations, as well as the economic development, recreation and tourism industries with which they closely align to create a thriving future for our region. The Alliance is the regional regranting agency for Region 1b containing Alger, Delta, Dickinson, Marquette, Menominee, and Schoolcraft counties.

For questions, copies of the FY2024 guidelines, technical assistance, or to be added to the contact list for mini-grants and related opportunities, please contact Sue Roll, grant coordinator, at (906) 280-2746 or sue@upacalliance.com.