Celebrate Erie 2009, the Downtown Edinboro Art & Music Festival, the Blues & Jazz Festival, the Erie’s Heritage Festival and the Erie Summer Festival of the Arts will all still take place over the next several months thanks to grants made by local donors through The Erie Community Foundation.

“In tough economic times, those less fortunate turn to local charities to meet the basic needs of food, shelter and clothing,” said Michael Batchelor, president of The Erie Community Foundation. “Yet, we also need our arts to inspire and our festivals to celebrate in order to maintain our quality of life in our community. To do so, our board focused on Arts, Culture and Quality of Life Grants this past quarter granting over $240,000 to 20 nonprofits.”

To meet the mission of The Erie Community Foundation, each quarter the board of trustees reviews grant applications and distributes unrestricted dollars to meet the nonprofits’ needs. At a recent press conference, The Erie Community Foundation distributed $243,750 to twenty nonprofits as part of the “Helping today” grantmaking.

Also at the press conference, Cheryl Bates, director of Erie FREE Taxes, presented an update of the 2008 tax season for the Earned Income Tax Credit. The EITC is one initiative of The Erie Community Foundation’s “Shaping tomorrow” agenda, which is overseen by Shiloh Turner, vice president of Programs at the Foundation.

The $243,750 was distributed to 20 local charities with an arts, culture and quality of life mission as follows:

1. ArtsErie – Erie County Cultural Inventory/Plan – $15,000

2. CAFÉ – CelebrateErie 2009 – $20,000

3. Community Access Television – Public Service Announcements for Non Profits – $5,000

4. Downtown Edinboro Art & Music Festival – Downtown Edinboro Art & Music Festival 2009 – $5,000

5. Erie Art Museum – Blues and Jazz Festival 2009 – $10,000

6. Erie County Historical Society and Museums – Erie’s Heritage Festival 2009 – $15,000

7. Erie County Public Library Foundation – Technology Upgrade for West County Branch – $20,000

8. Erie Philharmonic – Radio Broadcasting of Erie Philharmonic Concerts – $7,950

9. Erie Playhouse – Stage Area Renovation & Equipment – $15,000

10. Erie Summer Festival for the Arts – Erie Summer Festival of the Arts 2009 – $5,000

11. ExpERIEnce Children’s Museum – Capital Campaign for Building Expansion – $25,000

12. JazzErie – Dave Brubeck Jazz Concert – $5,000

13. Lake Erie Fanfare, Inc. – Increased Marketing & Development – $5,000

14. Lake Shore Railway Historical Society Inc. – Locomotive & Flatcar Exhibit – $10,000

15. McCord Memorial Library – Building Renovation & Repair – $25,000

16. Stairways Behavioral Health – Center for Arts & Humanities Renovation Project – $30,000

17. Wattsburg Agricultural Society, Inc./Erie County Fair – Restoration of Race Horse Barn – $4,000

18. World War II Memorial – Restoration of the WWII Memorial Monument – $3,500

19. YADO/ Pennsylvania Chamber Symphony – Summer Music Academy 2009 – $15,000

EMERGENCY GRANT:

20. Foundation for Free Enterprise Education – HVAC Replacement – $3,300