'The need is there.' ArtsinStark sets $1.4 million fundraising goal

Ed Balint, Canton Repository

Updated March 13, 2024 at 10:22 PM·3 min read

Maureen Ater, incoming CEO of ArtsinStark, addresses the audience on Tuesday at the organization's kickoff event for its 2024 fundraising campaign.

CANTON ? ArtsinStark launched an ambitious fundraising campaign on Tuesday with a goal of $1.4 million.

That's a 17% increase over the previous year, said Maureen Ater, the incoming CEO of the Canton-based arts advocacy organization.

"We have to grow it," she said following the presentation in Cable Recital Hall at the Cultural Center for the Arts in downtown Canton. "The need is there. Our arts organizations are only going to be able to grow and expand our impact if we can grow our support."

Attendees of Tuesday's ArtinStark fundraising campaign kickoff event paint on a canvas presented by local artist Tracy Brewer.

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Ater spoke in front of a colorful backdrop of balloons and lettering spelling out the campaign theme: "Art Builds Community."

Money raised will focus on education, well-being and vitality, ArtsinStark officials told an audience of more than 100 people, including volunteers, donors and leaders of local arts organizations.

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Those focal points were identified during the organization's 2023 strategic cultural assessment.

The ArtsinStark campaign runs through May.

To donate to the 2024 Campaign for the Arts, go to https://artsinstark.com/donate/.

Attendees of the ArtsinStark campaign kickoff event on Tuesday pose for photos with Fun Booth Canton. ArtsinStark has set a fundraising goal of $1.4 million by June.

Kicking off the campaign in style

Representatives of local arts organizations took turns speaking, including from the Canton Museum of Art, the Bluecoats, the Canton City Schools' SmARTs program and Sing Stark!. They explained the value of the arts for young students, the elderly and the community as a whole, including to reduce anxiety, depression and loneliness.

"Art can be powerful," Ater said. "And art can be healing."

Also speaking at Tuesday's event was Emil Alecusan, who has been serving as interim CEO of ArtsinStark following the departure of former CEO David Whitehill last year.

Ater is serving as the chief operating officer until June, so she can transition into the top post after the campaign concludes.

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“We have kicked off an important campaign, one that will make a difference to so many people and organizations right here in our community," Alecusan said in a news release.

Donations to the campaign will allow ArtsinStark to continue its work in managing the Cultural Center for the Arts, funding Stark County’s major arts organizations through its ArtsBuild Grants, and creating project-based grants for nonprofits and artists through its ArtsImpact Grants.

David Lee paints by the numbers on a canvas and design presented by local artist Tracy Brewer at Tuesday's ArtsinStark fundraising campaign kickoff event.

ArtsImpact grants will fund collaborative projects designed to extend the reach of Stark County's arts community into other sectors.

Funding will be open to nonprofit organizations and their partners, including individual artists who meet criteria established by ArtsinStark.

Grants will be available for projects occurring in Stark County between July 2, 2024, and June 30, 2025. Grants will range from $2,500 to $7,500.

ArtsinStark, a Canton-based nonprofit and advocate for the local arts, kicked off its 2024 fundraising campaign on Tuesday at the Cultural Center for the Arts. The organization has set a goal of raising $1.4 million by June.

March 21 is the application deadline.

For complete ArtsImpact grant guidelines, go to https://artsinstark.com/grants/.

ArtsinStark launched its 2024 fundraising campaign on Tuesday during an event at the Cultural Center for the Arts. Attendees posed for photos with Fun Booth Canton.

ArtsBuild, which awards operating funds to major local arts organizations, was launched in late 2023. Applications already have been submitted and will be reviewed between April and June.

Those organizations include the Canton Museum of Art, Canton Ballet, Canton Symphony Orchestra, Sing Stark!, Massillon Museum and the Canton Palace Theatre.

Members of the EN-RICH-MENT Fine Arts Academy drumline perform on Tuesday outside the Cultural Center for the Arts in downtown Canton prior to the ArtsinStark fundraising campaign kickoff event.

'The arts have helped grow our community.'

Guests entered the Cultural Center to the rhythmic sounds of the EN-RICH-MENT Fine Arts Academy's drumline. During the presentation, Sing Stark's Senior Sing Choir performed.

Last year, a study by the National Center for Arts Research ranked the Canton-Massillon community as the eighth most arts-vibrant mid-size community in the United States, Ater said.

"The arts have shaped our community," she said. "The arts have helped to grow our community. The arts have helped support our residents. With your help, we can grow even more arts vibrant."