Eighteen non-profit organizations will receive grants of up to $250,000 from the Rockefeller Foundation as a prize for their continued support of art and artists. The Foundation has, in the past, disbursed grants to Lincoln Center, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
The recipients are a diverse a diverse group, ranging from programmers creating free open-source web applications to New York’s artistic community to traditional arts organizations like the New York City Ballet. Dr. Judith Rodin, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, said that "[t]he Rockefeller Foundation is pleased to continue our support of art and creativity right here in our home town of New York City."
Teatro Circulo was one of the charities to receive funds from the Rockefeller Center for its efforts to improve publicity for Latino cultural events. Ringside, Inc. was another beneficiary for its efforts to change dance forms by incorporating extreme athletic activity like skydiving and high-wire into them.
The winners were chosen from among the 500 entrants to the 2009 New York City Cultural Innovation Fund Awards, which disburses the prize money as two-year grants. Chosen on the basis of their innovative projects to enrich the cultural life of New York City, the selected nonprofits will use the funds to keep supporting the arts through a time of deep economic recession.
The Rockefeller Foundation opened its doors in 1913, with its stated goal to "promote the well-being" of humanity. The foundation is currently pursuing this goal on a number of fronts, including agricultural improvements and food aid to sub-Saharan Africa, economic security for American workers, and modernized health care in developing nations, in addition to its support for the arts.
