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Nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in metropolitan Detroit contribute to the city’s uniqueness as well as its economy, strengthen its communities, foster cross-cultural understanding and nurture individual development. Yet, this vital work is hampered by a lack of adequate operational funding.

Through its Kresge Arts in Detroit initiative, The Kresge Foundation has addressed this chronic need for operating monies by awarding 2008 Arts Support grants to 14 nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in the Wayne, Oakland and Macomb tri-county area. The two-year unrestricted grants range from $10,000 to $100,000, based on merit and size of operational budget.

This year’s recipients include small and medium-size organizations specializing in a variety of artistic disciplines, including visual arts, music, historic preservation, literary arts and arts education. The 2008 awards represent the second round of funding supported by the foundation’s three-year, $6.6 million commitment to organizational development and underscore its long-standing history of grantmaking in the arts and cultural sector. Last year, 53 nonprofits received Arts Support grants.

“This was an opportunity to extend grant funding to an additional 14 organizations that contribute significantly to our cultural ecosystem and help to promote artistic creativity,” says Kresge senior program officer Alice L. Carle. “By awarding multi-year unrestricted grants, we hope to provide a stable funding stream and strengthen the capacity of these organizations to deliver their valuable programs.”

Grantees were selected by two peer-review panels, based on a set of criteria, including the quality of artistic achievement and strength of programming; support for local artists and creators of culture; community outreach and participation in effective partnerships; and support for arts education and youth development.

“It’s fantastic that the Kresge Foundation is helping organizations such as ours,” says Gillian Eaton, vice president of arts and humanities for Y Arts, which serves as a “mini-arts center” for the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit. The organization was awarded a $70,000 grant over two years to support its arts-education efforts.

“This grant allows us to share our resources with artists and to continue building strong collaborative relationships with other pillars of the community,” she explains. “It also represents a vote of confidence in what we are doing and gives us credibility with other grantmaking organizations.”

Easton says Y Arts will use the Kresge funding to pay the part-time salaries of 18 artists who teach arts-education classes and to update computer software and other electronic equipment used to create artistic works. In addition to offering classes, Y Arts features a 150-seat theater, photo and sculpture gallery, community choir and seven-week summer Creativity Camp for teens.

Kresge Arts Support is one component of Kresge Arts in Detroit, which also provides grants to individual artists through Kresge Artist Fellowships and the annual Kresge Eminent Artist Award. Kresge Arts in Detroit in turn represents one of five strategic objectives set forth in the foundation’s Detroit Program, a comprehensive community-development effort intended to promote economic, social and cultural advancement in the city and surrounding region.

Here is a complete list of the 2008 Kresge Arts Support grantees, including their geographic location and the amount of funding they receive in year one and two: