Dodge Grants: any comments?

Press releases follow below for the announcement of the 2007 arts grants from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

Any comments, peaople?

I ask because it had been suggested to me earlier this year that Dodge was cutting back and, to paraphrase, "getting out of the arts business." This came to me from the principal of an organization I believe to be a qualifying organization, and one which is not on the list below. So, I'm wondering if this was a case of sour grapes or if there still is something I don't know.

Anyway, Jersey Stages is a great place for those involved to chime in on the subject of arts grants. Do the big theaters get too much, at the expense of smaller groups, or do the big fellas earn it? (I notice Paper Mill is not on the list). Are there groups that are denied grants for subjective reasons (i.e., personal, political or moral)? I'm not suggesting there are, but certainly, all these factors have an impact on arts funding, at least on the federal level.

Who got too much, not enough or was completely hosed?

Or should we just thank the lucky stars for Dodge and groups like them for doing the good they do?

What do you know? What do you think? Anyone can chime in here without fear of reprisal.
Although I think I might have blown my grant for 2008.

John Pietrowski of Playwrights Theatre speaks more, and more intelligently, on the subject of grants and funding than anyone I know. Perhaps I should touch base with him and get back to you. So many questions, so little time.

And half the world is on vacation. Me, too, starting Tuesday.

FYI: The Courier staff met its new publisher today. My former boss and fellow Morris Catholic alum, Charie Nutt, has gone home to Vineland. Good luck, Charlie.

And good luck to my new boss, who I will not name because I think I've breached a news embargo just by telling you as much as I have already.

I just can't resist the urge to say, "you read it here first."


Read on, soldiers.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 16, 2007


GERALDINE R. DODGE FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES
$4.1 MILLION DOLLARS OF FUNDING TO SUPPORT
NEW JERSEY ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND ARTISTS

(MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY) The Trustees of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation have announced their approval of $4.1 million dollars in 2007 Arts grants. Ninety-six grants have been made to museums and galleries, community and media arts organizations, and performing arts organizations in the disciplines of theater, dance, and music, throughout the state of New Jersey. These grants also include a variety of organizations that provide services to the arts field and to New Jersey artists.
“The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation is proud to support New Jersey’s outstanding creative community,” stated David Grant, the Foundation’s President and CEO. “The arts are an essential part of our civil society, bringing both joy and meaning into our lives, individually and collectively.”
“The arts are making a difference in communities throughout our state, from small rural hamlets to large urban centers,” agreed Laura Aden, the Foundation’s Program Director for the Arts. “As a recent study from the Americans for the Arts pointed out, non-profit arts organizations play a key role in strengthening our economy while also providing opportunities to stimulate and nurture the creative and intellectual spirit.”
This year, the Dodge Foundation provided grants to arts organizations in nineteen of the state’s twenty-one counties. Two organizations received the Foundation’s largest grant amount of $175,000: Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (Madison) and New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (Newark). Other grants of note include $170,000 to The Newark Museum and George Street Playhouse (New Brunswick); $100,000 to the Jersey City Museum, Montclair Art Museum and WheatonArts; $95,000 to the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and New Jersey Performing Arts Center; and $75,000 each to Appel Farm Arts & Music Center (Elmer), the Nonprofit Finance Fund and New Jersey Network (to support the Emmy-Award winning “State of the Arts”). The Princeton-based New Jersey Opera Theatre received a $30,000 grant; and the Westfield Symphony, in honor of their 25th anniversary, received a $25,000 grant plus a $12,500 matching grant.
Of the ninety-six announced grants, ten were new to the Arts docket this year including four visual arts organizations: Paul Robeson Gallery at Rutgers-Newark ($7,500), Arts Council of Princeton ($7,500), Mercer County Community College ($7,500) and the soon to be reopened State Museum ($25,000). Other new grants were awarded to Digital Stone Project in Hamilton for an artist residency ($5,000); Dreamcatcher Repertory Company, South Orange, for general operating support ($7,500): ValleyArts for a community mural project in Orange ($10,000); and SHUA Group, a dance company based in Jersey City ($5,000). Two grants were made to provide support for new works by New Jersey composers: $7,500 to the Pro Arte Chorale for the commissioning of a new choral work by Robert Cohen; and $10,000 to Montclair State University for the premiere of Robert Aldridge’s new opera, Elmer Gantry.
The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation was established in 1974 through the foresight and generosity of Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge. The Foundation’s areas of giving are the Arts, Education, Environment, and Morris County. 12 Miles West Theatre Company, Inc.
Bloomfield, NJ
Contact: Mr. Lenny Bart: (973) 960-0994
$30,000 for general operating support.

Alborada Spanish Dance Theatre
Old Bridge, NJ
Contact: Ms. Eva Lucena-Gruby: (732) 255-4071
$10,000 for general operating support.

Aljira
Newark, NJ
Contact: Mr. Victor L. Davson: (973) 622-1600
$75,000 for general operating support.

American Music Center
New York, NY
Contact: Ms. Joanne Cossa: (212) 366-5260
$50,000 for the Live Music for Dance New Jersey grantmaking program.

American Repertory Ballet
New Brunswick, NJ
Contact: Mr. Graham Lustig: (732) 249-1254
$85,000 for general operating support.

Appel Farm Arts and Music Center
Elmer, NJ
Contact: Mr. Mark E. Packer: (856) 358-2472
$75,000 for general operating support and Community Arts Outreach Programs.


Art Omi International Arts Center
New York, NY
Contact: Ms. Ruth Adams: (212) 206-5660
$10,000 to support two residencies for New Jersey artists.

ArtPRIDE New Jersey, Inc.
Bordentown, NJ
Contact: Ms. Ann Marie Miller: (609) 443-3582
$60,000 for general operating support.





The Arts Council of Princeton
Princeton, NJ
Contact: Mr. Jeff Nathanson: (609) 924-8777
$7,500 to support the inaugural exhibition of the Paul Robeson Center for Arts.

The Arts Guild of Rahway
Rahway, NJ
Contact: Mr. Lawrence Cappiello: (732) 381-7511
$10,000 for general operating support.

Bay-Atlantic Symphony
Bridgeton, NJ
Contact: Mr. Paul D. Herron: (856) 451-1169
$70,000 for general operating support.

Boheme Opera New Jersey
Trenton, NJ
Contact: Ms. Sandra M. Pucciatti: (609) 581-9551
$10,000 for general operating support.

Brodsky Center
New Brunswick, NJ
Contact: Ms. Amy Lebo: (732) 932-2222
$10,000 for general operating support for artist residencies, exhibitions, and K-12 programs.

Cape May New Jersey State Film Festival
Cape May, NJ
Contact: Mr. Todd Land: (609) 884-6700
$7,500 for the Young Filmmakers' Summer Institute.

Cape May Stage
Cape May, NJ
Contact: Mr. Joseph S. Pannullo: (609) 884-1341
$25,000 for general operating support of the 2007 season.

Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company
Union, NJ
Contact: Mr. Tom Werder: (908) 687-8855
$80,000 for general operating support.

Centenary Stage Company & Performing Arts Guild
Hackettstown, NJ
Contact: Mr. Carl Wallnau: (908) 979-0900
$15,000 for general operating support.

Center for Community Arts
Cape May, NJ
Contact: Mr. Steve Bacher: (609) 884-7525
$15,000 for general operating support and community arts and humanities programs.

Center for Modern Dance Education, Inc.
Hackensack, NJ
Contact: Ms. Elissa M. Machlin-Lockwood: (201) 342-2989
$10,000 to support the "Open Door Dance Project".

City Without Walls
Newark, NJ
Contact: Mr. Ben Goldman: (973) 622-1188
$30,000 for general operating support.

Cleo Mack Dance Project
Edison, NJ
Contact: Ms. Cleo Mack: (201) 927-7208
$6,400 for support of "All Voices In: Being Everything."

Dance New Jersey
Morristown, NJ
Contact: Ms. Macada Brandl: (973) 222-8844
$35,000 for general operating support.

Digital Stone Project, Inc.
Mercerville, NJ
Contact: Mr. Christoph Spath: (609) 587-6699
$5,000 to support Digital Stone Project's Artist Residency pilot program.

The Discovery Orchestra
Warren, NJ
Contact: Mr. George Mariner Maull: (908) 226-7300
$45,000 for educational Discovery Concerts, outreach and related staffing.

Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre, Inc.
South Orange, NJ
Contact: Ms. Laura Ekstrand: (973) 378-7754
$7,500 for general operating support.

Freespace Dance
Upper Montclair, NJ
Contact: Ms. Donna Scro Gentile: (973) 743-8078
$10,000 for general operating support.




Friends of Cape May Jazz, Inc.
Cape May, NJ
Contact: Mr. David J. Greenspun: (609) 884-7200
$10,000 for general operating support.

Friends of the New Jersey State Museum
Trenton, NJ
Contact: Ms. Barbara Moran: (609) 394-5310
$25,000 to support the reopening exhibition in the fall of 2007.

George Street Playhouse
New Brunswick, NJ
Contact: Mr. David Saint: (732) 846-2895
$170,000 for general operating support.

The Growing Stage Theatre for Young Audiences
Netcong, NJ
Contact: Mr. Stephen L. Fredericks: (973) 347-4946
$40,000 for general operating support.

Haddonfield Symphony
Haddonfield, NJ
Contact: Mr. Trevor Orthmann: (856) 429-1880
$70,000 for general operating support.

HANDS, Inc.
Orange, NJ
Contact: Mr. Patrick Morrissy: (973) 678-3110
$10,000 to support Valley Arts’ Creative Community Mural Project.

Harmonium Choral Society
Morristown, NJ
Contact: Dr. Anne Matlack: (973) 701-1732
$5,000 for the professional orchestration of an original choral piece.

Hunterdon Museum of Art
Clinton, NJ
Contact: Ms. Marjorie Frankel Nathanson:
(908) 735-8415
$60,000 for general operating support.

Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum
New Brunswick, NJ
Contact: Mr. Gregory J. Perry: (732) 932-7237
$30,000 for general operating support.




Jersey City Museum, Inc.
Jersey City, NJ
Contact: Ms. Marion Grzesiak: (201) 413-0303
$100,000 for general operating support.

Joseph P. Hayes Surflight Theatre
Beach Haven, NJ
Contact: Mr. Steve Steiner: (609) 492-9477
$15,000 for general operating support.

Kean University Foundation
Union, NJ
Contact: Mr. Doug Nelson: (908) 737-4360
$15,000 for support of the Premiere Stages Play Festival.

Luna Stage Company Inc.
Montclair, NJ
Contact: Ms. Charlotte McKim: (973) 744-3309
$37,000 for general operating support.

The MacDowell Colony
Peterborough, NH
Contact: Ms. Cheryl A. Young: (212) 535-9690
$6,500 to support one fellowship for a New Jersey artist.

McCarter Theatre
Princeton, NJ
Contact: Mr. Jeffrey Woodward: (609) 258-6514
$130,000 for support of the New Play Development program.

Mercer County Community College
Trenton, NJ
Contact: Tricia Fagan: (609) 570-3250
$7,500 for support of the art exhibition "Dangerous Women."

Monmouth County Arts Council
Red Bank, NJ
Contact: Ms. Mary Eileen Fouratt: (732) 212-1890
$30,000 to support the Community Outreach and Arts Planning Project.

Montclair Art Museum
Montclair, NJ
Contact: Mr. Patterson Sims: (973) 746-5555
$100,000 for general operating support.




Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
Fort Lee, NJ
Contact: Mr. Andrew Chiang: (800) 650-0246
$80,000 for general operating support.

New Jersey Ballet Company
Livingston, NJ
Contact: Ms. Carolyn Clark: (973) 597-9600
$65,000 for general operating support.

New Jersey Network
Trenton, NJ
Contact: Ms. Elizabeth G. Christopherson:
(609) 777-5001
$75,000 to support "State of the Arts," NJN's Emmy award-winning series.

New Jersey Opera Theater
Princeton, NJ
Contact: Ms. Lisa S. Altman: (609) 799-7700
$30,000 for general operating support.

New Jersey Performing Arts Center
Newark, NJ
Contact: Mr. Lawrence P. Goldman: (973) 642-8989
$95,000 to support the "Alternate Routes" program and facility rental subsidies for NJ arts organizations.

New Jersey Repertory Company
Long Branch, NJ
Contact: Dr. Gabor Barabas: (732) 229-3166
$75,000 for general operating support.

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
Newark, NJ
Contact: Mr. André Gremillet: (973) 624-3713
$175,000 for general operating support.

New Jersey Tap Ensemble, Inc.
Bloomfield, NJ
Contact: Ms. Susan A. Simek: (973) 743-0600
$35,000 for general operating support.

New Jersey Theatre Alliance
Morristown, NJ
Contact: Mr. John McEwen: (973) 540-0515
$95,000 for general operating support.

New Jersey Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, Inc.
Laurel Springs, NJ
Contact: Ms. Tracey I. Batt, Esq.: (856) 627-0428
$25,000 for general operating support.
New Jersey Youth Theatre
Westfield, NJ
Contact: Mr. Theodore J. Agress: (908) 233-3200
$10,000 for general operating support.

Newark Arts Council
Newark, NJ
Contact: Mr. Linwood J. Oglesby: (973) 460-7661
$40,000 for general operating support.

Newark Museum
Newark, NJ
Contact: Mary Sue Sweeney Price: (973) 596-6550
$170,000 for general operating support.

Newark Public Radio
Newark, NJ
Contact: Mr. Cephas Bowles: (973) 624-8880
$95,000 for support of the WBGO-produced "JazzSet" national radio program.


Newark School of the Arts
Newark, NJ
Contact: Mr. Stephen L. Shiman: (973) 642-0133
$75,000 to support arts education programs.

Nonprofit Finance Fund
Morristown, NJ
Contact: Ms. Joyce Jonat: (973) 285-9446
$75,000 to support advisory and financial services for New Jersey cultural organizations.

The Noyes Museum of Art
Oceanville, NJ
Contact: Mr. Michael Patrick Cagno: (609) 652-8848
$55,000 for general operating support.

Office of Arts and Cultural Programming
Montclair, NJ
Contact: Mr. Jedediah Wheeler: (973) 655-3049
$10,000 to support the premiere of "Elmer Gantry."

Office for Academic & Public Partnerships in the Arts & Humanities
New Brunswick, NJ
Contact: Ms. Isabel Nazario: (732) 932-4391
$15,000 for the Community Artist Residency Training Series (CARTS).



Passage Theatre Company
Trenton, NJ
Contact: Ms. June Ballinger: (609) 392-0766
$65,000 for general operating support.

Paul Robeson Gallery of Rutgers University-Newark Campus
Newark, NJ
Contact: Mr. Jorge Daniel Veneciano: (973) 353-1625
$7,500 for general operating support.

Perkins Center for the Arts
Moorestown, NJ
Contact: Mr. Alan Willoughby: (856) 235-6488
$60,000 for general operating support.

Peters Valley Craftsmen
Layton, NJ
Contact: Mr. Jimmy R. Clark: (973) 948-5200
$75,000 for general operating support.

Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey
Madison, NJ
Contact: Mr. John Pietrowski: (973) 514-1787
$50,000 for general operating support of new play development and statewide education programs.

Princeton Symphony Orchestra
Princeton, NJ
Contact: Ms. Melanie Clarke: (609) 497-0020
$10,000 for general operating support.

Pro Arte Chorale
Paramus, NJ
Contact: Mr. Hugh Dougan: (212) 858-1131
$7,500 for the commissioning of a new choral work.

Pushcart Players
Verona, NJ
Contact: Ms. Ruth Fost: (201) 857-1115
$40,000 for general operating support.

Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts
Millville, NJ
Contact: Mrs. Carolyne Krull: (856) 327-4500
$23,000 for general operating support.

Roxey Ballet Company
Lambertville, NJ
Contact: Mr. Mark A. Roxey: (609) 397-7616
$15,000 for general operating support.

Running Rabbit Family Theatre
Glen Ridge, NJ
Contact: Mr. Paul Whelihan: (973) 744-3309
$10,000 for general operating support.

Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts
Camden, NJ
Contact: Ms. Virginia Oberlin Steel: (856) 225-6610
$50,000 to support the Community Arts Programs in Camden.

School of the Garden State Ballet
Newark, NJ
Contact: Ms. Jody L. Jaron: (973) 623-1033
$20,000 for general operating support.

Sculpture Space
Utica, NY
Contact: Ms. Sydney Waller: (315) 724-8381
$5,000 for support of a residency for one NJ artist.

Settlement Music School
Camden, NJ
Contact: Ms. Valerie Clayton: (856) 541-6375
$30,000 for general operating and financial aid support of the Camden branch.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey
Madison, NJ
Contact: Ms. Bonnie J. Monte: (973) 408-3278
$175,000 for general operating support.

The Shore Institute of the Contemporary Arts
Long Branch, NJ
Contact: Mr. Douglas Ferrari: (732) 263-1211
$20,000 for general operating support.

SHUA Group
Jersey City, NJ
Contact: Mr. Joshua Bisset: (201) 433-9622
$5,000 for the creation and performance of a new work, "Soft Wall."

Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture
New York, NY
Contact: Ms. Kate Haw: (212) 529-0505
$10,000 for Fellowship support of three New Jersey visual artists.




South Jersey Cultural Alliance
Pleasantville, NJ
Contact: Ms. Cynthia Lambert: (609) 645-2760
$60,000 for general operating support.

Terra Firma Dance Theatre
Highland Park, NJ
Contact: Mr. Stuart Loungway: (732) 207-6318
$7,000 for support of the development of "OF/YOU/OF/US."

The Theater Project at Union County College
Cranford, NJ
Contact: Mr. Mark Spina: (908) 659-5189
$10,000 for general operating support.

Thomas A. Edison Media Arts Consortium
Jersey City, NJ
Contact: Mr. John Columbus: (201) 200-2043
$25,000 for the Black Maria Film and Video Festival and the NJ Young Film and Videomakers Festival.

Trenton Downtown Association
Trenton, NJ
Contact: Ms. Taneshia Nash Laird: (609) 393-8998
$10,000 for general operating support of arts programming.

Tri-State Actors Theater
Sussex, NJ
Contact: Mrs. Patricia Meacham: (973) 875-2950
$20,000 for general operating support.

Two River Theatre Company
Red Bank, NJ
Contact: Mr. Guy H. Gsell: (732) 345-1400
$80,000 for general operating support.

Vermont Studio Center
Johnson, VT
Contact: Mr. Jonathan Gregg: (802) 635-2727
$17,500 to support five residencies for New Jersey artists and writers.

Virginia Center for the Creative Arts
Amherst, VA
Contact: Ms. Suny Monk: (804) 946-7236
$21,000 to support ten residencies for New Jersey artists, writers, and composers.

Visual Arts Center of New Jersey
Summit, NJ
Contact: Mr. Eric Pryor: (908) 273-9121
$20,000 for general operating support.

Westfield Symphony Orchestra
Westfield, NJ
Contact: Ms. Elizabeth Ryan: (908) 232-9400
$37,500 for general operating support of the Symphony's 25th anniversary season.

What Exit? Theatre Company
Maplewood, NJ
Contact: Ms. Beverly Sheehan: (973) 763-4029
$9,100 for general operating support.

WheatonArts and Cultural Center
Millville, NJ
Contact: Ms. Susan M. Gogan: (856) 825-6800
$100,000 for general operating support.

Women's Studio Workshop
Rosendale, NY
Contact: Ms. Ann Kalmbach: (845) 658-9133
$15,000 to support two Artist-In-Residence opportunities for NJ women artists.