We are thrilled to announce the recipients of the Creative Impact Fund for 2024! This year, we received an unprecedented number of applications that reflected the incredible enthusiasm, expertise, and artistry within our community. Announcing our grantees is always our favorite time of the year, and we couldn’t be more excited to celebrate the outstanding talent and creativity!
In 2024, we established a new fund to continue supporting our community, replacing our usual Statewide Community Regrant Funding. The Creative Impact Fund is financed by a New York State Senate initiative aimed at providing fair arts support to all regions throughout New York State. The funds are distributed by ASI through the recommendations of regional panelists made up of industry leaders.
This year, we awarded over $750,000 in funding to 87 individual artists and arts organizations who will use this funding in support of their artistic pursuits. This includes general operating support, arts programming, creation of a new work, and training access support.
Join us in celebrating these bold and talented creatives! Stay connected with us on the ASI webpage, Facebook, and Instagram for updates on how you can view and support their amazing work.
2024 Creative Impact Fund Recipients
| Organization or Grantee Name | Project Title |
|---|---|
| 1891 Fredonia Opera House | General Operating |
| A Musical Feast | FOLLOW YOUR BLISS—Shared SOUNDS |
| Ahira Hall Memorial Library | LARC: Literacy in Arts, Reading and Culture |
| Alleyway Theatre | General Operating |
| American Legion Band of the Tonawandas | American Legion Band Veteran’s Day Concert at Cardinal O’Hara High School |
| Assembly House 150 | General Operating |
| Audubon Community Nature Center | Bee Exhibit Update |
| Ballet Artists of WNY, Inc (DBA Neglia Ballet Artists) | General Operating |
| Beau Fleuve Music & Arts (BFM Arts, Inc) | General Operating |
| Bella Canta/ Danielle Di Stefano | Children’s Opera Coloring Book Development and Outreach |
| Boys & Girls Club of East Aurora | CraftMakers |
| Brazen-Faced Varlets | The Early Girl by Caroline Kava |
| Buffalo Arts Studio | General Operating |
| Buffalo Chamber Players | General Operating |
| Buffalo Freedom Gardens, Inc. | Healing Art in Nature |
| Buffalo Maritime Center | General Operating |
| Buffalo Media Resources Inc. DBA Squeaky Wheel | General Operating |
| Buffalo Opera Unlimited | General Operating |
| Buffalo Society of Artists | BSA Viewpoints: A Mentorship Model |
| Buffalo String Works, Inc. | General Operating |
| Buffalo Tango Orkestra | Buffalo Tango Orkestra |
| CEPA Gallery | General Operating |
| Chantal Calato | PLAY Workshops |
| Chantal Calato | THE BIG WHEEL |
| Chautauqua Youth Symphony | Youth Symphony Weekend at Chautauqua |
| Citizens for a Better Cassadaga | 2024 Cassadaga Lakes Summer Concert Series |
| Claire Connolly | See Me Bearing |
| Clark Academy Dance Center | Buffalo Christmas Showcase |
| Community Music School of Buffalo | General Operating |
| Craig Sheperd | COLUMN-1 |
| crossclipss productions | Wood Worker’s Corner |
| Cuba Circulating Library | General Operating |
| Cynthesis Studios | IDEA-making in Art & Movement! |
| Dana Calanan | HeartMath Certification – Building Personal Resilience™ |
| David A. Howe Public Library | General Operating |
| Edo Langston | The Ekanami ProjectZ Initiative |
| Enlightenment Bookstore and Literary Arts Center Inc. | Community Literary Programs |
| Erie Regional Housing Development Corp. d/b/a The Belle Center | “Waking the Roots: Taino Art Unveiled” |
| Fenton History Center | General Operating |
| Frani Evedon | Into Madness |
| Fredonia Presbyterian Church | Art Discovery |
| Friends of Limerick Inc | Annual Kids Day 2024 |
| Graycliff Conservancy | General Operating |
| Guitarwoodshed / Jason Beaudreau | Music Recording and Production Teaching Artist at Newfane High School. |
| GWBN Inc. DBA Gardens Buffalo Niagara | Artist in Gardens 2024 |
| Hamburg Natural History Society/Penn Dixie | General Operating |
| Infinity Visual and Performing Arts, Inc. | General Operating |
| Jessica Mjoen | Echoes of Africa |
| Julia Bottoms | Beyond February |
| Karen D’Angelo | Opera on the Steps at the Historic Niagara Falls High School- A Centennial Celebration |
| Kaycee Colburn | Birds through an Indigenous lens |
| Kenan Center | Kenan Center – Return to Produced Theatre |
| Lock City Glee Club, Inc. (DBA Lock City Sound) | A Community In Song – A Choral Showcase |
| Lock City Glee Club, Inc. (DBA Lock City Sound) | A Christmas Festival of Sound |
| Lukia Costello | Ukrainian-American Buffalo – stories from a diaspora adjacent to War |
| Meg Specksgoor | Fauxlore |
| Mental Health Advocates of WNY | OpCOM Explores the Arts |
| Middleport Community Choirs Inc. | A Dickens Christmas |
| Music is Art | General Operating |
| Net Positive Inc | General Operating |
| Niagara Arts and Cultural Center | General Operating |
| Niagara Celtic Heritage Society, Inc | Celtic Dance Groups for NCHS (Niagara Celtic Heritage Society) |
| Nickel City B-Sides | Short video series combining original music with shadowcasting. |
| North Shore Arts Alliance, Inc. | Art Trail 2024 |
| Nusantara Arts Inc. | General Operating |
| Pappy Martin Legacy Jazz Collective | General Operating |
| Parrish Gibbons | Niagara Falls Eclipse Above The Falls Mural & Memory Archive |
| Peter A. Tucker | Finding Meaning Through Materials |
| Pure Ink Poetry | The Pure Ink Tapings |
| Rachel Dianna Henderson | Earth Travelers |
| Rachelle Toarmino | Book Arts Training |
| Roycroft Campus | General Operating |
| Second Generation Theatre Co. | General Operating |
| Spark Filmmakers Collaborative | Haudenosaunnee Micro-Short Film Program 2025 |
| Starring Buffalo | Who Let the CATS Out |
| Stitch Buffalo | General Operating |
| The Collaborative Center for Social Innovation | Connecting with Nature: Science, Art, & Sustainability |
| The Springville Center for the Arts Inc | General Operating |
| Theatre of Youth Company, Inc. | General Operating |
| Town of Boston | Town of Boston Arts Council 2024 Summer Concert Series |
| Town of Elma | 2024 Summer Concerts on the Green |
| Town of Newfane | 2024 Summer Concert Series |
| Ujima Company, Inc. | General Operating |
| Village of Angola | Village of Angola Summer Concerts at Centennial Park |
| Village of Blasdell | Village of Blasdell 2024 Summer Concert Series |
| West Seneca Art Society | Community Watercolor classes 2024-2025 |
| Young Audiences of Western New York Inc (dba Arts for Learning) | General Operating |
