Sesquicentennial awarded grant
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
The Mount Ayr Sesquicentennial Committee has been awarded a $15,640 state grant to go toward historical and cultural presentations and activities during the three-day celebration, September 19-21.
According to the Iowa Economic Development and Finance Authority, the “Iowa Community Cultural Grants help cities, county governments, tribal councils and nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations to support the development of community programs that provide jobs for local Iowans while promoting Iowa’s cultural, ethnic and historical heritages through the development of festivals, music, drama, cultural programs and tourism projects.”
The Iowa Community Cultural Grant is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Iowa Arts Council, which exists within the Iowa Economic Development Authority.
Sesquicentennial committee volunteers completed an extensive eight-page application detailing plans for the celebration, including the event’s impact on Iowa’s workforce.
“Our committee worked hard to brainstorm, reflect, research and invite as many Iowa-based performers that we could to participate in what we hope is a rich and rewarding experience for all attendees,” said Sesquicentennial Committee co-chair Korbie Rinehart. “We want to showcase the fascinating and artistically diverse groups that are offered right here in Iowa. Not only is our goal to entertain, but to also educate and have attendees leave feeling proud and fulfilled.”
Jeremy Rounds, a senior planner with the Southern Iowa Council of Governments, assisted the committee in applying for the grant.
“This is a very competitive grant program, and we knew that something like a typical sesquicentennial is not a unique cultural event,” he said. “It was the size, quality, and level of planning of Mount Ayr’s weekend-long program that made me recommend Mount Ayr apply for this funding, and I believe it was the same reasons that helped it achieve funding.”
The receipt of grant dollars will come following the completion of the celebration, at which point the committee must submit documentation of expenditures and proof of purchase along with attained goals of the celebration.
