The Ovation Foundation Announces Recipients Of Its 2017 Creative Economy innOVATION Grant Awards Program

The Ovation Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Ovation TV, has recognized the work of five non-profit arts organizations with $125,000 in awards as part of its 2017 Creative Economy innOVATION Grant Awards Program. In its fourth grant cycle, the program focused on identifying model nonprofit arts organizations that cultivate and support artists and enterprises in the creative industries through capacity-building, accelerating partnerships, and/or fiscal support. Five grants of $25,000 each were awarded to the following nonprofit organizations:

Center for Creative Economy, North Carolina The Center's mission is to serve as a HUB for creative entrepreneurs and business owners providing programs and resources to launch, grow, and accelerate. The Center hosts the annual Creative Startups Accelerator in Winston Salem, North Carolina to assist early stage creative companies with business skill development, and compete for SEED stage investment. This program attracts startups regionally, statewide, and throughout the Southeast.

Riverviews Artspace, Virginia - Riverviews is a non-profit arts organization in Lynchburg, Virginia committed to presenting contemporary art exhibitions, multi-disciplinary programs and events as diverse as its community. Its mission is to cultivate inclusivity and quality of life via the means of art.

Creative Startups, New Mexico - Creative Startups accelerates entrepreneurs and builds the creative economy. Based in Santa Fe, NM, they reach a global audience with workshops, the Creative Startups Accelerator, LABS: Pre-Accelerator, and creative placemaking initiatives providing creative entrepreneurs with the tools to grow the companies that shape the future.

3Arts, Inc., Illinois 3Arts, Inc. works to sustain and promote artists in the six-county Chicago metropolitan area. Its focus on women artists, artists of color, and artists with disabilities stems from the need for a diversity of voices and visions to be supported if its city is to prosper and inspire.

Streetlights Production Assistant Program, California - Since 1992 Streetlights has been redressing the underrepresentation of young ethnic minorities behind-the-camera in Film, Televisionand TV Commercial production, creating careers, not just jobs. Through its Job Training, Job Placement and Career Advancement services, smart and ambitious women and men from diverse backgrounds can reach both economic and social parity.

"It is an honor for Riverviews Artspace to be one of the five recipients of the 2017 Creative Economy innOVATION Grants," said Kim Soerensen, executive director of Riverviews Artspace. "This grant award will enable our organization to continue providing the support artists need to thrive in the creative economy."

"Throughout Ovation's history, the network has worked to acknowledge the works of artists who contribute to our nation's creative economy and culture. We established the Ovation Foundation to formalize this continuing endeavor, as well as to expand our efforts throughout the country, from metropolitan city centers to more rural areas in our nation's heartland," said Liz Janneman, President of the Ovation Foundation. "We are pleased to present our 2017 Innovation Grant Award winners with funding that will assist these exemplary organizations to continue and grow their organizations."

Applicants for the Creative Economy innOVATION Grant Awards were judged according to their program content, mentorship and/or partnership opportunities and incubator strength to empower artists to become fully developed and thrive in a competitive global economy.

The expert panel of judges for The Ovation Foundation's 2017 Creative Economy innOVATION Grant Awards Program included (in alphabetical order): California State Senator Ben Allen; Mike Allmendinger, President of the Kilbourne Group; Jessica Yas Barker, Director of Corporate Relations at Ovation TV; Dennis Cheek, Executive Director of the National Creativity Network; Jennifer Goulet, President and CEO of Creative Many Michigan; Denise Grande, Director of Arts Education at the Los Angeles County Arts Commission; Robert Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts; Keith Mct, Director of the Western Region of The Actors Fund; Kimberly Ritter-Martinez, economist; Dee Schneidman, Program Director, Research and Creative Economy at the New England Foundation for the Arts; Charles Segars, CEO of Ovation TV and Chairman of The Ovation Foundation; Susan Soroko, Director of Creative Economy at Arlington Economic Development and Co-Director of the Creative Economy Coalition; Amy Webb, Director of the Arts and Business Council of New York; Laura Zucker, Creative Strategist.

The Ovation Foundation launched in 2014 to provide a focus for Ovation TV's philanthropic, advocacy, and educational initiatives. Its mission is to support and increase access to the arts by educating the public on the importance and value of the arts, advocating for prioritization of the arts through social action campaigns, expanding educational opportunities and funding; and, supporting non-profit arts organizations through the innOVATION Grant Awards Program.

SOURCE Ovation

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