The Arts Council of Moore County will receive $25,480 in state grant funding for its grassroots arts program.

That was among $7.7 million in funding for arts programs and projects across North Carolina for the 20092010 fiscal year, Linda A. Carlisle, secretary of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, recently announced.

The organizational grants and federal stimulus grants for the arts are designed to support arts organizations who contribute to the economic, educational and cultural vitality of local communities throughout the state, a new release said.

As a result of the support from the North Carolina General Assembly, along with funds from National Endowment for the Arts and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the funding will be distributed through 342 grants to organizations, 16 artist fellowships, three documentary grants and three internships.

The Arts Council of Moore County grant will fund various arts programs, administrative support and subgrants.

In announcing the grants, Carlisle underscored the importance of the arts to North Carolina's economy and education. N.C. Arts Council grants provide artists in schools, after-school arts programs for at-risk youth, innovative outreach to encourage participation, community revitalization, programs for populations in need, grassroots arts funding to ensure that every citizen has access to quality arts experiences, as well as ongoing support and organizational development.

"Education is vital to the mission of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources," Carlisle said. "More than 13.6 million people participated in Arts Council funded projects in North Carolina last year. Children make up about a quarter of that total. The majority of all Arts Council grants have an educational component, and this year 16 percent were direct Arts in Education projects."

In addition to state funds, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), a federal stimulus program designed to aid in the economic recovery of the state and nation, provided $718,850 to preserve a total of 104 jobs that might otherwise have been eliminated due to the economy, according to the Department of Cultural Resources release.

The Creative Workforce Grants range from $10,000 for smaller organizations to $25,000 for larger organizations and will support the preservation of critical jobs and artists' contracts. Local arts councils, statewide service organizations and organizations that currently receive General Support and Outreach grants from the Arts Council were eligible to apply.

Nancy Trovillion, deputy director of the N.C. Arts Council, said that the selection of the Creative Workforce Grant recipients was a very difficult process given the challenges that all arts organizations face during this economic downturn.

"We had 79 requests from many of the state's top arts organizations but only enough money to fund 18," she said. "We had to turn down many worthy requests.

"We chose those organizations that made an urgent case that core positions would be lost without our funding."

Funds will support workers in the arts, ranging from gallery managers to an arts education coordinator.

The grant money includes the seven North Carolina organizations that received support directly from the NEA totaling $325,000 through the ARRA.

The North Carolina Arts Council works to make North Carolina the "creative state where a robust arts industry produces a creative economy, vibrant communities, children prepared for the 21st century and lives filled with discovery and learning," the council said.

The Arts Council accomplishes this in partnership with artists and arts organizations and other organizations that use the arts to make their communities stronger

The N.C. Arts Council is a division of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina's arts, history and culture.

More information is available online at www.ncarts.org.