Bradenton arts grant still in its infancy

Comparing arts funding in Sarasota and Manatee counties might be like comparing apples to oranges at first glance.

Recently, 25 Sarasota arts-based organizations received more than a collective $1 million in an annual Tourist Development Cultural/Arts grant, funded through the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau. In Bradenton, only $50,000 is available to the arts through the Bradenton Area Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Event Marketing Assistance grant.

It’s a grant few people might know about, and even fewer have taken advantage of.

“It’s something that we don’t advertise,” said Elliott Falcione, interim director for the Bradenton Area CVB. “Fifty grand doesn’t go a long way.”

But while Sarasota’s TDC/A grant program has been going strong for 20 years, Bradenton’s is only a year old — with the potential to grow.

The Bradenton Area CVB plans to research ways the community can better utilize the arts grant program. Until then, designating $50,000 for the arts is a good start, Falcione said.

“We’re reaching out to the arts more than we’ve ever had,” he said.

The Bradenton Area CVB’s Event Marketing assistance program — which is funded through the 5-cent tourist tax — lists a strict criteria for organizations wanting to apply.

To be eligible, organizations must be a nonprofit holding an event in Manatee County, according to the grant application. The event must enhance the area’s overall tourist appeal, attracting would-be guests into hotels, attracting community involvement and generating revenue for the county. The grant can only fund an event that is no more than 3 years old. It must be used for promotion and advertising expenses, specifically ads that reach more than a 100-mile radius of the county. Matching funding is also required.

So far, Realize Bradenton has taken advantage of the assistance grant, requesting $3,000 to help promote the American Watercolor Society Traveling Exhibition at ArtCenter Manatee earlier this year, said Johnette Isham, executive director for the marketing/events group.

The art center was one of only six galleries in the country to host the exhibit. That alone guaranteed tourists would come.

Realize Bradenton used the assistance grant for online banners and print ads in national arts publications based beyond Manatee’s 100-mile radius. It was also used to create special VIP passports that highlighted the watercolor show and featured discounts on area hotels and other Manatee-based attractions.

Isham has been meeting with Falcione and other cultural partners to define other tourist-generating events they can work on together.

“We’re looking to do great events that benefit quality of life,” Isham said. “To make them part of people’s car trips or flights — events that will get them to stay here longer.”

That’s the same goal that Sarasota’s TDC/A grant — generated by Sarasota County’s half-cent bed tax — has in mind. “It’s to help support (arts) programs with programming that will enhance tourism in the community,” said Jim Shirley, executive director of the Sarasota County Arts Council.