ORLANDO, FL. — October 02, 2017 — United Arts of Central Florida has been awarded a $50,000 grant for diversity and inclusion initiatives from the Duke Energy Foundation, making this the fourth year in a row that Duke has supported these efforts. The grant provides “seed money” for cultural groups to create programming that will appeal to a wide range of audiences, particularly ethnically diverse communities in Central Florida. Grants of up to $5,000 per group will be awarded over the year to spur the development of more diverse and inclusive programming.
The Duke Energy funding will:
- Spur arts and cultural groups to produce projects that will reach diverse audiences in Central Florida including Asian, African-American, Hispanic and Caribbean communities.
- Broaden the audience base of diverse ethnic populations who benefit from arts programming in their community and will support future cultural initiatives.
- Diversify target marketing and promotion of new programming through on-going collaborative marketing campaign efforts via diverse media outlets as well as through publication in the Orlando Arts Magazine.
- Encourage cultural groups to diversify their Boards and staff and establish diverse advisory groups to guide future programming and marketing.
“I am thrilled that Duke Energy continues to invest in United Arts Diversity Initiatives. As a result of this funding over the past three years, we have seen real movement on the part of the cultural community towards development of innovative, high-quality, new programs that appeal to diverse audiences. Cultural groups are making strategic decisions to be more inclusive in their programming and marketing efforts as well as in diversifying their staff and boards,” stated Flora Maria Garcia, United Arts’ President and CEO.
The first two years of funding from Duke Energy allowed United Arts to hold a series of target marketing workshops and conduct focus groups for more than 50 United Arts-funded arts and cultural organizations to learn details about Central Florida demographics and how to target market to the diverse communities living in the region. The workshops included information on the importance of diverse audiences, their buying power, education levels, and interest in culture. The workshops demonstrated to businesses the value of expanding audiences to reach a wide array of demographics.
In the third year of Duke Energy funding, United Arts established Diversity Grants, which incentivized groups to create new programming that appealed to diverse audiences. A few examples of these successful programs include the Garden Theatre’s production of Destiny of Desire, a Telenovela; Central Florida Community Arts’ presentation of “Sound Bytes,” a concert that combined the music of video games with Asian culture; and the Bay Street Players’ production of Memphis. Because of the demand and positive effect of these grants, and thanks to the continued support from Duke Energy, United Arts will continue the Diversity Grants initiative throughout the 2017 fiscal year.
About United Arts of Central Florida
United Arts is a collaboration of individuals, businesses, governments and school districts, foundations, arts and cultural organizations, and artists. Its mission is to enrich communities by investing in arts, science and history. United Arts serves residents and visitors in Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties through more than 70 local arts, science and history organizations. It raises and distributes funds for these cultural groups and provides management, administrative and advisory services. Since 1989, United Arts has invested more than $145 million in Central Florida’s arts and culture.
For more information, visit http://www.UnitedArts.cc or call 407.628.0333. Please email
[email protected] for comments or inquiries. You can follow United Arts of Central Florida on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
About Duke Energy Foundation
The Duke Energy Foundation provides philanthropic support to address the needs of the communities where its customers live and work. The foundation provides more than $30 million annually in charitable gifts. The foundation’s education focus spans kindergarten to career, particularly science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), early childhood literacy and workforce development. It also supports the environment and community impact initiatives, including arts and culture.
Duke Energy employees and retirees actively contribute to their communities as volunteers and leaders at a wide variety of nonprofit organizations. Duke Energy is committed to building on its legacy of community service. For more information, visit http://www.duke-energy.com/foundation.
Duke Energy is a Fortune 125 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com.
The Duke Energy News Center serves as a multimedia resource for journalists and features news releases, helpful links, photos and videos. Hosted by Duke Energy, illumination is an online destination for stories about people, innovations, and community and environmental topics. It also offers glimpses into the past and insights into the future of energy.
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