Youth participate in an arts workshop in NYC for Shine’s film Inocente. The grant from the NEA will support more workshops like these across the country.
Through its grant-making to thousands of nonprofits each year, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) promotes opportunities for people in communities across America to experience the arts and exercise their creativity.
In the second major grant announcement of fiscal year 2015, the NEA will make a $50,000 award to support Shine Global’s multi-faceted IGNITE program to extend the reach of Shine’s acclaimed documentaries and harness their power as a dynamic force for positive change across the US, especially in communities with limited access to traditional film distribution outlets.
NEA Chairman Jane Chu said, “The NEA is committed to advancing learning, fueling creativity, and celebrating the arts in cities and towns across the United States. Funding these new projects like the one from Shine Global represents an investment in both local communities and our nation’s creative vitality.”
“We deeply believe in the power of film to transform children’s lives” said Shine’s co-founder and executive director Susan MacLaury. “Shine has been working since our founding 10 years ago to ensure that our films have an impact. This grant from the NEA will support us expanding these efforts and inspiring even more audiences through the power of film.”
The main elements of Shine’s IGNITE outreach and engagement program include: 1) Community film screenings and complementary workshops designed with partner organizations for youth; 2) Free, standards-based curricula designed to enable teachers to integrate film in the classroom while building their students’ critical thinking skills; and 3) A social action template that empowers viewers to advocate for change.
Shine Global aims to schedule more screenings of our films, including the Academy Award®-winning Inocente, The Harvest (La Cosecha), and 1 Way Up, beginning in September 2015. Any communities or organizations interested in learning more about how they can bring Shine’s films to their community can contact info@shineglobal.org.
The $50,000 grant from NEA must be matched by Shine from other fundraising sources. Please consider supporting our work by making a tax-deductible contribution today.