The Arts and Education Council was founded many, many years ago with the purpose to support a handful of existing iconic arts organizations. But A&E’s primary goal in the early 1960s was to provide critical startup funding for arts organizations yet-to-be. Over the past 50+ years, generous contributions to A&E from loyal patrons have helped arts organizations push their collective imaginations to dream and create bigger productions or exhibits, innovative arts education programs and more diverse outreach efforts.

Invest

2015 Grant Recipients by Discipline
2015 Grant Recipients by Discipline

2015 A&E Grantee Impact in Missouri & Illinois
2015 A&E Grantee Impact in Missouri & Illinois

Thanks to our donors, the Arts and Education Council has raised and invested more than $100 million in nonprofit arts and arts education organizations in the Greater St. Louis area since 1963. Unique collaborations with corporate leaders, like the PNC Foundation, Maritz, the Monsanto Fund and Wells Fargo Advisors, also make it possible for A&E to reach classrooms, communities and underserved populations that might not otherwise have access to the arts. When the arts thrive, our city thrives!

See our current grantees here.

 

Impact

The Arts and Education Council serves the communities in which our donors live. That’s why A&E’s grant programs fund everything from art education programs in inner-city schools to theatre and visual art events for those living in rural communities surrounding St. Louis. A&E understands that our donors are as diverse as the arts themselves, and our wide range of funding approaches reflect the myriad values of our community.

2015 Sustaining and Operating Grantee Programs
2015 Sustaining and Operating Grantee Programs

Sustaining & Operating Grants

The Arts and Education Council offers annual unrestricted operating support to cornerstone arts institutions to help strengthen infrastructure, build sustainability and expand programming. Through this core support A&E has assisted in growing many of our city’s distinguished arts organizations. Learn more about Sustaining and Operating Grants here.

PNC Project Grants

PNC Project Grants, underwritten by the PNC Foundation, provide merit-based grants to more than 20 organizations in the St. Louis bi-state area providing arts and arts education projects addressing community needs. In 2015, more than 628,000 people, including over 87,500 children, benefited from PNC Project Grant supported organizations. Learn more about PNC Project Grants here.

2015 Monsanto Fund Rural Arts Program Reach
2015 Monsanto Fund Rural Arts Program Reach

Monsanto Fund Rural Community Arts Education Program

The Monsanto Fund Rural Community Arts Education Program is a partnership initiative that strengthens rural communities through the arts. Funding from the program brings artists and entertainers into rural classrooms and performance venues so people of all ages living in counties surrounding the St. Louis metropolitan area have meaningful access to the arts. Learn more about the Monsanto Fund Rural Community Arts Education Program here.

2015 Maritz Arts and Education Fund for Teachers Program Reach
2015 Maritz Arts and Education Fund for Teachers Program Reach

Maritz Arts and Education Fund for Teachers

The Maritz Arts and Education Fund for Teachers is a unique A&E partnership created with the belief that meaningful, memorable learning experiences transform the worldview of a child. By providing critical funds to arts education programs serving St. Louis area school districts, the Fund supports classroom-based projects and artistic opportunities that engage students in the creative process to develop their ability to think, create, collaborate and communicate. Learn more about the Maritz Arts and Education Fund for Teachers here.

Accelerate

The Arts and Education Council began as a funder for arts startups - startups that have grown into St. Louis icons, like Opera Theatre and COCA. Over 50 years later, A&E supports arts organizations in even more ways: professional development programs, fiscal sponsorships and below-market office and event spaces so arts organizations can focus their resources where they’re most needed.

Centene Center for the Arts

The Centene Center for the Arts is an accelerator space and dynamic cultural hub in the heart of Grand Center Arts District. Through a leadership gift from the Centene Charitable Foundation and management by A&E, the Centene Center provides tenants state-of-the-art office space at below-market cost, plus free access to rehearsal, performance, meeting and event spaces. Learn more about the Centene Center here.

“It is impossible for me to say just how much the affordable space at the Centene Center has helped Young Liars Theatre in our earliest stages of development ... There is simply nothing like the Centene Center anywhere else in St. Louis (or the rest of the country from my experience) in terms of helping fledgling arts organizations find the footing they need to not only launch, but to do their very best work.”

-Chuck Harper, YoungLiars

Fiscal Sponsorship

As a fiscal sponsor, the Arts and Education Council mentors and guides arts startups through the early stages of preparing for and obtaining their nonprofit status.

Visionary Awards: The Arts and Education Council was part of an effort to revive the Saint Louis Visionary Awards in 2015, celebrating the contributions and achievements of women working in or supporting the arts in St. Louis.

Tennessee Williams Festival: The Arts and Education Council acted as fiscal sponsor for the inaugural year of the Tennessee Williams Festival, honoring the art and influence of playwright Tennessee Williams, which was held in May 2016. The Festival featured a series of plays, readings and discussions.

Arts Leadership and Management Academy

The Arts Leadership and Management Academy (ALMA) is a collaboration with the Nonprofit Services Center and generously funded by Wells Fargo Advisors. ALMA enhances the skills and effectiveness of St. Louis arts and cultural organizations through participation in a strengths-based approach to capacity building and leadership, providing training and support through a series of affordable management workshops.

ALMA is also home to the Executive Director’s Roundtable, a professionally-led program for executive directors of arts and cultural organizations providing support through peer exchanges and resource sharing during professionally-facilitated meetings. Research has proven this “peer learning cluster” is a highly effective method of training for nonprofits. Learn more about ALMA here.

Arts Marketers

Arts Marketers is a meeting series that offer training and guidance for marketing nonprofit professionals from local marketing experts and advertising agencies. Topics include social media and digital marketing, public relations, search engine optimization, branding, copywriting and more. This gathering provides actionable and cost effective solutions in a collaborative environment for arts organizations and nonprofits. Learn more about Arts Marketers here.

“I find A&E’s free Arts Marketers events to be an invaluable resource. The meetings and events provide welcome opportunities for me to broaden my knowledge and resource base while connecting with my colleagues at other arts organizations. It’s helpful to have a platform for discussion about the challenges we face as arts marketers AND the creative solutions we find along the way.”

-Lauren Kistner, Laumeier Sculpture Park

Celebrate

The Arts and Education Council honors and celebrates the individuals and organizations that create the vibrant artistic culture of our city. Through recognition of excellence - be it artistic excellence, philanthropy, art education or corporate citizenship - A&E fosters the creative environment that develops the next generation of artists and supporters, crucial to the health of our region.

“A&E’s mission is to build appreciation, participation and support for arts and arts education throughout the St. Louis community. We celebrate the Makers - creatively ambitious people who use the arts to elevate and bring us together. They are always looking for new forms of expression, and that’s the kind of energy we need in our community: artistic creativity and voices that provide hope and healing.”

-Cynthia Prost, Arts and Education Council

St. Louis Arts Awards

A record-breaking crowd of more than 700 arts and arts education supporters gathered at the Chase Park Plaza on January 19 for the 2015 St. Louis Arts Awards, presented by the Arts and Education Council and chaired by Lynne and Jim Turley. World Wide Technology, Inc. and the Steward Family Foundation were the Presenting Sponsors. Highlights included special performances by renowned jazz vocalist and honoree Denise Thimes with honoree and philanthropist Nancy Kranzberg; actors Jim Butz and Anderson Matthews performing in tribute to Shakespeare Festival St. Louis; and Brian Owens with members of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra.

Keep Art Happening Scholarship

The Arts and Education Council presented a trio of teen musicians with the 2015  “Keep Art Happening” Scholarship at the Fox Theater Performing Arts Foundation Teen Talent Competition. The winners were:

Christian X.M. McGhee, drummer, age 16, junior at Westminster Christian Academy

Race Simmons, vocalist, age 15, sophomore at Maplewood-Richmond Heights High School

Connor Low, guitarist, age 15, sophomore at Liberty High School

Read the complete 2015 Annual Report to the Community here.