Press Room

The workshops will provide a general orientation to Muse, including eligibility, Music Programs goal fit and answers to frequently asked questions. They will also provide a brief overview of the application along with instructions for utilizing the Foundation’s grantmaking software. There will be opportunities to ask questions during the presentation and staff will also be available afterwards for one-on-one questions. Both workshops will cover the same content. Interested parties are encouraged to register online at bohemianfoundation.org/music-programs/muse/application-assistance, as space is limited.

Muse supports music-related organizations and activities in Larimer and Weld Counties. The grant program will provide support to organizations that have music as their primary focus, or that have a music-centered program. Through Muse, Bohemian Foundation will make awards up to $20,000 to eligible 501(c)(3) organizations serving Larimer and Weld Counties.

Applications for the Fall 2017 grant cycle will be accepted beginning Sept. 8 and awards will be made in late 2017. For more information, visit the Bohemian Foundation website at bohemianfoundation.org.

About Bohemian Foundation: Bohemian Foundation is a private family foundation established in 2001. Based in Fort Collins, Colorado, Bohemian Foundation works to empower citizens and impact communities through its responsive grantmaking programs and special initiatives.

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“Music fosters and enhances connections between people, and we look forward to supporting those connections through Muse,” said Bohemian Foundation’s Music Programs Director Tom Scharf. “There are many wonderful organizations that build community through music in Northern Colorado. Muse encourages the important work they already do, and inspires new opportunities for innovative programs centered on music.”

The grant program will provide support to organizations that have music as their primary focus, or that have a music-centered program. Through Muse, Bohemian Foundation will make awards up to $20,000 to eligible 501(c)(3) organizations serving Larimer and Weld Counties. Applications will be accepted twice per year. Funding requests must align with at least one of Bohemian Foundation’s Music Programs goals: to provide youth with encouragement and opportunities to express themselves through music; to help musicians and music-related businesses grow and develop; and to increase performances of live contemporary music.

The Foundation will host information sessions for interested grant applicants in late August and early September. Applications will be accepted beginning Sept. 8 and awards will be made in late 2017. For more information, visit the Bohemian Foundation website at bohemianfoundation.org.

About Bohemian Foundation: Bohemian Foundation is a private family foundation established in 2001. Based in Fort Collins, Colorado, Bohemian Foundation works to empower citizens and impact communities through its responsive grantmaking programs and special initiatives.

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Who:

Applicants must be a 501(c)(3) organization or a governmental unit serving a charitable purpose. Private foundations, type III non-functionally-integrated supporting organizations, and programs and projects under fiscal sponsorship are ineligible to apply to Pharos Fund.

Applicants do not need to be headquartered in Fort Collins to receive funding. However, applicants must serve clients within the Poudre School District boundary or have a direct impact on individuals in the grantmaking area.

When:

Bohemian Foundation will accept applications until 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 7.

Where:

To apply for a grant, visit bohemianfoundation.org/pharos-apply

Applicants may apply for the following types of support: program support, general operating support or project support.

Pharos Fund grant applications are considered twice per year, once in the spring and once in the fall.

Applicants may request any funding amount up to $30,000 per application.

For more information, visit www.bohemianfoundation.org, call 970-221-2636 or email .

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With financial support from local businesses, foundations and individuals, classes from the Poudre and Thompson School Districts awarded grants to recipients including FoCo Café; Homeless Gear; and Launch: Community Through Skateboarding. Give Next is a partnership of community volunteers and organizations that include Bohemian Foundation, the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado, Poudre School District, Thompson School District and the Give Next Advisory Committee.

“Give Next fosters the next generation of community leaders, who learn about local issues and the nonprofits working to address them,” said Sara Maranowicz, Bohemian Foundation’s Community Programs Director. “The list of this year’s grant recipients illustrates the wide range of issues that students in our community care about, from food insecurity to homelessness; wildlife preservation to the arts.”

Give Next is a school-based youth philanthropy program designed to provide middle and high school students with experience in philanthropic giving. Through the program, local businesses, foundations and individuals become classroom donors by providing each participating school with $5,000 to award to Larimer County nonprofits. Many of the students from participating schools also complete their own fundraisers to add to the $5,000 grant amount provided by donors. Throughout the year, students design and manage their own grantmaking programs. Students work together to identify community needs, choose a focus area, create their own mission statement, research nonprofits, volunteer, conduct site visits, review grant applications and make funding decisions. At the end of the school year, students award grants to selected nonprofits. Through the process, Give Next enables students to experience the power of teamwork, the impact they can have on their community and the rewards of giving time, talent and treasure.

Currently, 13 middle and high schools in Poudre and Thompson School Districts participate in Give Next. Since the program’s inception in 2012, $226,000 has been awarded to a variety of nonprofits serving Larimer County. Every donor dollar goes directly to student grantmaking. For more information about becoming a Give Next classroom donor or about participating in the program, contact Jodie Riesenberger at 970-472-7672 or .

Bohemian Foundation is a private family foundation established in 2001. Based in Fort Collins, Colorado, Bohemian Foundation works to empower citizens and impact communities through its responsive grant making programs and special initiatives. Bohemian Foundation provides management support for Give Next.

Please download the full news release PDF to view full list of 2016-2017 Give Next grant recipients.

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Over the course of the year, local artists will paint 13 pianos donated by community members. Local artists and artist groups selected to paint pianos this year are Chris Bates; Edurado Casas; Chelsea Ermer; Carla Gamboa and Marina Avila; Jane Glotzer; Kris Grauvogl; Jana Leigh Hillstrom and Leisha Lawson; Pamela Kraft; Sarah J. Kuhn; Barbara and Rachel Lacerte; National Colorado Intertribal Powwow Association (NCIPA); Werner Schreiber; and Larry Tucci.

The Art in Action tent and summer painting will return to the south side of Fort Collins’ Old Town Square. The public is invited to stop by to watch the work in progress. On May 10, local artists Marina Avila and Carla Gamboa will begin working on the first 2017 piano.

“We’re excited to launch another colorful season of Pianos About Town in the community,” said Tom Scharf, Bohemian Foundation’s Music Programs director. “Bringing together visual art and music in a community that really embraces both art forms is special. This program has high visibility and great participation and continues to remind us that Fort Collins is a great place to be.”

Since the program’s start in 2010, 46 local artists have been employed to paint 80 pianos.

“Over the past several years of the program we’ve employed a wide range of artists: a high school student, Colorado State University students, as well as professional artists,” said Ellen Martin, Visual Arts Administrator for Art in Public Places. “This season, 10 of the 13 artists are new to the Pianos About Town program.”

Pianos About Town at a Glance:

Pianos About Town is intended to be a fun, interactive art installation that creates an additional element of whimsy and surprise in Fort Collins. The project is a public art initiative that provides paid work to local visual artists, that gives the public the opportunity to observe these artists work in real time, that showcases the work of these artists throughout town, and that brings opportunities for spontaneous musical expression to the streets of Fort Collins.

The original inspiration for Pianos About Town comes from British artist Luke Jerram, who created a 60-piano installation that toured the world, stopping in New York City in June 2010. Pianos About Town was also inspired by a similar project on Denver’s 16th Street Mall. The first pianos were placed in Downtown Fort Collins during the 2010 holiday season and were an instant hit. This is the seventh season for Pianos About Town.

Pianos are acquired through donations made by community members looking for a new home for their used instruments. Pianos are picked up, free of charge, from their previous homes and brought to a storage area where they are cleaned, tuned, prepped for painting, and readied for the outside elements. After that, the painting begins. Selected local artists spend approximately two weeks painting their piano in downtown Fort Collins, outdoors in a public location when weather permits. Once painted, each finished piano enters into rotation at Pianos About Town locations throughout Fort Collins. Area businesses play a key role in the success of the project by “adopting” the painted pianos and covering them during inclement weather.

Please download the full news release PDF to view artist profiles.

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The surveys will provide data about how much housing and work space the local arts community can use and what design features and amenities are desired. Resulting data can help attract funders, encourage the creation of space by private developers and advance a possible project. In addition, survey responses will influence the location and type of new spaces, design features, amenities, programs and affordability.

About the Partners

The City of Fort Collins, Fort Collins Downtown Development Authority, and Bohemian Foundation are the three partners that invited Artspace to Fort Collins to explore the potential of developing affordable spaces where artists/creatives of all disciplines may live and work and arts/cultural organizations and creative businesses can thrive.

About the Core Group

The partners assembled a Core Group of community arts leaders who helped facilitate Artspace’s Preliminary Feasibility Visit and who continue to engage artists and creatives in next steps.

About Artspace

Artspace is the nation’s leader in artist-led community transformation, with 46 projects in operation across the country and another dozen in development, representing a $600 million investment in America’s arts infrastructure. With headquarters in Minneapolis and offices in Denver, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Seattle and Washington D.C., Artspace is America’s leading developer of arts facilities. To date, Artspace has completed nearly 2,000 affordable live/work units for artists and their families as well as more than a million square feet of non-residential space for artists and arts organizations. For more information about Artspace visit www.artspace.org.

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During the event, each participant is paired one-to-one with a volunteer who helps the participant navigate the variety of services available. Last year, SLiCE recruited nearly 400 CSU students and Fort Collins community members to volunteer.

About Project Homeless Connect

The Project Homeless Connect concept originated in San Francisco in 2004. In 2005, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness launched the National Project Homeless Connect Partnership. Since 2008, more than 200 cities across the U.S., Canada and Australia have adopted the initiative. Fort Collins welcomed its first Project Homeless Connect in 2010. Since then, more than 12,600 individuals and families experiencing homelessness in the Fort Collins community have participated.

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