Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs is our Supporter of the Month!

Tis the season to celebrate terrific student writing! To that end, we once again have reason to appreciate the generosity of the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs that makes it possible for us to reach thousands of students across Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and Detroit with creative writing programs AND publish hundreds of those students each year.

The Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA) serves to encourage, initiate and facilitate an enriched artistic, cultural and creative environment in Michigan. This past year, their gifts to support the arts and culture across the entire state of Michigan surpassed $10 million. they awarded $9.65 million in grants to 462 recipients across the state of Michigan. The MCACA awarded hundreds of nonprofit organizations critically important grants to help fund arts education programs, capital improvements, operational expenses, regional regranting mini-grants, and services to the field.

826michigan is a proud beneficiary of the MCACA’s generous support. This school year, we are on track to reach more than 3,200 students across the three cities we serve. Our young writers demonstrate the power of their voices and the depths of their creativity in the many poems, short stories, memoirs, comics, and essays they imagine. The MCACA then enables us to amplify the impact of our young writers by funding many of the writing programs we offer and sponsoring the production of the high-quality publications in which student writing is made available in print.

Beyond the programs and books that are easy to see, operating support from MCACA allows 826michigan to not only keep stocked in paper and pencils for students, provide volunteer training, publish chapbooks and the OMNIBUS filled with new student writing, but also to pay bills at the whimsical Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair and Detroit Robot Factory where the artistic magic our students create happens. We are deeply grateful for the MCACA who share as much enthusiasm for our students as we do and, who through their financial generosity, provide a strong service to the thousands of young writers who benefit from 826michigan’s programming.

As an added special note, we would also like to recognize the  Arts Alliance, which operates as a regional grants partner for the MCACA and often funds our staff’s professional development. This investment in the grown-ups who design and facilitate programming for our many students has far-reaching impact on 826michigan’s ability to continue to develop as a well-rounded organization that can focus on our mission to inspire school-aged students to write confidently and skillfully with the help of adult volunteers in their communities.

Thank you, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, for investing in 826michigan! You are our December 2017 Supporter of the Month!