It’s been a couple of years since the Junior League of Augusta has distributed its arts endowment grants, but league officials are glad to be able to offer them once again.
“They’ve been paused for two years,” said Katherine Bonner, the league’s executive vice president.
Applications for the grant opened on Feb. 23. They are available to Augusta area arts organizations. The endowment began in 1986; originally, the grants were limited to the Augusta Symphony, Augusta Opera and Augusta Ballet, but the League expanded the eligibility to other organizations in 1993, according to the Junior League of Augusta’s website.
Other recipients have included The Jessye Norman School for the Arts, the Morris Museum of Art and the Augusta Mini Theatre, she said.
Bonner said the grants will total between $5,000 and $6,000.
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The deadline for entries is 5 p.m. April 4. Applications are available at the Junior League’s website, jlaugusta.org. Winners will be announced at the April 29 Laurel Canyon Tribute by Ryan Abel and Friends.
The music of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The Monkees, Eagles, Jackson Browne and artists birthed out of Laurel Canyon’s musical renaissance will be featured at the Imperial Theatre. Tickets range from $20 to $42 and will benefit the Junior League’s training and community service programs, according to a news release.
“Regarding the theme, showrunner and local musician Ryan Abel says, ‘The music of Laurel Canyon defined a generation but speaks to many generations including my own. The music that came flowing out of those hills in Southern California in the late 60s and 70s defined not only the standard of quality songwriting but also the standard for a community and a music scene lifting one another to share in each other’s successes,’” the news release said.
The Junior League is “an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Our purpose is exclusively educational and charitable,” according to its website.
Its members participate in a variety of volunteer efforts as well as raising funds to help other groups. In addition to the arts endowment grants, the League provides community enabling grants and classroom enrichment grants.
Bonner said the group has about 100 active members who come from diverse backgrounds. More than 95% work outside the home in various professions including law, engineering and business. The group also has sustaining members.
Women in the group are 21 and older and represent many different voices in the community, she said.
One of the League’s biggest fundraisers is its annual holiday market, and the local league is known for its world-famous “Tea-time At the Masters” cookbook and its various iterations.
To learn more about the Junior League, visit its website jlaugusta.org.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the managing editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
