The Flint Cultural Center in Michigan is Awarded Grant; Will Remain Open

Just in time for the holiday, The Flint Cultural Center and other centers around it have received a grant to help with funding for the next year. For many, this could be the greatest gift of the year.

The grant is being approved for almost $3 million by the Mott Foundation which will go to The Flint Cultural Center, The Flint Institute of Music and The Flint Institute of Arts located downtown Flint, Michigan. The Cultural Center will receive $1.6 million in funding while the others receive less than $800,000 a piece in order to keep the three businesses running each day.

The funding is approved at a time when the city's business has slowed down and its economy has declined immensely. Last week, the City of Flint nabbed the third spot on the U.S.' Most Dangerous City list compiled of information of FBI crime statistics.

The foundation providing the grants met with representative members of the three institutes to figure out just how much money was needed through the fiscal year to keep business running and preventing cuts in crucial areas. Such cuts would include a portion of the staff and special programs, and would also cut down the spending on music courses taught at the Institute of Music.

Since 1928, the Mott Foundation has given more than $80 million to the several institutes which will also fund other sites including The Whiting Auditorium, the Longway Planetarium, and the popular Flint Symphony Orchestra. The institutions built up around the Flint Cultural Center are an important part of the city's future and helps attract newcomers. This is the fifth year the foundation has approved grants requested by the institutes.

Without the funding being provided by the foundation, amongst cuts made to educational leaders and classes, the cost of many events held at the individual institutes would have increased and local outreach through the institutes would have also been cut. Many of the city's programs for the poor are supported in these institutes.

The foundation leaders say they are approving the grants because they recognize the importance of these local attractions and the impact they have on the greater Flint community.

"I hang out at the Flint Institute of Arts each weekend to see artwork I didn't see before or to see if different exhibits are out," says Caitlyn Black, a Flint local. "I'm an artist. My brother's a musician. These institutes sponser many events we attend. Its great to know our community recognizes how important these places are to us."