The Austin Symphony Orchestra received a $4,000 grant from SEMAC recently.

On Tuesday, the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC) Board of Directors awarded 25 grants for a total of $98,276 in funding to applicants throughout southeastern Minnesota. This included 12 Individual Artist grants for $47,276, one $3,000 Artists in Education grant for K-12 programming, and 12 General Operating Support grants to arts organizations for $48,000.

Austin Symphony Orchestra received a $4,000 general operating support grant for staffing and salaries. The grant funding was made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

SEMAC is the State Arts Board-designated granting authority for local/regional arts producing and sponsoring organizations and disburses funds allocated for this purpose by the Minnesota State Legislature. The SEMAC region includes the counties of Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, Wabasha, and Winona.

For information about the grant application process, eligibility, or grant writing assistance, contact the SEMAC office at 2778 D Commerce Dr NW, Rochester, MN 55901 or call 507-281-4848.  Information may also be found on our Web site at www.semac.org.