The following is a republished press release from a community organization or member and NOT written by the Ithaca Voice … click here to submit community announcements directly to The Voice, or contact us at tips@ithacavoice.com.
ITHACA, N.Y. – The Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA) has secured its entrance into the Mortimer and Mimi Levitt Foundation’s national AMP (Your City) Grant Award competition to help fund its CFCU Summer Concert Series, but its proposal needs the community’s support to advance to the next round.
Between now and Monday, Nov. 21, the public is asked to register and vote for the DIA’s proposal at the Levitt Foundation website, www.levittamp.org. To register, you’ll need an email address and will have to create a username and password. Once you’ve received your registration confirmation email, go to the DIA proposal and click on the “vote” button. You’ll receive an email confirmation that your vote was submitted. Voters must be at least 18 years of age during the voting period.
With the community’s support, the DIA hopes to qualify as one of 15 nonprofit organizations that will win a matching grant up to $25,000. Your support will be measured by the number of online votes the DIA’s proposal accumulates by Nov. 21.
In addition to voting, concert series supporters are asked to spread the word to your family, friends, colleagues and neighbors and to rally the community to sign up and vote for the DIA’s proposal.
The top 25 finalists will be selected through this online public voting, and the foundation will review the finalists and announce the 15 grant winners on January 5, 2017
“This grant is going to help us sustain and continue to operate on the big yet balanced levels we strive towards,” said DIA Special Events Director Tatiana Sy, noting that past concert series have included national acts such as Talib Kweli, Saul Williams and John Brown’s Body and local favorites including the Gunpoets, Big Mean Sound Machine and Jimkata.
“The other key benefit will be our ability to engage our entire community with musical talent that may otherwise not be accessible to many of our residents. All ages, free concert venues that feature recognizable acts are rare. Residents may not always have the ability to pay ticket prices to attend indoor or gated events. In addition to our local supporters of the concert series, a Levitt AMP grant would help us continue to provide quality musical experiences for the community to enjoy in the city’s center – for whom many, is walking distance of their homes,” Sy added.
Photo by Ed Dittenhoefer/Ithaca Voice